The Bird of Boundaries: Beliefs and Folk Customs Surrounding the Chicken

Abstract

Chickens have lived alongside humans since ancient times. They have been used for various purposes and have been the focus of much attention, giving rise to a rich body of legends and traditions. In Japan, these birds have been projected prominently in art and literature, including notable appearances in monogatari and waka. In the present article, we will address the legends, rituals and magical thinking surrounding the chicken. We will consider its characteristics in folklore and its role in the traditional Japanese worldview, with the primary goal of investigating and positioning it among the art and literature of Japan. Let us begin by reviewing past research and texts that have looked into the role of chickens in the field of f olklore. From early on, Yanagita Kunio 柳田國男 had been researching the relationship between the image of the chicken and gold in Japanese folklore. In his studies of legends published in the 1920s, he delineated the ways in which these birds have been linked to the treasures of the spirit world and to the genre of chōja densetsu 長者伝説, or “millionaire legends.” Yanagita’s Santō mintanshū 山島民譚集 (1914) contains a study titled Ōgon no niwatori 黄金の雞 in which he addresses this topic.1 His work examines the reasoning behind the appearance of chickens in legends that contain reference to treasures, drawing on material from early modern investigations and topographical data. Following this, Minakata Kumagusu 南方 熊楠 published his Jūnishikō 十二支考 which contains his studies on the sequence of the sexagenary cycle, among which he touches on the topic of chickens.2 A similar investigation has also been conducted by Miyatake Shōzō 宮武省三 in