Who, what, where, and especially why yamabiko? 🎎
The inspiration for the name of the blog comes from Japanese folklore. The term yamabiko (山彦) is a mountain god, spirit, and yōkai that is thought to be relatively harmless, rather it is mischievous or misleading. Direct translation from Japanese to English results in the term echo, but the kanji translation is closer to spirit of the valley reverberation. In Tottori Prefecture, a yobuko (呼子) or a yobukodori (呼子鳥) that lives in the mountain is thought to let out the yamabiko’s voice. It is usually depicted with gray fur, peach-colored belly, floppy ears, a large grin, and arms outstretched as though it is caught mid-shrug.
Yamabiko may also refer to the resonant echo commonly heard in vast mountains and canyons is thought to be the spirit answering. More specifically, when your echo comes back sounding different than the original voice, it is thought to be the yamabiko answering. Spooky! 👻 In the context of the haunting edcho, it is represented in writing as 幽谷響.
I settled upon this name because the term echo felt like a good fit, as this blog is not supposed to be ground-breaking, enlightening, or all-encompassing. Rather, it serves as a sort of open journal for thoughts, progressions, and lessons learned throughout my web design and development expeditions.
Learn more about the yamabiko. Thanks for reading!
fin ᓚᘏᗢ