Tradition: Japanese Mythology
Alternative Names: 銭取り, Korekadori, Konjichō, Golden-Winged Bird
Category: Object
The Myth
Zenitori is a strange bird depicted alongside Hirin in a kawaraban-style printed work from the late Edo period. The illustration satirises social conditions following a great fire, portraying the bird as a composite of objects associated with trades and businesses that profited from disasters. Its comb resembles a cheap tavern in a lower-class neighbourhood, while its eyes are shaped like coins. Its wings resemble bamboo and wooden boards, its chest is a sake barrel, its beak a sake flask, and its feet are hoes. A lantern forms its belly, and its tail resembles a tambourine.
Normally, Zenitori calls out “Himad, Himad,” but when a creature called Kawa, also known as Yake, appears, it clings to its rear and begins shouting “Zenitori, Zenitori.” As it flies, the bird grows golden and silver wings, earning it the alternative name Konjichō, or Golden-Winged Bird. The name Korekadori means “money collector,” reflecting its association with the accumulation of wealth. Its body also incorporates tools used by carpenters and plasterers, including saws, chisels, planes, ink pots, and trowels.
The bird represents the people who profit from the aftermath of disasters. When a fire destroys a town, firefighters become active, displaced residents gather in taverns, and carpenters and plasterers earn money rebuilding houses and streets. Zenitori’s body combines the tools and possessions of these occupations, suggesting that their prosperity depends on destruction and reconstruction. Its golden wings symbolise the great wealth such people can accumulate through calamity. Similar satirical creatures appeared in illustrations responding to other disasters, including Kasachi and Nangichō after the Ansei earthquake, and Tsūshinchōri during cholera outbreaks.
Sources
“Zenitori.” 新版TYZ 妖怪図鑑 (New TYZ Yokai Encyclopedia). https://tyz-yokai.blog.jp/archives/1078433255.html