the ghost umbrella is an accessory that made me wonder for a while why it was called that. It isn&rs
the ghost umbrella is an accessory that made me wonder for a while why it was called that. It isn’t an inherently spooky umbrella with that funny (but cute) face, yet i have seen it before in certain gag moments of older anime, and i originally figured that it might have represented ghost dolls kids over here make out of tissue paper and lollipops for halloween. i’m happy to say i learned some very interesting cultural details about this little guy:the face of the ghost umbrella is referred to as a henohenomoheji (へのへのもへじ): schoolchildren in Japan learn these hiragana symbols by visualizing them together as a person’s face! On flat paper, the “ じ “ character here’s just omitted, but it makes up the chin. It’s also used to show a generic face for comedic purposes. How cute! Additionally, it turns out that the umbrella as a whole is modeled off of the historical Japanese tradition of the teru teru bozu doll (lit. “shine shine monk”) that originated to bring sunny days. As a talisman, these dolls were made from white cloth and hung by their head outside a window with a prayer-chant to bring sunshine the next day– if it worked, one would pour a holy offering of sake and wash it off in the river as thanks. You can also turn the doll upside-down as a superstition to bring a rainy day.I’ve seen them also as ornaments of umbrellas and the little ghost doll seen in Kerokero Keroppi merch. children leave these out by the windowsill if they’re wishing for sunshine, tying the excess fabric off to form the ghostly body with a colored string and drawing a smiley on it. With this context, you’re essentially carrying a Japanese talisman in the form of an umbrella when it rains in-game to effectively ‘wish’ for clear skies the next day! It’s the little cultural details the developers put into Animal Crossing that really make the game that much more special to me. -- source link
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