일본 마낭혼인담(馬娘婚姻譚)의 양상 및 특징

Abstract

Japanese marriage tales about the horse and girl can be classified roughly into two stages: the first is the establishment stage of a heterogeneous marriage between different species such as a marriage between a horse and human: the second is the non-establishment stage, where they cannot have a marital relationship. This study discovered that marriage tales about the horse and girl are not always premised on their marital relationship. Instead, regardless of whether a heterogeneous marriage occurs, the common narrative structure of marriage tales about the horse and girl is based on the story of the birth of silkworm on the ground after the horsehide like horse-skin takes the girl and ascends to heaven. This ascendance represents the beginning of sericulture and the origin of the horse-attended goddess of sericulture. The girl and horse having a marital relationship forms the outstanding characteristic of marriage tales about the horse and girl. Although the marital relationship is not established, the examples where the girl criticized or reprimanded the horse as animal were almost non-existent. In comparison, the attitude of the girl who appears in Love of the Horse is criticized the girl is taken in marriage but fights back by kicking the horse. This shows the difference of viewpoint on the heterogeneous marriage that constitutes a marital relationship between the girl and horse as different species eveloped by further generously transforming in Japan.