SOME MAGICAL APPLICATIONS OF BROOMS IN JAPAN.[1]
BY W. L. HILDBURGH.
(Read before the Society, March 19th, 1919.)
In many parts of the world there exist beliefs as to the supernatural powers inherent in the broom, for man, in his contests with the personified unseen, has often, and in many ways, made use of the broom either as a weapon of defence (or, less frequently, one of offence) or as an instrument of control. An examination of some of the magical applications of the broom in Japan, and of some of the beliefs attached to it there, should consequently prove instructive not only in the study of Japanese popular beliefs, but also in the explaining of certain practices or beliefs, into which the broom enters, amongst European and other peoples. Two collections, each of considerable size, of material concerning the superstitions attached to brooms and to sweeping, but dealing almost exclusively with the peoples of Central Europe, came to my notice after I had originally prepared the present paper. One
- ↑ Three kinds of brooms are used in the ordinary Japanese household: (1) a broom made of rice-straw, so that it will not injure the somewhat delicate surface of the floor-mats, which is commonly used in the house; (2) a stronger broom, made from a plant of a kind of small bamboo, whose thin pliant blanches are bent towards each other and tied so as to form the brush, which is used for sweeping surfaces, such as those of woodwork, which will not be injured by it; and (3) a coarse broom, made from a bundle of twigs bound together and to a handle, which is used for sweeping paths, cleaning stones, and the like.
