Ladies
and gentlemen...
It is with greatest pleasure that I welcome you to my town,
and it will be an even greater pleasure to tell you all
about what we are doing this autumn in Titipu.
Autumn is a wonderful time of year, and Japanese maple
trees are at their most beautiful.
As you can see, they not only adorn the trees, but are quite
beautiful to look at when they fall.
People watch them, and many go on leaf-viewing
(momiji-gari) holidays.
This is likewise a lovely time for moon-viewing, when the autumn
moon is full and beautiful.
And of course, here in Titipu, we have the annual bicycle race,
the “Tour de Titipu”, which is
very popular, and attended by a great many.
Here are some of the beautiful sights of Autumn
in and about Titipu.
As you can see, in Japan the autumn leaves are
particularly beautiful.
While we do not exactly have Halloween in Japan, we are
familiar with it -
and we do have quite a number of interesting monsters that
certainly would
be suitable for Halloween. Titipu, of course, is not like the
rest of Japan, so I am currently
trying to make a costume for October 31 so that I go
trick-or-treating with other fellow Titipudlians.
Let me see...as a tailor,I should be able to make a very
nice costume, --but what shall I be?
KAPPA
I might be a Kappa (kah-pah) -- a funny little
goblin who looks a bit like the Teenage
Mutant Ninja Turtles, except with a mop of hair and a bowl of
water in the top of his head.
He isn’t a wicked goblin, really, but he is very
mischievous and troublesome.
If the water spills from his head, however, he is really quite
helpless and will do almost anything
to get the bowl refilled. It is rather like an Irish
leprechaun who will promise to give you gold
if he’s captured. And like the leprechaun, the kappa is very
tricky and clever, and he may
decieve you. That might be a fun costume to wear, but balancing a
bowl of water on my head could prove to be precarious.
This is a picture of a whole family of kappa,
living somewhere in the woods.
And this is a kappa mask, perfect for Halloween.
KITSUNE
I might then be a Kitsune (kit-su-neh)
-- a little fox who is more like a fairy than a goblin.
There truly is such a species of fox called a kitsune, but
the magical version is a little more sinister.
It can suck the life-force from a victim, disappear at will,
and even throw balls of “foxfire”.
It can also merge with someone to assume their personality, and
has even been known to
assume the shape of a beautiful maiden. I do not think I would
like to be any of those things - particularly the
maiden - so what else is there that is particularly scary?
This cunning little kitsune lives in the forest.
This odd little mask represents a kitsune.
TENGU
I suppose I could be a tengu. (ten-gu)
A tengu is a red goblin with a long nose,
who lives in the mountains, where he hides, making hideous noises
that some people will tell you is only the wind blowing through
reeds and rocks. But we know better, don’t we?
Tengu look very fierce, and they dress very much like humans,
and they have some exceedingly
unpleasant traits, such as starting fires and causing fights.
They steal children
from their beds, and they are a popular bogey-man - ”Go to sleep or the
Tengu will get you!”
How well I remember being told that at bedtime! That memory
alone would make it difficult
for me to wear such a costume, though. Furthermore, people would
only say, “You are a tengu, and therefore full of wind and
hot air.”
This is a tengu mask,
and this is a fearsome oni mask.
ONI
I might be an Oni ! (O-ni) A terrible, fierce,
fearsome Oni! An Oni is a demon,
and they can come in an endless variety of shapes and sizes,
and I assure you that none of them look like Inuyasha or Seshomaru!
When the people of Titipu shouted to Katisha, “Oni bikkurri
shakkuri to!”,
you can easily see what they thought of her. Very frightening!
Again I shall pass!
There is a very frightening horror film called "Onibata", about
a demon mask and some unpleasant people
who come to a bad end because of it.
We Japanese have plenty of ghouls and ghosts that would
make for excellent halloween costumes,
and there are several
wonderful places to go that will tell you more about them.
Although when all is said and done, I just might dress, after
all, as a dentist!
The Titipu dentist is not very good, and
is quite the most terrifying man in town.
"I've Got a Little List..."
THE REAL ADDAMS FAMILY: Who can be more halloweeny
than the famous Addams family? Learn all about the TV show,
the movies, and the great cartoonist who created them
60 years ago, Charles Addams.
THE SHADOWLANDS: A more serious side to the paranormal,
loaded with hundreds of ghopst stories, even helps you learn
to be a ghost hunter or ghostbuster.
DRACULA'S HOMEPAGE: The Prince of Transylvania himself!
Here is a modern day tour of his castle in the Borgo Pass.
Halloween would not be the same without the Master of the Night.
THE DARKSIDE OF CLOWNS: Killer clowns, man-eating clowns,
fiendish alien clowsn, and nightmare clowns. If you belong to this
small group of people who find clowns the scariest thing since
Dracula, you'll love this!
HALLOWEEN WHIPNET: Nice site with Halloween history,
projects, and other things of halloween interest.
GHOST STORIES: 560 ghost stories from haunted New Orleans
and the surrounding area. Lots and lots of good, spooky stuff to
entertain you on dark nights.
OLD WIVES TALES: The return of a great favorite.
Full of folk tales, ghost stories, and fun.
BLUE LIPS: A truly comprehensive online halloween
store. Has everything, including chocolate brains.
365 HALLOWEEN: This has got to be the coolest, most
useful Halloween website online. It has crafts, costumes,
recipes, great ideas of every description, and something new
for every single day of the year. This is a must-visit!
ALL ABOUT KAPPA:
A very nice introduction to these fascinating creatures from
Japanese folklore.
HALLOWEEN IN JAPAN:
The O-ban festival is the nearest thing we have to Halloween.
GHOSTS AND KITSUNE:
A bit about kitsune and Japanese ghosts.
JAPANESE GHOSTS--LOTS OF 'EM: Probably no one has more
interesting ghosts and demons that the Japanese.
here's a starting point if you want to know more..
JAPANESE GHOST STORIES: Some good, creepy Halloween
tales--Japanese style. careful--some of these are really
scary, and might give you...bad dreams.
GHOST! MAGAZINE:
Says it all! Check it out..
HALLOWEEN IS HERE: One of the best Halloween sites
I've ever found.
RELEASE ME: Better watch out! This may be the most
haunted site online. Ghosts and haunted houses abound.
MISS MARY'S VICTORIAN HALLOWEEN:
Gilbert & Sullivan were very Victorian--and so is this great
site..
I haven't much else to say at this time. However, if you
would like a truly delightful Halloween treat, then look no
farther than the Gilbert & Sullivan world itself for the
wonderful operetta,
“Ruddigore”,
one of my favorite Halloween
stories of all time. It has ghosts and a haunted castle,
a graveyard, a lunatic, two wonderful Halloween songs, and a
happy ending besides. Who could ask for more?
CLICK on the three little maids
and see all the goodies
they are gathering for Trick or Treat 2006.
And be sure to CLICK These happy little ghosts
to find out more about RUDDIGORE.
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Let me see...as a tailor,I should be able to make a
