The Story of Tanuki Music

 It feels like the new year has just begun, and already another month has come to an end.
 When you're busy running here and there, time passes before you know it.
 At this time of year, you probably have many opportunities to gather and chat with friends and relatives, such as at New Year's parties.
   When people gathered together, conversation flowed, alcohol flowed at the banquet, and there was much drinking and singing, so it must have been a lot of fun.
   Now, what shall I talk about this time?
   That's right... Speaking of drinking and singing, our comrades love that kind of fun, and many of us will even drum our bellies when we get excited.
   When the sounds of tanuki enjoying themselves at a party can be heard carried on the wind, people call it tanuki bayashi.

   So, this time let me tell you a story about tanuki music.
 Tanukibayashi is a mysterious sound that has been passed down in various ways all over Japan, but people are unable to find its source and so, as its name suggests, it is believed to be the work of tanuki (raccoon dogs).
 Among all the stories about tanuki bayashi, the one that you are probably familiar with is the tanuki bayashi legend handed down at Shojoji Temple.

 Sho Sho Shojoji Temple 
The garden of Shojoji Temple
 It's a moonlit night 
Everybody come out, come out, come out

   Written by children's song writer Noguchi Ujo, the song is based on the legend of the raccoon dog music at Shojoji Temple.
   The song expresses this in a lovely and humorous way, but the original story actually has a slightly sad ending.
 As the lyrics say, the monk and the raccoon dogs have a musical battle.
 The monk is so pleased with the singing and dancing tanuki that he decides to join in by playing the shamisen, but the tanuki begin to compete with the monk's shamisen, beating their bellies even louder.

 Don't give up, don't give up 
Don't lose to the priest 

 Just as the lyrics say, the music battle between the monk and the raccoon dogs continued every night from then on.
 However, the large tanuki, who had been encouraging the other tanuki and drumming his belly to keep them in rhythm, suddenly lost his abdominal skin at dawn on the third day and later died.
... Really... If it's fun, they'll do anything, even risk their lives. Raccoons may be fools, but they're also so innocent and adorable.
...However, if it meets our definition of "interesting," then tanuki are not averse to it!
………………Oops, excuse me……


 The priest felt pity for the big tanuki and held a funeral for it.
   The Tanukizuka (raccoon dog mound) that still stands at Shojoji Temple today was built as a memorial for this giant raccoon dog.
 By the way, it is said that this dead raccoon had a daughter...
 Well, we can talk about that another time.
 　
………Come to think of it, just the other day there was a person lying on the street snoring, probably drunk…
   For those of you who are not raccoons, no matter how much fun the party is, please be mindful not to get too carried away.
 This is a piece of advice from the belly of a raccoon with its stomach ripped open.