Hachikazuki - Hachikazuki

One of the 23 Otogi-zoshi (fairy tales). A story that is said to have been created in the Muromachi period. The author is unknown. It was also written as "Hachikazuki no Soshi" and circulated as an Edo period edition. In fairy tales from the Meiji period onwards, it is also called "Hachikatsugi". It is a tale of a stepdaughter, the daughter of Bitchū no Kami Sanekata, who lives in Katano, Kawachi Province, as the protagonist. The name comes from the fact that her biological mother placed a bowl on the daughter's head as she was dying. It is also written as "Hachikazuki no Saichō (Prime Minister with a Bowl)". The daughter grows up wearing the bowl, and meets her stepmother when her father remarries. She is abandoned due to slander from her stepmother and becomes a wanderer. Eventually, while working as a fire keeper in the bathhouse at the home of San'in Sanmi Chujō, she is discovered by the fourth son, the Prime Minister, and they make a promise to each other. During the bride inspection and bride contest, the bowl breaks and reveals clothing and treasures. The protagonist dresses herself up with it and is promised a happy life as the wife of the prime minister. The bowl-shaped tale is always written as a miraculous tale of protection by the Hase Kannon. These themes are well known among the people as old tales. The tale is told in a similar style to the full-fledged old tale "Ubakawa," and revolves around the hardships of the protagonist, who wears a strange headgear, and her eventual happy marriage. The bowl, which has great significance in the development of the story, plays a major role in the protagonist's fate as a magical item. In particular, some have attempted to unravel this theme by overlapping the magical and religious significance of the protagonist's coming-of-age vows. The spread of the legend may also be due to educational activities in the belief in Kannon.

[Junichi Nomura]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

御伽(おとぎ)草子23編の一つ。室町時代に成立したとされる物語。作者未詳。「鉢かづきの草子」とも記されて江戸期版本として流布した。明治以後の童話では「鉢かつぎ」ともいわれる。河内(かわち)国交野(かたの)に住む備中守(びっちゅうのかみ)さねかたの娘を主人公にした継子(ままこ)物語。実母が死に臨んで娘の頭に鉢をかぶせたことによる名称である。「鉢かづきの宰相」とも記される。娘は鉢をかづ（被）いたまま成長し、父の再婚によって継母に会う。継母の讒言(ざんげん)によって捨てられて流浪の身になる。やがて山陰三位(さんみ)中将の家で湯殿の火焚(ひた)きとして働くうちに、四男宰相にみいだされて契りをこめる。嫁見参、嫁競(くら)べのときに鉢が割れて、中から衣装や宝が出る。主人公はそれで身なりを整え、宰相の妻としての幸福な一生を約束されるという筋。鉢かづきは、つねに長谷(はせ)観音によって加護される霊験譚(たん)としてつづられる。これらの主題は、民間にあって昔話として人口に膾炙(かいしゃ)する。本格昔話「姥皮(うばかわ)」と共通する語り口で、異形の被(かぶ)り物をした主人公の苦難と、やがて訪れる幸福な結婚を骨子にする。物語の展開に大きな意味をもつ鉢は、呪具(じゅぐ)として主人公の運命に大きな役割を果たしている。とりわけ、主人公の成女戒にかかわる、呪術的・宗教的意義を重ねることによって、この主題を解こうとする見方もなされる。伝承伝播(でんぱ)の背景には、観音信仰の教化活動も考えられる。

［野村純一］

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