Last I travelled around Kagoshima (鹿児島市), an gentle old lady shared a tale of how a young man who lost his soul. Apparently, a salaryman got his first pay and partied all night. As he was wandering home alone, drunk and all, he was met with a demon pig near Nagata River. Suddenly, the black fiend charged towards the salaryman. As it ran through his legs, the young man’s soul was taken. That’s how the story goes.
Katakirauwa is a dangerous and malicious yokai that can drain a person’s life force and, even, his soul. It takes the form of a single-eyed and one-eared adult swine but the yokai is sometimes in a young piglet form. Katakirauwa has been seen with different coat colours where the most common is described as dark black as the moonless night. Often a strong coal tar smell accompanies the pig yokai.
The demonic swine is very aggressive towards humans, especially individuals who is caught all alone. It attacks by charging towards your legs. If you instinctively widen your legs and let katakirauwa run between them, then you soul will be instantly drain via your genitals.
Katakirauwa has been observed day and night, through all the seasons and both in the country side and city. If, by happenstance, you see a pig in the middle of a path and you cannot discern its features, one tell-tale sign is that the yokai does not cast any shadow on the ground. My best recommendation is to cross your leg, run away from the katakirauwa and cover your private parts.
Yokai Details
- name: katakirauwa (kah-tah-kee-rah-oo-wah)
- kanji: 片耳豚 (かたきらうわ)
- meaning: one-eared pig
- abilities:
- life drain — ability to absorb a human soul within range
- hyper speed — able to move at very high speed
- hyper senses — possess acute sense of smell and hearing
