The photographer described this photo as "Tengu."
According to Wikipedia,
"Tengu (天狗?, "heavenly dogs") are a class of supernatural creatures found in Japanese folklore, art, theater, and literature."
"They are one of the best known yōkai (monster-spirits) and are sometimes worshipped as Shinto kami (revered spirits or gods)."
"Although they take their name from a dog-like Chinese demon (Tiangou), the tengu were originally thought to take the forms of birds of prey, and they are traditionally depicted with both human and avian characteristics."
"They appear in the children's story 'Banner in the sky' when the main character trips over one and falls off the face of the mountain."
"The earliest tengu were pictured with beaks, but this feature has often been humanized as an unnaturally long nose, which today is practically the tengu's defining characteristic in the popular imagination."
"Buddhism long held that the tengu were disruptive demons and harbingers of war. Their image gradually softened, however, into one of protective, if still dangerous, spirits of the mountains and forests."
"Tengu are associated with the ascetic practice known as Shugendō, and they are usually depicted in the distinctive garb of its followers, the yamabushi."
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tengu
This photo is from an album Elstner Hilton compiled in Japan between 1914 and 1918. Elstner was my spouse's uncle.
While Uncle Elstner was pretty good about annotating the photos that required an explanation of some sort, he did not date the pictures. So all we know is they were taken between January, 1914 and December, 1918.
日本語: 神輿を先導する猿田彦(鼻高)、大正時代。神社の祭礼で神輿が氏子町を渡御する時、猿田彦(または鼻高とも)が神輿を先導する。その姿は狩衣に指貫袴(または大口袴)、雅楽で用いる鳥兜を頭にかぶり、手には鉾を持ち、足には一本歯の下駄を履く。顔には赤面で鼻の高い人物の面を付けるが、天狗ではない。この姿で渡御する神輿の前を歩む。どこの神社の祭礼かは不明。 |