Question on Japanese folklore: the tale of Aza-hime (痣姫)

[Laura Montero Plata]

Dear colleagues,

I would like to know more about the tale of Aza-hime (痣姫). According to Hayao Miyazaki, he used this story as source of inspiration for San character in Princess Mononoke. I have tried to find information about it but I have not been able to find it. Is there any study on the subject that you would recommend?

The closest clue I found is this article: http://www.yk.rim.or.jp/~rst/rabo/miyazaki/minwa-densyou.html

Thank you for your help.

Best wishes,

Laura Montero

[Matt Treyvaud]

Hi Laura (if I may),

I am not a specialist in this field, but as far as I know this "woman with a flawed face" motif is part of the "woman of high birth marries a lowly charcoal burner and they become rich" story family. (It isn't always present, though; the Fanny Hagin Mayer translation of Sumiyaki Kogoro in Yanagita Kunio's "Nippon no mukashibanashi" doesn't have this feature.)

This is all mentioned in the article you link, but I think what may be getting in your way is the fact that this character/motif isn't usually referred to as "痣姫" and I don't think she appears independently of these stories in any case.

So, here is a Wikipedia article that is probably a better starting point in terms of terminology/sources to search for:

https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/真名野長者伝説

I also happened upon this article that might have some helpful information for you about this story family (the focus isn't on the wife specifically):

http://ci.nii.ac.jp/naid/110007411085/en

炭焼き長者の話--柳田國男と松本信廣  [in Japanese]
Sumiyaki choja no hanashi : Yanagita Kunio to Matsumoto Nobuhiro  [in Japanese]
伊藤 清司
ITO Seiji
慶應義塾大学
Keio University

=====

Best regards,
--Matt

On April 8, 2017 at 20:13:03 , Laura Montero Plata (lmonte...@gmail.com) wrote:
>
>
> Dear colleagues,
>
>
> I would like to know more about the tale of Aza-hime (痣姫). According to
> Hayao Miyazaki, he used this story as source of inspiration for San

> character in *Princess Mononoke*. I have tried to find information about it

> but I have not been able to find it. Is there any study on the subject that
> you would recommend?
>
>
> The closest clue I found is this article:
> http://www.yk.rim.or.jp/~rst/rabo/miyazaki/minwa-densyou.html
>
>
> Thank you for your help.
>
>
> Best wishes,
>
> Laura Montero
>

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[Laura Montero Plata]

Hi Matt,

Thanks for for reply.

To be honest I came to the same conclusion. However I was a little bit confused because my primary source is Miyazaki himself. He made the connection with Aza-hime during an interview in Kinema Kunpo nº 1233, Sept 1997 (attached you can find his comment). I didn´t send it yesterday because I wasn´t at home. Sorry about that,

At this point I´m not sure if he is the one confusing terms and if this "痣姫" is a name he has given to the family of stories you mention above. But because I´m not a expert in the field at all, I thought I might be missing something here.

Best,

Laura

[Ayako Yoshimura]

Dear Laura,

 

This may be “more of the same” for you, but the following book has a chapter on a princess with “aza” on her face.

 

http://ci.nii.ac.jp/ncid/BN0773992X

 

風と火の古代史 : よみがえる産鉄民

内容説明・目次

内容説明

全国各地に遺る地名や伝承、神社や寺の歴史を通し、正史に登場しない風と炎の神々＝産鉄民の姿に光りをあてる労作。

目次

·        風王神社と地名

·        お化け物語

·        藤の名の秘密

·        顔にアザのある姫君の話

·        丹後の天女伝説

·        ダイダラ坊はタタラ男

·        鹿野山は金生山

·        地名からみた茨城県鉾田町の古代製鉄

·        神功皇后と鉄—そして九州王朝

·        大和の別所

 

 

Regards,

 

Ayako Yoshimura, Ph.D.

Japanese Studies Librarian

Joseph Regenstein Library 520B

University of Chicago

1100 East 57th Street, Chicago, IL 60637 

Email: yosh...@uchicago.edu

Phone: 773-702-8434

https://www.lib.uchicago.edu/about/directory/staff/ayako-yoshimura/