Do toads croak to become medicine? – part.1

「さぁさぁ さてもお立ち会い 御用とお急ぎでなかりしば ごゆるりと聞かれたし・・」
「一枚が二枚、二枚が四枚、四枚が八枚・・これこのとおり」

「Now, now, now, my dear, if you are not in a hurry, please, just listen at your leisure…」
「One piece becomes two pieces, two pieces become four pieces, four pieces become eight pieces… this way…」

Is this translation correct…? (^_^;)

It is an advertising call used for a certain business.
Today, however, this business no longer exists and the event has become a tourist event.
If you want to see this event now, you may be able to see it at Mount Tsukuba in Ibaraki…

This trade was practised in the Edo period, more than 150 years ago. It was called「蝦蟇の油売り / Gama-no-Abura-uri / Toad-oil peddling」and involved the sale of ointments on the street.

It was more of a ‘hustler’ business than an ‘official occupation’, but there was a demand for it, so I was able to make a living.

 

The “Toad-oil peddling” at the tourism event is dressed in a kimono and hakama.
They use Japanese swords with the call「One piece becomes two pieces…」(currently imitation swords (^_^;).

This is a remnant of the fact that some of the “Toad-oil peddling” of that period was carried out by samurai who had lost their jobs.

You may be surprised to hear that a samurai is in the ‘hustler business’.

However, “samurai” is only a “status”, not an “occupation”, so if you lose your lord, you are completely unemployed. A samurai without a lord to serve is called a ‘ronin’…

 

ーーー
This is getting a bit sad, so let’s change direction.
Yes, I’m talking about the ‘Toad-oil’ they sell.
“What is Toad-oil? It’s an ointment, but is it really medicinal?

To put the results first, the ‘Toad-oil’ currently sold in Tsukuba will have medicinal properties. Toad-oil’ is the name of the product, but the contents are ordinary medicinal cream…

We do not know what was sold in the Edo period, but it may have had some effect. The ingredients are unknown, but it is certain that it was not ‘Toad-oil’. So why did they call it ‘Toad-oil’?

 

The reason for this is given following the opening statement,「One piece becomes…」

According to the story, when the “forty-six Toad” that live on Mount Tsukuba are locked in a mirrored box, the Toad break out in a cold sweat when they see the ugliness of their own appearance.

They say that if you collect the sweat and boil it down for a long time, you can make a special cream that quickly heals any wound.

from「鳥獣戯画」

What a strange… and rather quizzical story. A toad would not recognise itself as ugly when it sees itself, and frogs don’t sweat to begin with…

And “forty-six Toad” refers to Toad with four front toes and six back toes, although Japanese Toad usually have four and six toes and are not unique to Mt Tsukuba.

 

How did these stories come about?
In our next issue, we would like to introduce the folklore from which these originated…

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