Tradition: Japanese Mythology
Alternative Names: イセポテレケ, Isepo Tereke, Leaping Rabbit
Category: Rabbit
The Myth
Isepo Tereke is a belief in Ainu tradition connecting rabbits with waves and the dangers of the sea. The name combines isepo, meaning “rabbit,” and tereke, meaning “to jump.” White waves breaking across the sea were described as rabbits leaping. Because speaking the word for rabbit while at sea was believed to bring rough waves and storms, people avoided saying it offshore. Instead, they sometimes used the expression kai kuma, meaning “broken stick,” as a substitute.
In the Horobetsu region, the image of rabbits leaping along the shore also appeared in a traditional lullaby used to soothe babies. Caregivers showed infants the waves breaking against the beach and sang, “Ota ka ta isepo pon tereke,” meaning “A little rabbit jumps on the seashore.”
A local legend tells of a large Ainu settlement at Tonkeshi, near Horobetsu, which was governed by six chiefs. One day, a man named Tonuuwoushi from Hidaka saw a rabbit standing on a hill near the settlement. The animal stretched its forelegs toward the sea as though beckoning something from offshore. Suspecting that a tsunami was approaching, Tonuuwoushi shouted a warning and urged the inhabitants to flee. The chiefs ignored him, and the settlement was soon overwhelmed by the waves.
Another tradition from the Shiraoi region describes the kamuy, or divine spirit, of an old rabbit driving a plague spirit resembling dense fog back out to sea. This tale is also known as Isepo Tereke, further associating the rabbit with the sea and its potentially destructive forces.
Sources
“Isepotereke.” 新版TYZ 妖怪図鑑 (New TYZ Yokai Encyclopedia). https://tyz-yokai.blog.jp/archives/1081441215.html