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Cowry shells in Japan are found in coastal area from Ryūkyū islands to the south half of Honshū. 2 kinds of cowries were known in documents of the 10th century respectively; "Purple cowry" was regarded as medicine, so called "shells of horse genitals" were used more generally. The latter’s name was replaced by "shells of easy delivery" in the 17th century and then cowry became a kind of lucky charm of baby care. YANAGITA Kunio, a famous folklorist, considered that the folkways of cowries for easy delivery were originated in Ryūkyū islands in ancient time and spread to the north by people who carried cowries. In this paper I made clear what is "purple cowry" and "shells of horse genitals" in taxonomic classification by observation of the cowries of the ８th to 11th century. I concluded that "purple cowry" was imported from south China, and "shells of horse genitals" were from Honshū. In the Ryūkyū islands, archaeological remains and folkways of cowries similar to those of Honshū are rarely found, so the relation between two areas cannot date back far. |
