Month: October 2018

Mononoke, Yokai

Kurote (くろて)

You have no idea how much I hate going to the toilet, especially at night. It’s not the dark, but what’s in the dark that worries me most. Though modern Japanese toilets are bright and clean, yokai or yurei can still reside in these lavatories. Today’s yokai is one that will caress and grope you just as you are doing your private business.

Unlike the more popular urban legend Hanakosan and Ako Manto, this toilet yokai, Kurote, is pretty rare to meet. Kurote is a hand-shaped yokai that is, usually, described as black and hairy. It, patiently, hides in toilet holes waiting for its victim, male or female. Some victims have described it as slimy, or even oily, to the touch.

A tale by the matron of a minshuku (民宿) of a small village, describes a young noble lady who visited her lover’s and stayed overnight. As it was a moonless night, she was warned against using the communal lavatory under any circumstances. But when night came, the young lady felt the pinch and had to, desperately, use the toilet.

As she was relieving herself, she felt a touch on her butt check. The lady peeped in the hole but did not see anything. Even though she was scared, the noble continued her business. Not long after, she had her butt slapped. Startled, she jump up and saw a black hand, Kurote, crawling around and hissing at her, like a spider. Even though it is just a hand, it is able to scurry around really fast and hide in the darkest corner. She ran out of the toilet soiling herself all the way to her bedroom.

Such stories of toilet harassment, is not uncommon in the rural areas of Japan. So if you do have to use the toilet in the middle of the night, take extra precaution. You never know where and when you’ll be touched by Kurote… unless you want to be.

Yokai Details

InstagramIcon
  • name: kurote (koo-roh-teh)
  • kanji: 黒手 (くろて)
  • meaning: black hand
  • abilities:
    1. morph — change its shape into any form
    2. hyper agility — able to move and jump with little difficulty
Oni, Yokai

Kijimuna

I remembered, during my holiday in Okinawa,  having dinner one night and was served steamed sea bass with rice. Just as the waiter was leaving, I asked why is the fish’ left eyeball was missing. He replied that all the fish caught today was like that. The waiter added that Kijimuna might has taken the eyes because they are his favourite part of the fish.

In Okinawa, Kijimuna is a native yokai celebrity. The locals see them as tree spirits who like to cause mischief. These red-haired small tricksters, unlike most yokai, have both male and female genders. They are able to mate, bear young and care for their forebears. Kijimuna live, as a family unit, in banyan trees all across the islands, locally known as Gajumaru (ガジュマル).

Tales and myths of Kijimuna has been passed down through the generations for hundreds of years. They are described as child-like in appearance and behaviour. Kijimuna play mischievous pranks on villagers such as holding a sleeping man down and stealing light from your rooms at night.

Where To Find Them

If not in the Gajumaru trees, Kijimuna is seen wandering along beaches and riverbanks, sometimes accompanied by the ghostly wisps, Onibi (鬼火). The yokai, Kijimuna, are skilled fishermen who loves to eat fish and shellfish, especially fish eyeballs, but despise octopuses and chickens. There are many tales of the red-haired trickster helping humans to fish and to get rich. But eventually, the humans forget the yokai’s kindness and are punished for their misgivings.

Nonetheless, if you do visit Okinawa, and come across banyan grove, especially old ones, avoid it when possible. If unable to, be respectful of the natural area, and walk through it quickly. But most importantly, no farting. Kijimuna really, really hates farts and will throw you off a mountain, into the sea, or both, if you ever do so.

InstagramIcon

Yokai Details

  • name: kijimuna (key-jee-moo-nah)
  • kanji: キジムナー (きじもなあ)
  • meaning: named after a old village in Okinawa
  • abilities:
    1. camouflage — hide & disappear into the trees
    2. marine magnetism — ability to attract any fish
    3. light deprivation — absorb & take light away from any source
    4. mass alteration — able to increase weight & mass
Onryō, Yokai

Kyokotsu

One summer night, during a school club trip, I was challenged to Kimodameshi (肝試し), a  test of courage and manhood. My scary task was to take the deserted forest path that leads to an abandoned well. As I fearfully walked into the forest, I heard low moans coming from the direction of the well.  The wails grew louder the closer I get. Eventually, I chickened out and ran all the way back before I even see the well, or yurei.

In feudal times, wells, especially abandoned ones, have always been a convenient place to discard the remains of murdered victims. Wells have also been used as a site to commit suicide, by jumping from height or drowning. The unnatural deaths and lack of proper burials create a powerful hostile energy that eventually becomes the vengeful revenant called kyokotsu .

These haunting yurei  frequents the wells nightly, moaning and lamenting about their rotten lives or wretched deaths. On a full moon, Kyokotsu will be infused with enough spectral energy to go beyond the bounds of the well and haunt nearby regions. There are even stories whereby the living is pulled into the shadowy abyss, on a moonless night.

Description

In Toriyama Sekien‘s book Konjyaku Hyaku Kishui, kyokotsu is illustrated, as a bleached skull with long wavy hair and dressed in its burial kimono. The yurei floats over an abandoned well, seething with rage and vengeance. The supernatural link between wells and the dead is well known in Japanese lore and has been retold many times, throughout the generations. An example of the unearthly connections are depicted in “Ring” (リング) where the yurei Sadako is birthed from an abandoned well underneath a forest cabin.

Many ancient Japanese traditions say that old wells, especially abandoned ones, lead to the other side. The very gateway to the underworld is at the bottom of the decrepit well. So the next time you happened upon an abandoned well, avoid it all together. You may never know who or what you will drag you into the dark abyss.

InstagramIcon

Yokai Details

  • name: kyokotsu (key-yoh-oo-koh-tsoo)
  • kanji: 狂骨 (きょうこつ)
  • meaning: crazy bones
  • abilities:
    1. phasing — able to turn intangible and move through solid objects
    2. levitation — possess the ability to hover