Hara-no-mushi: The Parasitic Entities In Your Body
According to an acupuncture textbook from 1568 by acupuncturist Jikai Ibaraki [茨木 二介] (n/a), there are a total of 63 kinds of parasitic entities called Hara-no-mushi [腹の虫] like the ones seen below that causes different psychological or physical illnesses¹ and there's a whole culture of practices involving folk medicine as well as ritual designed to get rid of these obnoxious, supernatural critters from your body.
(artwork by Sam Kalensky)
Residing in people's spleens, Hishaku [脾積] (above) is a parasite which loves sweet flavors and singing. They can be removed by applying acupuncture needles around the person's bellybutton.
Causing symptoms such as vomiting and diarrhea, Kakuran-no-mushi [霍乱の虫] (above) inhabits in people's liver by wrapping themselves around the organ, but would often come out from the person's mouth. Forcefully yanking them out once they emerge would greatly weaken them, but they'll quickly hide back inside via the digestive tract once they get freed. Ingesting herbal concoction made of Evodiae fructus broth, Plantago seed, and Saussureae radix is used to get rid of them.
Koshinuke-no-mushi [腰抜けの虫] (above) is a parasite which inhabits in people's hip. This entity would cause people to experience loose stool, perspiration, and chest discomfort. Herbal concoction made of Glycyrrhiza/liquorice root and Saussureae radix is applied to rid them.
The earliest mentions of harmful entities living in human body can be traced back to Táng Dynasty China via the Daoist text "Daijō-sanshi-chūkei" [太上三尸中経] which describes about three entities called Sanshi [三尸] (above) which inhabits in people's brain, abdomen, and legs. Jōshi [上尸] is a blue or black colored entity that lives inside people brain that causes headaches and any other illness below the person's neck as well as making people become stingy. Chūshi [中尸] is a white, blue, or yellow colored entity residing in people's abdomen. This parasite causes disease in various internal organs and gluttony. Finally, Geshi [下尸] is a white or black colored entity that lives in people's legs and causes various illnesses below the person's waist as well as making people lustful. However, these attributes are nowhere close to what Sanshi are truly capable of.
In the ancient Chinese calendar system, the day of Kano-esaru [庚申] comes once every 60 days and if a person sleeps that night, Sanshi would emerge from the person's body to ascend to heaven. This is so that they may report all the bad doings of the person who they inhabited to Tian-di/Tentei [天帝] or the "Heavenly Emperor" and as punishment, the Emperor would shorten the person's life accordingly. The only way to prevent this from happening is, obviously, not falling asleep at the night of Kano-esaru. Hence, an event called Shukōshin'e [守庚申会] was held in order to stay awake. This event later came to be known as Kōshin-machi [庚申待ち] when it was introduced to Japan during the Heian Period where nobles held feasts and worshipping Tentei, Shōmen-kongō [青面金剛], and/or Sarutabiko-no-kami [猿田毘古神] at night near Kōshin-tō [庚申塔] stone idol (like the one above from Tsukudo-hachiman Shrine [筑土八幡神社] in Tsukudo-hachiman Town [筑土八幡町], Shinjuku Ward [新宿区], Tōkyō). By Edo Period, Kōshin-machi gained popularity amongst Commers throughout Japan as well.³
Ritualistic Removal Methods:
Other then the herbal medicines mentioned before, there are different folk practices to remove Hara-no-mushi. Mushikirigama [虫切鎌] (above left) for example, are old, rusty sickles that's stored in a stone jar hidden under a rock within Ōjōzan Shrine [王城山神社] (Naganohara Town [長野原町], Agatsuma Dist. [吾妻郡], Gunma Prefecture) (above right). The sickles are used to destroy Kan-no-mushi (e.g.: a class of Hara-no-mushi which effects infants specifically by making them throw tantrums and other complications⁴) where a parent would trace a "x" symbol on the child's chest. However, the parent who used one Mushikirigama ought to place two sickle blades inside the stone jar the next year as a sign of gratitude; a rite called Imikama-shinji [忌鎌神事].⁵ There are also specialized talisman for preventing Hara-no-mushi from invading your body. Like this talisman seen below issued from Honkō Temple [本光寺] in Ichikawa City [市川市] (Chiba Prefecture) is used for casting Kan-no-mushi out of hundred days to seven years old infants. To activate this talisman, the parent would install it on bedroom's wall by striking a needle through the center of overlapping circular pattern with the writings either facing South, Southeast, or East.⁶
This post was inspired by Sam Kalensky's artworks on Hara-no-mushi like the ones included at the very beginning and below. Sam's quirky, yet adorable character design of them made me immediately fall in love with their work and I implore everyone to go check out their other works on Twitter!
1. Via Kyūshū National Museum [九州国立博物館] online repository
3. "Kōshin-shinkō" [庚申信仰] (1956) by Noritada Kubo [窪 徳忠] (1913-2010)
5. Via Asama-Agatsuma Ecotourism Association [浅間 吾妻エコツーリズム協会] website
6. Via Honkō Temple website
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