Horai

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For the town in Aichi, see Horai, Aichi.

Horai is a place in Japanese mythology. As described in Kwaidan: Stories and Studies of Strange Things, Horai is a somewhat idyllic place borrowed from earlier Chinese myths. In the Chinese version, the place is completely idyllic; there is no pain and no winter; there are magical fruits growing in Horai that can heal any disease, grant enternal youth, and even raise the dead; and there are rice bowls and wine glasses that never become empty no matter how much people eat or drink from them.

The Japanese conception of Horai, as presented in Kwaidan, was somewhat different from the earlier Chinese myth. The Japanese version rejects much of the fantastic and magical properties of Horai. In the Japanese myth, Horai is not free from sorrow or death, and the winters are bitterly cold. The Japanese conception of Horai holds that there are no magical fruits that cure disease, grant eternal youth or raise the dead, and no rice bowls or wine glasses that never become empty.

The Japanese incarnation of the myth of Horai focuses more on the atmosphere of the place, which is said to be made up not of air but of "quintillions of quintillions" of souls. Breathing in these souls is said to grant one all of the perceptions and knowledge of these ancient souls. The Japanese version also holds that the people of Horai are small fairies, and they have no knowledge of great evil, and so their hearts never grow old.

In the Kwaidan, there is some indication that the Japanese hold such a place to be merely a fantasy. It is pointed out that "Horai is also called Shinkiro, which signifies Mirage,--the Vision of the Intangible."

[edit] In popular culture

• The main setting of the fourth InuYasha movie, Fire on the Mystic Island, Horai appears as an island that appears every fifty years and is meant as a haven for Yōkai and human lovers and their children. Residents of Horai never age, and every year, a yokai must sacrifice itself to the Meidou no Kama, a giant cauldron leading to Hell, to protect the island's other inhabitants.
• In the Touhou Project, many elements in the games have names that allude to Horai.
• In The Twelve Kingdoms, Horai is the name given by the people in the Twelve Kingdoms to describe Japan.
• In the manga Ranma ½, Mount Horai is the location of the battle between Ranma Saotome who is locked in his cursed girlform fights with the Herb, prince of the Musk Dynasty who is also locked in his cursed female form. Both are fighting for the possession of the Kaisufu, a magical kettle that can unlock their curses. Interestingly enough, the peak of Horai is depicted as a kettle-shaped rock with a magical hot spring, with water heated by the magic kettle, flowing from the spout.

[edit] See also

• Penglai Mountain - Horai as per Chinese mythology.

[edit] References

• Horai. Kwaidan: Stories and Studies of Strange Things (digital version @ sacred-texts.com). Retrieved on February 22, 2006.

	Japanese Mythology
	Stories and Myths: Kojiki | Kwaidan | Nihon Shoki | Otogizōshi | Yotsuya Kaidan Divinities: List of divinities in Japanese mythology | Kami & Megami | Seven Lucky Gods Legendary Figures: Abe no Seimei | Hidari Jingoro | Kintaro | Kuzunoha Momotaro | Nezumi Kozo | Tamamo-no-Mae | Tomoe Gozen | Urashima Tarō Mythical and Sacred Locations: Horai | Mt. Hiei | Mt. Fuji Rashōmon | Ryugu-jo | Suzakumon | Takamagahara | Yomi
	Religions | Sacred Objects | Creatures and Spirits