The following is deeper speculation on the meaning of the tattoo design, "Holly and Snake" as in the Northeastern Japanese folktale "The Tattoo Master."
Based on new research, a further change in the story was confirmed.
"The Tattoo Master (2)"
The girl who lost her lover goes to the mountain to confide in the Master about the pains of her heart.
Upon hearing the girl's story, the Master engraves a tattoo on the girl.
After that day, the girl dreams of the man.
But then she falls in love with someone else. The tattooed dream soon becomes a nightmare and the tattoo aches severely.
The suffering girl goes to visit the Master again to see if she cannot remove the tattoos.
The Master washes off the tattoos with water that gushes forth from a mountain spring. As she does this, the snake swims into the water and disappears deep into the spring.
The meaning of the tattoo is essentially the same here, but the end of the story is very different: neither the girl who has her tattoo washed off, nor the Master, dies.
Here the mountain and water spirit properties of the "snake" are clearly expressed and it is likely a popularized version of the story that incorporates a happy ending.
This is a very interesting legend in which all the properties of the "snake" appear -- including the "mountain and water spirit, envy and pathos."
Master and Snake
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Master and Snake | |
| |
| Kanji | 文身行者と蛇の刺青 いれずみ ぎょうじゃ と へび の いれずみ |
| Game | Fatal Frame III: The Tormented |
| Author | Unknown |
| Chapter | Hour XII: The Ceremony of Commandment |
| Located at | Rei Kurosawa's House, Attic |
| Obtained | In the boxes to the right. |
| Description | A folklore book found in Yuu's old bag. It contains the meaning of the holly and snake tattoo. |
| Additional Description | This chest is full of old books. They look like Yuu's old books of folklore. In among them, I have found one containing a folk legend about the tattoo. |
| Related Notes | Tattoo Folklore |
北東北に伝はる民話、「文身行者」に就い
て、この文身（刺青）の紋様「柊と蛇」に
込められてゐる意味をさらに考察してみる。
新たな蒐集により、この話には以下のやう
な別の変容をした例を確認してゐる。
「文身行者（三）」
自らの想ひ人を亡くした娘が、山の行者に
その心の痛みを打ち明ける。
話を聞いた行者は娘に文身を刻む。その日
以来、娘は男の寝目（夢）を見る。しかし
娘は新たな恋に落ちる。すると文身の寝目
は忌目（悪夢）と変はり、文身は毎朝毎夜
激しく痛む。
娘は忌目となった文身を落とせぬものかと、
再び行者の元へ行く。
行者は山に湧く泉の水で文身を洗ひ落とす。
そうすると、文身の蛇は水を泳ぎ、泉の奥
へ消へて行く。
文身の意味としてはほぼ同じものであると
考へられるが、この話では最後が大きく違
ひ、文身は洗ひ落とされて娘や行者は死ぬ
ことは無い。
これは「蛇」の持つ山神、水神としての性
質が大きく出たものであり、また、より民
衆化されて幸福な終局が作り出されたもの
ではないかと思はれる。
「蛇」の性質である「山神、水神、嫉妬、
情念」などが全て表れてゐる興味深い伝承
であると云へる。