Japanese-style design

Forests continue to grow, no matter how far one goes. What kind of name did people in the past give to such a thickly vegetated area?

There is a place called "Odorobayashi" in Funabashi City.

festival music (may be sung from a festival float)

The Chinese character is "Gyoshirin".

Odorobayashi

The endless forests "amazed" the people, which is why it was written "gyodo-bayashi" (meaning "a forest that goes on and on") and read "odorobayashi" (meaning "a forest of drowsiness").

However, this could not be read by everyone. Therefore, in 1965, the name of the area was changed to "Suzumi-cho," after Suzumi Shrine, the town's Shinto shrine.

Now the name of the place remains at the bus stop named "Gyoshirin Iriguchi".

Suzumi-cho is also home to the Odorobayashi Seseragi Forest.

Surprised" today means to be surprised, but originally it meant to become aware of something.

The following famous poem is found in the Kokin Wakashu (Anthology of Ancient and Modern Japanese Poetry).

Autumn has come, though it does not seem so bright to my eyes, I am startled by the sound of the wind.

I was reminded by the sound of the wind that autumn has arrived, even though it is not clearly visible to the eye.

Odorokare-nuru" uses the old spontaneous and perfect auxiliary verbs, emphasizing the feeling of "unintentionally."

On the other hand, the "surprised" theory of the origin of the name of Odorobayashi has also been questioned.

The Funabashi Digital Museum website states the following: https://adeac.jp/funabashi-digital-museum/text-list/d100050/ht400350

The etymology of the word "yo-yo-rin" is said to come from the fact that people were surprised to see a continuous forest, no matter where they went, but this is a corruption of the sound and character.

For the actual etymological theory,

Odoro means a thick forest,

A forest with thorns and other thick vegetation,

The name is a corruption of Todoroki forest, meaning a forest with a waterfall or a place where water flows or springs vigorously nearby,

Of these, theory (1) seems somewhat more plausible.

From "Funabashi City Digital Museum: Exploring the Origin of Funabashi's Place Names

The prevailing theory is that the dense forest looks frightening.

There is also the adjective "frightening," but now the expression "horrifying" is heard more often.

It refers to a situation that looks eerie or frightening.

This old house is like a haunted house, it's really quite frightening." "This old house is like a haunted house.

By the way, there is a term for hair that is "sloppy. This refers to unkempt, disheveled hair.

In this sense, "gyoyo-rin", which once allowed plants and trees to grow, can truly be called "odorobayashi".