& wed., 18 sept., 2019: attack of the yōkai manga nerds, iv.: give us This Day our Daily Curse

[NOTE: these terms are weaponized language, & meant to give offense. Which is the whole & compleat point of insult & invective, obscenity & blasphemy, & other political speech.]

JAPANESE:  豆腐小僧 — tōfu-kozō §

JAPANESE:  妖怪 — yōkai  §§

JAPANESE:  あやかし — ayakashi  §§§

JAPANESE:  物の怪 — mononoke  §§§§

   §)  Lit., Tōfu Boy. Or Servant Monster.  In modern & post-modern usage most likely to be a pejorative for hardcore manga nerd wimps,  or can refer to a specific yōkai (妖怪) character from 18^th. & 19^th. C. manga & pamphlets, or toys & clothes; tōfu-kozō had no particular special powers,  & arrives as a servant monster with a dainty bamboo umbrella, bringing tōfu or sake,  often during rainstorms… But mold might grow on the tofu before anyone can finish eating it, or the sake go sour; Tōfu Boy often has a huge baby-Huey-like head, sometimes a large tōfu-brick head & one eye & no mouth,  & usually presents the tōfu with an autumn leaf design on a round tray;  Tōfu Boys are considered wimps by the other yōkai (妖怪), & sometimes bullied or picked on,  just like manga fanboys;

  §§)  Yōkai (妖怪) is a difficult term to pin down, (in kanji) it might refer to something bewitching  or  attractive; or to calamity, &/or spectre,  apparition, mystery, something fishy or suspicious.  The Yōkai (妖怪), based on Shinto folklore’s impish sprints &/or dæmons can act as servants or boon companions;  yōkai by nature are compulsive & impulsive energumins,  to say the least,  & can be malevolent,  treacherous,  even deadly,  but are more usually obsessive-compulsive pains in the arse,  just like manga nerds.  Think of them as tutelary stalkers.  Yōkai (妖怪) transitioned as characters in 18^th. & 19^th. C. manga & pamphlets,  as well as finding their way into decorative illustrations on toys & clothes or as charms to ward off smallpox or ill fortune;  Shinto folklore being more animistic, their Yōkai (妖怪) aren’t like Western European folklore’s goblins,  they’re likely to be a sort of monster servant or companion or tutelary dæmon,  a grieving child’s imaginary friend,  & closer to dæmons or eidolons of ancient Greece, or to rakshasa dæmons of India; yōkai (妖怪) are also known to give solace & comfort to people in grief;   

  §§§)  Ayakashi  (あやかし) is a variety of yōkai (妖怪) that may haunt the surface of a lake or river or sea, often as ghostly lights at the water’s surface; ayakashi are thought to be vengeful ghosts of those who drowned, usually at sea & trying to trick or entrap unwary people into joining them; they can be seen on the beach at night, seeming to be a child walking through flames; pilgrims walking along the coast may encounter them in the form of a mountain, an obstruction, but if they confront it, & rush against it or strike at it, it disappears, clearing their path;

 §§§§) Mononoke (物の怪), a yōkai (妖怪), whether dead or alive, are said to possess mere mortals, cause great suffering, disease or death; monks & priests would pray & chant incantations, drive away the yōkai, perhaps even moving them to a servant or apprentice & then completely exorcise them

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from curse + berate in 69+ languages, from Soft Skull Press

                        

https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=curse+and+berate+in+69%2B+languages     http://softskull.com/?p=271

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