commentary: 泥鰌と田螺 (dojo to tanishi)

Hiroi Michiaki: This is… a pond snail and a loach.

Mrs. Hiroi:   Mm. Pond snails are in paddy fields.

HM:   It was a pond snail and a loach, or I have a feeling it might have been a horned turban snail and a loach…

MH:  It’s a pond snail and a loach.

HM:   And, um, this is the shell of the pond snail in the paddy and then the loach. You put those together and it [becomes] a top, and this… it’s a charm for protection against fire– these creatures live in the water, so [it makes it so] fires won’t happen. [This] top is that kind of charm.

***

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