The background and prototype analysis of the rise of monster hunters.
The holiday title of Snow Ghost is [[ゴシャハギ] (Goshahagi), and its shape seems to be just borrowed from a common ghost in Japanese folklore. At first glance, there is really no clue. But in fact, no matter the name or the shape, it is related to a festival custom handed down from ancient times in Gonglu Peninsula, Akita Prefecture. In this place, every year on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, that is, when we celebrate the Lantern Festival, people will wear blue or red ghost masks and "hair" woven from straw. They will go door to door with a kitchen knife in one hand and a small wooden bucket in the other, and send such a "threat" to the children or the newlyweds-"Are there any crying children?" "Are there any bad children?" "Is there a lazy husband/wife?" The families interviewed should wear traditional formal clothes, prepare food, wine and snacks, and receive them solemnly. This unique custom is called [なまはげ].
So, what does this (なまはげ) mean? If you gather around the fire for a long time in winter, your hands and feet will be burned by low temperature, and a warm erythema will appear on the skin surface, which is called "ナモミミ" in Japanese. On 1 month 15, "ghosts" came to people's homes with kitchen knives in order to "peel off" these red dots representing laziness, thus eliminating the disasters of every household and making people diligent. This is the so-called [ナモミぎ] (Namihagi), which later evolved into today's なま. The origin of the name Snow Ghost has been found in the second half, so what about the "ゴシャ" in the first half? This part is actually not so elegant, but it is also quite interesting. In the dialects of Akita Prefecture and parts of northeastern China, the expression "angry and angry" is [ごしゃぐ]. In the game, Snow Ghost Beast usually looks unhappy, but when it enters an angry state, its face turns red, and it looks like it is going to beat up the hunter, which is quite in tune with this name.
From the modeling point of view, the right claw of Snow Ghost Beast will form an ice blade when it enters the angry state for the first time, but the ice blade of the left claw has not been fully formed, which looks quite similar to the ghost shape in the custom of "なまはげげ". Players holding kitchen knives and small wooden barrels must have found that the shape of the derivative sword of Snow Ghost Beast is an authentic kitchen knife. By the way, this small wooden barrel is not used to put the "peeled" erythema, but to hold the wine prepared by the owner.
Chopper-shaped snow ghost beast hand
In addition, as mentioned earlier, the face of the "ghost" has two colors, red and blue, and the skin of the snow ghost beast shows these two color changes after anger. However, according to custom, the ghost faces of these two colors are not randomly selected. Red represents male ghosts, and blue represents female ghosts. But what does this have to do with us snow ghosts and beasts? I can't say.
Tell me more about this custom. History began to be recorded in writing as early as 1822. At the end of the edo period, a traveler and naturalist named Kanjiang Town wrote a trip to Kanjiang Town, describing this New Year custom in Gonglu Peninsula. 200 years have passed and many changes have taken place. The date was changed from the then lunar calendar 1 month 15 to today's New Year's Eve. After the decline of modern folk customs, they began to flourish in recent years under the influence of the local revitalization trend in Japan. Every New Year's Eve, many people come to Lu Nan Peninsula to experience this unique traditional custom. Now it has become a household name in Japan, even recognized as an intangible cultural heritage by the Japanese government. If you are interested, you might as well find an opportunity to experience the enthusiasm of "ghosts" in the local area.
Finally, I would like to mention the most interesting statement about its origin-the theory of the origin of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty. According to legend, Liu Che, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, personally crossed the sea to Gonglu Peninsula in order to get the Penglai elixir. He turned the five bats that accompanied him into ghosts. This legend has been preserved by the Wushe Hall of Gonglucheng Chishen Temple as a ritual activity of five ghosts. I wonder if it's a coincidence. The pronunciation of this "Five Houses Hall" is "ごしゃどう"(goshadou), and the first half is similar to" ゴシャハギ”(goshahaha