Teru teru bozu

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Teru teru bozu (Japanese: てるてるぼうず) 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.

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 upsidedown - 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;

Teru-teru-bōzu, teru bōzu
Ashita tenki ni shite o-kure
Itsuka no yume no sora no yo 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
Sore de mo kumotte naitetara
Sonata no kubi wo chon to kiru zo

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 booze
-- 
Teru-teru-bozu, teru bozu
Do make tomorrow a sunny day
but if it's cloudy and I find you crying
Then I shall chop your head off

Like many nursery rhymes, this song is supposed 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.

[edit] Teru teru bozu in fiction

• In the ending theme of the anime Jungle wa Itsumo Hale Nochi Guu Final the main character sings a teru teru bozu rhyme.
• The design of the kaiju Nova from the television series Ultraman Leo (and later revived in Ultraman Mebius) is based on the teru teru bozu.