In the engi associated with Morin-ji temple the kettle called Bunbuku Chagama is tied to a priest named Shukaku (守鶴) who local legend says was an ancient mujina (a raccoon dog). The origin framing places a chagama used in the temple hearth at the center of the story: when set on the fire the vessel reveals its animate nature. Scholarly treatments also present a fairy-tale version in which a rescued animal (tanuki or in some variants a fox) becomes the kettle and later is exhibited by a peddler as an attraction, bringing wealth to its human rescuer before the tale concludes (some variants end with the animal returning to the wild). The compound name bunbuku/chagama carries layered readings—onomatopoeic, references to fortune (分福 “sharing fortune”), or alternative character glosses—reflected in different commentaries on the tale.
In tale summaries the Bunbuku chagama alternates between an ordinary tea-kettle (chagama) and a hybrid form in which the kettle 'sprouts' animal features such as a head, tail, or legs; older English renderings sometimes call the animal a 'badger' while Japanese sources identify it as a tanuki (raccoon dog), and some variants substitute a fox. The narrative image is therefore of a domestic metal kettle that can move and, at times, visibly combine object and animal anatomy. Local legend claims a kettle associated with the tale is on view at Morin-ji temple.
The central supernatural ability is shapeshifting between inanimate kettle form and an animate animal or hybrid half-kettle/half-animal. In the story the creature performs acrobatics—notably walking a tightrope and dancing to music—to entertain and draw paying viewers. Its agency functions socially: through performance it enables a human (a peddler or rescuer) to profit, and the tale highlights negotiated terms of treatment (the human agrees not to put it over a hot flame, not to stow it in a stuffy box, and to share food). Some folktale variants record that after being sold or exhibited the creature ultimately flees to the mountains.
Weaknesses
- conditionhumane-treatment bargain (do not place over a hot flame; do not stow in a stuffy box; share food)
Wards
None recorded.
Tanuki
The raccoon-dog spirit of Japanese folklore — a cheerful trickster and master of shape-shifting, less dangerous than the kitsune but far more mischievous. Famous for leaves transformed into money.
Kitsune
Fox spirits of Japanese mythology — intelligent, long-lived beings who gain additional tails (up to nine) as they age and grow in power. They serve as messengers of the god Inari and as powerful tricksters.
Mujina (貉)
A Japanese folkloric shapeshifting creature associated with badger-like and tanuki-like animals; classed among yōkai, mujina perform transformations, illusions, and pranks, and in some tales repay kindness or enact retribution when harmed.
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Bull Demon King
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Bull of Heaven
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Bullaun
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Bulleteer
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Bulletman and Bulletgirl
Golden Age American comic-book heroes created for Fawcett Comics: Jim Barr (Bulletman), a ballistics expert/inventor who developed a chemical "crime cure" and a bullet-shaped Gravity Regulator Helmet, and Susan Kent (Bulletgirl), who received a second helmet and the same enhancements. Human inventors/experimenters rather than supernatural beings, they act as engineered, helmet-enabled crimefighters in wartime-era and later shared-universe stories.
Bune
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Bunene
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Bungisngis
The Bungisngis is a one-eyed giant from Philippine folklore, described as humanoid, always laughing, and possessing great strength but easily outwitted. Tales place it in specific Philippine localities and often portray it as a comic yet dangerous antagonist defeated by clever protagonists.
Bunny Man
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Community Record
- [1]Bunbuku Chagama (Wikipedia). Wikipedia contributors, 'Bunbuku Chagama,' Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia.wiki
- [2]Wikidata: Bunbuku Chagama. Wikidata entry Q1367705, 'Bunbuku Chagama.'other
- [3]Bunbuku Chagama (1958) stop-motion film (Archive). Tadahito Mochinaga, Bunbuku Chagama (1958) — archive.org item.other
- [4]Bunbuku Chagama by Brenda Wong Aoki (Archive recording). Brenda Wong Aoki, storytelling performance 'Bunbuku Chagama' — archive.org item.other