Ameonna

Key facts and history

In that poem, King Huai of Chu dreamed of a woman from Wu Shan who said she would be clouds in the morning and rain in the evening.^[1] The phrase "morning cloud evening rain" is a Chinese proverb referring to secret relations between a man and woman.^[1] Sekien's text suggests the ameonna is probably like one of these goddesses.^[1] However, the original Chinese story contains no rain-related yōkai, leading to suggestions that Sekien invented the ameonna to satirize the Edo Period Yoshiwara Yūkaku.^[1]

Another idea proposes that women whose children were spirited away on a rainy day become ameonna.^[3] These ameonna are said to appear before crying children carrying a large sack.^[3] In Shimoina District, Nagano Prefecture, a similar figure called "Ameonba" is said to appear on rainy nights.^[4] The Ameonba is variously described as a yōkai that kidnaps children or a fallen god that visits on rainy days.^[4]

What the cited sources add

It also cites a 1996 source describing the ameonna as both a bothersome rain-caller and a holy rain god.^[2] A 2007 source by 山口敏太郎 proposes that women whose infants are taken by kamikakushi on rainy days become ameonna, who then appear before crying children carrying a large sack.^[3] Evidence from 2006 (日野巌・日野綏彦) and 1991 (千葉幹夫) describes the "Ameonba" tradition in Shimoina District, Nagano Prefecture, as a woman who appears on rainy nights and is thought to be either a child-kidnapping yōkai or a fallen rain god.^[4]