照る照る坊主

Japanese
照る照る坊主 (teru teru bōzu): Examples of this rural folk amulet.
Kanji in this term
照 照 坊 主
て
Grade: 4		 て
Grade: 4		 ぼう
Grade: S		 す > ず
Grade: 3

Alternative forms

Etymology

A phrase, composed of 照る (teru, “to shine, to be sunny”) + 坊主 (bōzu, “Buddhist monk”). Literally, “shine, shine monk”, whereby “shine” is partially in reference to fair weather.

Pronunciation
  • (Tokyo) てるてるぼ​ーず [tèrú térú bóꜜòzù] (Nakadaka – [5])[1][2][3]
  • IPA(key): [te̞ɾɯ̟ᵝ te̞ɾɯ̟ᵝ bo̞ːzɨᵝ]

Noun

照る照る坊主 (hiragana てるてるぼうず, rōmaji teru teru bōzu, historical hiragana てるてるばうず)

  1. a small, traditional handmade doll made of white paper or cloth

Usage notes

Japanese farmers began hanging these outside of their windows on a string. This folk amulet is supposed to have magical powers to bring good weather, and to stop or prevent a rainy day.

References
  1. 2006, 大辞林 (Daijirin), Third Edition (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Sanseidō, ISBN 4-385-13905-9
  2. 1997, 新明解国語辞典 (Shin Meikai Kokugo Jiten), Fifth Edition (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Sanseidō, ISBN 4-385-13143-0
  3. 1998, NHK日本語発音アクセント辞典 (NHK Japanese Pronunciation Accent Dictionary) (in Japanese), Tōkyō: NHK, ISBN 978-4-14-011112-3
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