"Hitobashira-ha Miira-to Deau" (A Sacrifice Meets Mummy) by ISHIMOCHI Asami

This is successive short mysteries. Lily Meis (I cannot decide the spelling...) is a overseas student who came from Portland, US. She lives with a family whose daughter, ICHIKI Keiko, goes to the same university with her. Her father has been seated for Hokkaido, a north prefecture in Japan, and her mother is a homemaker. Moreover, her cousin, TOUGOU Naomi, sometimes comes to their house to spend with them, and his occupation is a 'Hitobashira' or a sacrifice...

* Hitobashira-ha Miira-to Deau ("A sacrifice meets mummy")
When a big structure - a bridge, a building, and so on - is being constructed in Japan, a person called 'Hitobashira' will stay in a small underground room during the construction to take care of the Land God...

* Kuroko-ha Gijyou-kara Kieru ("A kuroko disappeared from the assembly hall")
Behind all Kabuki-player and representatives in Japan there is a "Kuroko" who helps the master's work...

* Ohaguro-ha Dokushin-ni Niawanai ("Black teeth are not suit for a single")
All married Japanese women make their teeth black in Japan...

* Yakudoshi-ha Kega-ni Tyuui ("Be careful when you are in an evil year")
In Japan there is an evil-vacation for a year to stay soundly...

* Taka-ha Oozora-ni Mau ("A hawk fly in the sky")
In Japan falconers help police...

* Myouga-ha Kokoro-ni Kiku Kusuri ("Myouga, an eatable plant works for heart")
In Japan people who want to forget something eat Myouga, an eatable plant...

* Sankinkoutai-ha Tiji-no Tsutome ("Change the living place between the local and Tokyo every month is a job for a governor in Japan")
In Japan all local governor live in the governing place and in Tokyo every one month...


Very nice stories! Mysterious country - Japan!!! Almost all the contents are not correct at present, but they were old Japanese customs, and we Japanese can enjoy these stories very much! ^^ You can learn strange ancient Japanese customs with this book, but never believe the contents are real now ^^;;;

(Finished reading on May 5, 2008)


The more detailed Japanese version of this article is here!

Japanese character(s) (kanji)
* ISHIMOCHI Asami : 石持浅海
* Hitobashira-ha Miira-to Deau : 人柱はミイラと出会う
* Kuroko-ha Gijyou-kara Kieru : 黒衣は議場から消える
* Ohaguro-ha Dokushin-ni Niawanai : お歯黒は独身に似合わない
* Yakudoshi-ha Kega-ni Tyuui : 厄年は怪我に注意
* Taka-ha Oozora-ni Mau : 鷹は大空に舞う
* Myouga-ha Kokoro-ni Kiku Kusuri : ミョウガは心に効くクスリ
* Sankinkoutai-ha Tiji-no Tsutome : 参勤交代は知事の務め