Sunday, April 14, 2013

”Owl: fukuro" symbol of Good Fortune

(posted; Etymology page) 
As I see several beautiful pictures of real owls in my friends posts sometime, I've been thinking to write about them. In Japan or rather many places in the world, they are thought to be the symbol of Good Fortune in various reason (surprised after learning from PC, haha).  Ours is mainly from the way it's called, which connected with luck.
        fukuro (Roman character):  ふくろう(hiragana): フクロウ(katakana)
     
Normaly, it's written in "hiragama" or "katakana".  But by using Kanji Characters, it can be written in two different ways. And as each Kanji has its meaning in itself, they can be construed differently. I don't know how I should take the idea.  onomatopoeia, a bit stretch or far-fetched. Whatever the origin of it being a fortunate animal, this lovely creature has sweet name♬♬♬  
           *不苦労 not having hardship (or trouble)
           *福来朗… fortune will come

Many types of jewels and ornaments are available from this nocturnal animal wishing Good Fortune to come♡♡♡




This lady living in Hiroshima-pref. found a baby owl left alone in the mountain some 20 years ago and returned it to the nature after bringing it up at certain stage. According to the article, after that year she became a foster mother for another more than 50 babies as owls leaving her babies in her attic. And she thinks that mother owls sense her loneliness and giving her the sweet time.





I wish your coming new week will be a splendid one. 
Linking this post to "Our World Tuesday" next week.





19 comments:

  1. Hello Miyako, what a sweet post. I love seeing owls in the wild. I enjoyed the story about the lady with the owls in her attic and that the owl is a sign of Good Fortune. For me, seeing an owl is awesome. Thanks for sharing, have a happy day and week ahead. Eileen

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  2. Hello, Miyako! I love owls! Cute post, and I hope these lovely images you shared bring all of us luck, (((hugs))) xo

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  3. I never knew that the owl was a symbol of good luck but I do think they are wonderful and wish that some would find a home near me. The owl pendant in the top right photo looks very much like one that I had years ago. Have a wonderful day. Much love from your bs

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  4. my mother-in-law used to collect owls. she had spent 10 years in Southeast Asia so perhaps she picked them up as good fortune there. :)

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  5. Fukuro are very cute! To be honest, I did not know these kanji characters for them ^^;;;
    The story of a lady in Hiroshima-ken is very sweet. She must felt so fortunate to spend time with owl babies :-)

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  6. Dearest Miyako,
    Interesting, in The Netherlands we see the owl as a symbol of wisdom. I do have a silver owl charm on my charm bracelet...
    I had to laugh seeing that baby owl being fed with chop sticks! Looked like chicken meat... So interesting to see the interaction of nature and humans; special friendships. Bet she cried when she turned it loose...
    Hugs to you and thanks for sharing this! Lovely ending of the video with the owl up on a Japanese Acer.
    Mariette

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  7. i didn't know about Owls being symbols of good fortune. i know ,here,we see them as symbols of wisdom....i think that being a symbol of wisdom AND good fortune is even better!!!
    i loved the video. how marvelous it must be to have the ability to be so close to these birds,and to be responsible for helping them.
    xoxo from your california sister!!!!

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  8. I've always loved owls, my dear friend, and the ones you've shared with us here are lovely. We have one that lives in one of our barns. He only comes out at night, and is so large that he has really startled me before! Have a wonderful week~

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  9. Miyako,
    Wow I never thought owls would become pets like that - even eating from chopsticks!

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  10. Dear Miyako,

    I love owls too, they are so sweet.
    Your little owl ornaments are lovely and I enjoyed seeing the cute video of the owl - so clever.

    wishing you a happy new week
    hugs
    Carolyn

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  11. Thank you for posting this lovely video and telling me more about Japanese traditions, I love learning about them! Have a great week, Clare xxx

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  12. Hallo my dear Miyako. What charming pictures of those cute little owls. I had never heard before that they are supposed to bring good luck. I do know that lots of people collect them over here. I do hope that you and hubby are keeping well at the moment. Love and hugs from your friend Diane x

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  13. What adorable owls!

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  14. Owls are very special birds ... probably everywhere. I loved reading about what they mean in your country.


    Thanks for sharing the sweet story about the lady with the owlets.

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  15. ふくろうは大好き!

    楽しいと面白いビデオですね.

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  16. What a lovely post, Miyako. My mother always loved owls - she did many craft poject with owls and, of course, I gave her owl coffee mugs, jewelry, etc...now that she is in a nursing home, they have all come back to me.

    I've been, briefly, in your beautiful country twice. Even went to Tsukiji Fish Market at 4AM - what an experience that was...and, besides visiting beautiful Kyoto, I stayed three days in Akita with forensic colleagues. We got to go to Lake Tazawa and the interesting sumurai houses nearby - and drank wonderful sake. Yours is a beautiful country.

    My World Tuesday is at: http://rnsane.blogspot.com/2013/04/our-world-tuesday-week-87-northern.html

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  17. Hello Miyako!:)Your post is so interesting. I hear owl hoots every night in the forest, but have only seen one once. It was lovely to see the old lady in the vídeo clip feeding the owl with chop sticks, and the children stroking the owl who seemed so tame.I love these beautiful birds, and have a collection of owls in wood, porcelana, and crystal.
    Warm Regards.

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