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座敷わらし (ざしきわらし) Japanese meaning | Kotomora
Meanings 1
noun
zashiki-warashi ; protective household spirit
A yōkai from the Tōhoku region, typically appearing as a red-faced child with bobbed hair. Believed to bring good fortune to the house it inhabits; its departure is said to herald decline.
祖そ
母ぼ
は
子こ
供ども
の
頃ころ
、
座ざ
敷しき
わ
らし
を
見み
た
こと
が
ある
と
話はな
し
て
くれ
た
。
My grandmother told me that she once saw a zashiki-warashi when she was a child.
Written forms 座ざ 敷しき わらし
Most common modern spelling, using hiragana for わらし.
座敷童子ざしきわらし
Full kanji spelling; more formal or literary.
座敷童ざしきわらし
Abbreviated kanji spelling; less common.
Kanji 子 child, sign of the rat, 11PM-1AM Similar words 妖よう 怪かい General term for supernatural creatures in Japanese folklore; 座敷わらし is a specific type of 妖怪.
家いえ 神がみ A household deity or protective spirit; 座敷わらし is sometimes considered a kind of 家神, but is more specifically a childlike yōkai.
Etymology From 座敷 (zashiki, 'tatami room') + わらし (warashi, dialectal word for 'child'). The exact origin of the legend is uncertain, but it is deeply rooted in Tōhoku folk beliefs.
