Abumi guchi - [Yokai|Tsukumogami]

Abumi-Guchi - 鐙口 (あぶみくち) - aka: “Stirrup Mouth” - [Yokai | Tsukumogami ]

• About this yokai: An old stirrup (saddle foot hold) which was lost on the battlefield where its owner took an arrow to the knee. Rather than being animated by vengefulness like some tsukumogami, it seems to have been brought to life through its owner’s anguish. It now wanders around the battlefield aimlessly while loyally lamenting its fallen rider.

• Origin: The earliest illustration and description of Abumi-Guchi was by Toriyama Sekien in his "Gazu Hyakki Tsurezure Bukuro (1784)"  The entry features the lyrics to a short song that Abumi-Guchi sings, which goes as follows:   

"The AbumiGuchi sang in my dream as well:

"My warrior rider took an arrow to his knee, causing great trouble in dismounting me.” 

- [Translation: Japandemonium 2017]

[Abumi guchi as it appears in Toriyama Sekien’s Gazu Hyakki Tsurezure Bukuro vol. 2 (1784) Image source: Smithsonian] 

• The Antique in question: Old saddle stirrups or "abumi" are metal stirrups used by mounted samurai and archers. They'd be tied directly to the wooden part of the saddle called a "Kurabane." (see also: Kurayaro) At parades and celebrations, Abumi would also have large, decorative tassels attached to them (called “uma agemaki”) which is what the furry part of the yokai’s body & limbs are probably supposed to be.

[A pair of ‘Abumi’. Seeing them like this, you can get a better idea of why it's a ‘mouth’. Source: Met Museum]  

• History: This yokai’s page in Tsurezure Bukuro follows immediately after Kurayaro; and much like Kurayaro, This Tsukumogami, made of riding equipment, also sings about its mounted Genji warrior, who perished during the Heian era’s Genpei War, The famous clash of the Taira and the Genji clans.

Four centuries later, when Toriyama drew this yokai, stories from the Heian era had become the popular culture of the Edo period. The battles and warriors had become the subjects of noh & kabuki theatre! inspiring dozens of ukiyo-e art prints & many other forms of art, including this yokai’s background lore!

Abumi-Guchi’s song seems to specifically be in reference to the noh play known as “Tomonaga” which recounts the death of the titular character (The second son of Minamoto no Yoshitomo) who dies because (as you probably guessed it) he got shot with an arrow to the knee whilst fleeing from the enemy forces. (He chose to kill himself, rather than be killed, captured (& tortured) by his pursuers.) Tomonaga is one of the 3 famous “shura” plays by famous playwright Zeami; which focus on the Genpei warriors' strife and their potential rebirth in the Buddhist realm of the Ashuras due to their lives of endless battle.

Toriyama’s entry implies that even in death, the samurai’s equipment remained loyal to their masters causes, decades after they had passed.

• See also: A few other mounted equipment Tsukumogami also by Toriyama Sekien include: “Furu-Utsubo”, “Kurayaro” & “Mukumukabaki.”

[Art sticker & Writing by @SamKalensky (yo, thats me!) Editing by @Cattype. Part of my Hyakki Yagyo Night Parade of 100 yokai sticker series. Follow & check my shop out for many more!]