This papier-mâché puppet (a) buyare ushi-oni (demon cow) is a miniature version of a parade float-sized buyare used in the Warejinja Shrine festival in Uwajima. The ushi-oni has a red, hollow papier-mache body shaped like half of a pear laid flat. A splatter of gold paint is on the its back, and a white polygon strip of wood with a red stripe on either side is inserted into the back as a tail. The neck is made of red fabric, while the head is papier-mache, painted black with green on the ears and face, gold and red accents and rings of white on the horns. The inside of the open mouth is painted red with gold teeth. A small stick inserted through the neck to the head can be used to move the head around. The puppet comes with its original cardboard box (b) and lid (c).
An ushi-oni (sometimes called a gyuki) is a creature from Japanese folklore with different incarnations but consistently having a bovine head. The buyare ushi-oni is specific to the Warejinja Shrine festival in Uwajima, on Shikoku Island. A larger-scale cow covering is used in the festival dance, in which dancers visit and bless neighborhood houses and receive money and sake in return. The buyare has a sword for a tail and is said to protect the town and drive away evil spirits.
