February 2019 - Yokai Toons

Kameosa Provides for its Human Companion

There are hundreds of tsukumogami (付喪神)around Japan and most of them are vile and malignant. But today’s yokai is one of the very few yokai that is friendly, benevolent even. This charitable yokai called Kameosa, provides for its human companions.

Not many articles are available concerning kameosa or about its origin. Most illustrations show an earthenware pot or jug that continually pours out water or sake (Japanese rice wine). Many yokai enthusiasts believe that kameosa evolved from an earthenware crock that has been cared for, probably by sake brewers and over many generations. After a hundred years or more, the sake jug changed into a tsukumogami that never runs out of water, or sake, to show appreciation to its owners.

Others believe that a benign water, or river, god resides within kameosa and continually provides spiritual water like a spring source. This would make the kameosa more Suijin (水神) than tsukumogami. Nonetheless, there is insufficient documents and evidence regarding this yokai to truly identify its true nature.

In any case, there is a good moral that can be taken out of the kameosa. If you take good care of an item or person over the years, you will receive your reward multiple folds. So treasure and atttend to your family heirloom, you may just change into a tsukumogami that benefits you in return.

Yokai Details

name: kameosa (kah-mee-oh-sah)
kanji: 瓶長 (かめおさ)
meaning: crock elder
aka:
- kameosa (甌長)
- kameosa (甕長)
abilities:
1. hydrokinesis — manipulate & generate water or sake

Onryō, Yokai

Teketeke the Vengeful Spirit

One of the most popular urban legend is about a ghost that haunts the Japanese railway line. This yokai continually toils along the tracks, dragging herself around looking for her next victim. Her crawling and scratching sound amplifies in the quiet night. That yokai is a teketeke, a vengeful spirit who looks for that someone suffer as much as she has.

Teketeke is a type of yurei known as an onryo (怨霊), a vengeful spirit. Usually in the form of a woman, the ghost haunts railway crossings and in some occasions dark isolated roads. Many believe that she is the malevolent spirit of a victim rail or road accident.

The onryo is described as a ghostly apparition with only the upper torso and holding the kama (鎌), a Japanese sickle or scythe. Teketeke, usually, moves around by dragging her limp body across the ground thus making the scratching “teke teke”sound. But there are also reports of her ability to float around upright. In such cases, the scratching sound is made by her dragging her kama along.

Railway Crossings

A young man managed to take the last train and was walking home. As he was crossing a railway crossing, he heard the “teke teke” scratching sound coming towards him along the train tracks. The onryo emerged out of the darkness, dragging herself faster and faster towards the man. As he turned around to run in the opposite direction, teketeke appeared floating before him and cut the young man in half.

Night School

A teenage boy returned late from school one night and was about to leave the compound when he noticed a girl at his classroom windowsill. As the girl smiled, he returned the smile and wondered why there was a girl in an all-boys school.

Suddenly, the girl jumped out from the 2nd floor, landed on the ground and started to crawl her way towards the school boy. When he saw that it was only her upper torso, the teenager froze in fear. Moments later, teketeke lunged forward and cut the boy in half.

Yokai Details

name: teketeke (teh-keh-teh-keh)
kanji: テケテケ
onomatopoeia: sound of body dragging
abilities:
1. levitation — possess the ability to hover
2. teleport — able to move or be at another place in an instant

Josei, Yokai

Notorious Ceiling Dangler Called Tenjo-kudari

Did you notice the dark stain in the corner of your ceiling? Maybe, you also see that the stain has grown over the past few days. What you have there is not just fungi and molds, but signs of the presence of a yokai. One that lives in the ceiling. The notorious ceiling dangler called tenjo-kudari.

Tenjo-kudari is usually illustrated as an elongated and hairy old woman with frenzied hair, hanging from an opening in the ceiling. She is said to live in the empty space in between the ceiling. At night, you can hear the yokai crawling around in the rafters and, even, moanings.

In Yamanashi Prefecture (山梨県), tenjo-kudari lives in the ceilings of abandoned houses and stays in wait for unwary travelers. At night, when the person is asleep, the yokai would silently drop down from the ceiling and eat the sleepyhead. Interestingsly this hanging behaviour is similar to sagari. Except the horse-headed yokai mainly operates outdoors.

Stories About Ceilings

In most Japanese houses, there is usually a crawlspace between the ceiling and the roof. This spaces, according to some old wives tales, are where bandits hide dead bodies of previous owners or imprison woman. This is also a place where many unwanted items are left behind. There is even a saying “to show [someone] the ceiling” (天井を見せる) which means show them something horrifying.

So, if you are looking around Japan for a place to stay, it is best to keep an eye out for the ceilings. Do not ignore the nasty stains in the ceiling. You may never know what harm can befall you when you sleep.

Yokai Details

name: tenjo-kudari (ten-joh-koo-dah-ree)
kanji: 天井下 (てんじょうくだり)
meaning: ceiling dropper
aka:
- tenjo-kudari (天井下り)
- tenjo-sagari (天井下がり)
abilities:
1. elasticity — able to stretch or contract one’s body
2. hair control — power to manipulate hair to attack