Have you been to a traditional ryokan ( 旅館 ) and found that your shoes were replaced by sandals? Or the jumbled ryokan sandals from yesterday are mysteriously organised every morning. Even in the wee hours! You may assume that its the hotel attendants, but its actually a yokai. That is a fact!
Bakezōri is a tsukumogami that evolves from abandoned straw sandals called zori ( 草履 ). As such, they are sandal shaped but stands upright on two legs. Also, they have two hands and one eye. Occasionally, when a bystander sees a bakezōri, it sticks out its tongue to mock and then disappear ot of sight
Elusive creatures
However, it is very difficult to see or catch a bakezōri. They are imbued with the ninja-like stealth. So it is difficult to see one moving around. Nonetheless, bakezōri‘s obsessive compulsive behaviour reveals their presence. They have an uncontrollable urge to organize footwear. Bakezōri arrange them according to type and size. They also pack them neatly away in the shoe closet.
Recently, a new bakezōri trait is discovered. The elusive yokai has a severe foot fetish. Also, they hate socks. In fact, they prefer the skin contact of bare feet. It is said, bakezōri eat socks to exude physical and territorial dominance. So if you have socks with holes in it or even missing socks, beware! You may just have bakezōri living in your house.
Yokai Details
- name: bakezōri (bah-kay-zoh-ree)
- kanji: 化け草履 ( ばけぞうり )
- meaning: transformed straw sandals
- abilities:
- stealth — makes itself difficult to be detected or found
- hyperjump — able to jump more than 10 times its height
