Teru teru bōzu

Teru teru bōzu (Japanese: てるてる坊主; “[make the sun] shine, [make the sun] shine, little buddy of mine”) is a little traditional hand-made doll made of white paper or cloth that Japanese farmers began hanging outside of their window by a string. This amulet is supposed to have magical powers to bring good weather and to stop or prevent a rainy day. "Teru" is a Japanese verb which describes sunshine, and a "bōzu" is a Buddhist monk (compare the word bonze), or in modern slang, "bald-headed"; it is also a term of endearment for addressing little boys.


Teru teru bōzu became popular during the Edo period among urban dwellers, whose children would make them the day before the good weather was desired and chant "Fine-weather priest, please let the weather be good tomorrow."

Today, children make teru-teru-bōzu out of tissue paper or cotton and string and hang them from a window to wish for sunny weather, often before a school picnic day. Hanging it upside down - with its head pointing downside - acts like a prayer for rain. They are still a very common sight in Japan.
There is a famous warabe uta, or Japanese nursery rhyme, associated with teru teru bozu:

Japanese: てるてるぼうず、てるぼうず 明日天気にしておくれ いつかの夢の空のように 晴れたら金の鈴あげよ てるてるぼうず、てるぼうず 明日天気にしておくれ 私の願いを聞いたなら 甘いお酒をたんと飲ましょ てるてるぼうず、てるぼうず 明日天気にしておくれ それでも曇って泣いてたら そなたの首をちょんと切るぞ

Romaji: Teru-teru-bōzu, teru bōzu Ashita tenki ni shite o-kure Itsuka no yume no sora no yō ni Haretara kin no suzu ageyo Teru-teru-bōzu, teru bōzu Ashita tenki ni shite o-kure Watashi no negai wo kiita nara Amai o-sake wo tanto nomasho Teru-teru-bōzu, teru bōzu Ashita tenki ni shite o-kure Sorete mo kumotte naitetara Sonata no kubi wo chon to kiru zo

Translation: Teru-teru-bozu, teru bozu Do make tomorrow a sunny day Like the sky in a dream sometime If it's sunny I'll give you a golden bell Teru-teru-bozu, teru bozu Do make tomorrow a sunny day If you make my wish come true We'll drink lots of sweet rice wine Teru-teru-bozu, teru bozu Do make tomorrow a sunny day But if the clouds are crying (it's raining) Then I shall snip your head off

 

The song, written by Kyoson Asahara and composed by Shinpei Nakayama, was released in 1921. Like many nursery rhymes, this song is rumored to have a darker history than it first appears. It allegedly originated from a story of a monk who promised farmers to stop rain and bring clear weather during a prolonged period of rain which was ruining crops. When the monk failed to bring sunshine, he was executed. Many Japanese folk historians, however, believe this story and others regarding the origins of teru teru bozu may have originated from long after the tradition had become widespread, most likely in an attempt to refine the image of the doll. It is more likely that the "bōzu" in the name refers not to an actual Buddhist monk, but to the round, bald monk-like head of the doll, and "teru teru" jokingly referring to the effect of bright sunlight reflecting off a bald head.

References

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1. ^ "Literally means ‘shiny-shiny Buddhist priest’. It may also translate to "shiny shiny bald head," the word "bōzu" having long ago become a reference to the shaven heads of Buddhist monks. They are paper dolls made by school children before going on school excursions as a charm for fine weather."
2. ^ O-Lex Japanese–English Dictionary, Obunsha, 2008. pp. 1681—2.
3. ^ ^{a b} "Weather Watching and Emperorship", by Noboru Miyata. In Current Anthropology, Vol. 28, No. 4, Supplement: An Anthropological Profile of Japan. (Aug. - Oct., 1987), pp. S13-S18. Provided by JSTOR.