View source for Azusa Yumi

{{short description|Sacred bow that dispels ghosts and evil spirits in Shinto rituals}}
{{For|the Soul Eater character|List of Soul Eater characters#Death scythes}}
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{{Wiktionary|azusa yumi}}An {{nihongo|'''azusa [[yumi]]'''|[[Wiktionary:梓弓#Japanese|梓弓]]}} is a [[sacred]] bow (''[[yumi]]'') used in certain [[Shinto]] [[ritual]]s in [[Japan]], as well as a [[Japan]]ese [[musical bow]], made from the wood of the Japanese {{nihongo|''azusa''|[[wikt:梓#Japanese|梓]]}} or Japanese cherry birch tree (''[[Betula grossa]]'').<ref>{{Cite book |last=Loades |first=Mike |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iH-ADwAAQBAJ |title=War Bows: Longbow, crossbow, composite bow and Japanese yumi |date=2019-02-21 |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing |isbn=978-1-4728-2554-4 |pages=238 |language=en}}</ref> Playing an ''azusa yumi'' forms part of some [[Shinto]] rituals; in Japan, it is believed that merely the twanging of the [[bowstring]] will frighten ghosts and evil spirits away from a house. In [[Japanese poetry]], the word ''azusa yumi'' functions as a [[makurakotoba]] ("pillow word", a kind of [[epithet]]).<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Kabanoff |first=Alexander M. |date=1992 |title=Review of A Blade of Grass: Japanese Poetry and Aesthetics in Dogen Zen |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/132713 |journal=Journal of Japanese Studies |volume=18 |issue=1 |pages=181–185 |doi=10.2307/132713 |jstor=132713 |issn=0095-6848}}</ref>
The story is told in Japanese mythology that a golden bird perched on the bow of [[Emperor Jimmu]], the great-grandson of the sun goddess [[Amaterasu]], and the first human ruler of Japan. This was seen as an extremely good omen; Jimmu's bow developed the power to dispel evil by the mere plucking of its string. His bow was made of ''azusa'' wood.
==See also==
* [[Apotropaic magic]]
* [[Amulet]]
* [[Talisman]]
* {{Lang|ja-latn|[[Omamori]]}} ([[Wiktionary:御守|御守]] or [[Wiktionary:お守り|お守り]])
* [[Ofuda]] ([[Wiktionary:御札|御札]]/[[Wiktionary:お札|お札]]) -- a [[paper]] [[Good luck charm|charm]], similar to a [[Tao]]ist/[[Dao]]ist [[Fulu]].
* [[Hama Ya]] ([[Wiktionary:破魔矢|破魔矢]]) -- an "Evil-Destroying Arrow".
* [[Hama Yumi]] ([[Wiktionary:破魔弓|破魔弓]]) -- an "Evil-Destroying Bow".
* [[Saigū Yumi]] ([[Wiktionary:祭宮弓|祭宮弓]]) -- a "Ceremonial Bow".
* [[Kabura-ya]] ([[Wiktionary:鏑矢|鏑矢]]) -- a "Turnip[-headed] Arrow".
==References==
{{Reflist}}
{{Buddhism topics}}
{{Shinto shrine}}
[[Category:Bows (archery)]]
[[Category:Musical bows]]
[[Category:Weapons in Buddhist mythology]]
[[Category:Ritual weapons]]
[[Category:Honorary weapons]]
[[Category:Buddhist symbols]]
[[Category:Shinto in Japan]]
[[Category:Shinto religious objects]]
[[Category:Buddhist ritual implements]]
[[Category:Amulets]]
[[Category:Talismans]]
[[Category:Exorcism in Shinto]]
[[Category:Exorcism in Buddhism]]
[[Category:Sacred musical instruments]]
[[Category:Religious objects]]