Teru Teru Bozu - The Japanese Rain Doll

Today is a rainy day in Okazaki Japan, and my son is busy making a teru teru bozu doll. What's that? Great question! Let's explore...

Teru teru bozu, the magic doll that keeps away rain

Kids in the States know how to send away unwanted rain and attract the sun.

Rain, Rain, go away, come again some other day

The power of verse, eh?

In Japan it is a bit different, but the idea is similar. When it is nasty weather and children want tomorrow to be sunny, they make a Teru teru bozu (てるてる坊主) doll.^†

By Monica Kaneko

The teru-teru bozu doll isn’t hard to make. Take some tissue paper for the head, tie it, and let the rest hang loose. Looks more like a ghost than a doll. Oh, but it’s no ordinary doll...

By gaelx

This doll has magical powers. When placed in the window, he will make the bad weather go away. And if he doesn’t... you get to rip his head off as punishment! So it’s a win either way.

A nice, wholesome kids game, eh?

The teru-teru bozu song

There is a song that goes along with the doll. It goes like so:

Teru teru bozu, terubozu
Bring good weather tomorrow
Like the sky in a dream
If it is clear, I’ll give you a golden bell

Teru teru bozu, terubozu
Bring good weather tomorrow
If you listen to my request
We’ll also drink lots of sweet sake

Teru teru bozu, terubozu
Bring good weather tomorrow
However, if it is cloudy and you’re crying
I will cut your head off!

Nice song, eh? Trying to tempt the weather gods with golden bells and then threatening decapitation for failure. The samurai spirit is alive and well in Japan^§.

In the Edo period^Δ if the rain really did go away, the doll would be washed in sake and thrown in the river to return to afterlife. All rivers were all thought to lead to the River Sanzu, which is the river that leads to the afterlife (similar to the River Styx).

This song, written in 1921, was actually based on a story....

The dark, dark history

No one knows the origin of the dolls, but like many Western nursery rhymes, the story is rumored to have a dark history. Legends speak of a monk who promised some farmers to stop the rain, but was executed upon failure to do so.

Let that be a lesson to meddling monks everywhere.

The Weather Monk

Another theory involves the a yokai named Hiyoribo^¶.

He is said to come from the mountains in Chiba and brings good weather with him. Therefore teru teru bozu dolls are made in his likeness are are prayers for him to come and bring the sunshine.

In some places in Japan, the dolls are actually called Hoyoribo instead of Teruteru bozu, lending credence to this theory.

What do you think—is this story more likely than the previous one?

Make One Yourself

Let’s close with a video of a cute young girl explaining how to make one.

Footnotes

†: Pronounce it like this: teh-roo teh-roo boh-zoo

§: To all worried about corrupting the children: The last few lyrics are often changed to simply ask for sunny days every day instead of promising swift death.

¶: Hiyoribo is pronounced He-yo-ree-bow. Yokai are ghosts, monsters, mischievous spirits, and so on. It's a pretty inclusive idea. Anything supernatural that isn't a god, more or less. I can write more about them in the future if demand is there, but for now, if you are interested, Wikipedia has a pretty good overview

Δ: 1603–1868

---

Title graphic made by me, using this CC licensed image by Jun Ohwada.

	David LaSpina is an American photographer lost in Japan, trying to capture the beauty of this country one photo at a time.