Ubasute no tsuki (The Moon of Ubasute), by (The Moon of Ubasute), by Yoshitoshi

Ubasute (姥捨て, "abandoning an old woman", also called obasute and sometimes oyasute 親捨て "abandoning a parent") is the mythical practice of senicide in Japan, whereby an infirm or elderly relative was carried to a mountain, or some other remote, desolate place, and left there to die.[1] According to the Kodansha Illustrated Encyclopedia of Japan, ubasute "is the subject of legend, but [...] does not seem ever to have been a common custom".[2]

Folklore [ edit ]

Ubasute has left its mark on Japanese folklore, where it forms the basis of many legends, poems, and koans. In one Buddhist allegory, a son carries his mother up a mountain on his back. During the journey, she stretches out her arms, catching the twigs and scattering them in their wake, so that her son will be able to find the way home.

A poem commemorates the story:

In the depths of the mountains,

Whom was it for the aged mother snapped

One twig after another?

Heedless of herself

She did so

For the sake of her son

In popular culture [ edit ]

Places [ edit ]

Ubasute Mountain

Ubasute Mountain

Similar practice in other cultures [ edit ]

References [ edit ]

Further reading [ edit ]

Japan, An Illustrated Encyclopedia, Kodansha Ltd., Tokyo, 1993, p. 1121

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