Yokai Toons

Kaiju, Mamono, Yokai

Dreadful Wrath of Otoroshi

Dreadful Otoroshi (おとろし) sits on torii gate

When visiting the temple complexes of Japan, you are always reminded to be respectful of others and to others. Its not just about having the proper etiquette but also being in the right frame of mind. But none will tell you the consequences about being impudent. Any insolent behaviour and you will face the dreadful wrath of otoroshi.

Unlike the obvious Niō guardians (仁王) that massively stand by the entrances of Buddhist temples, otoroshi are the invisible gatekeepers of all sacred lands. They are masters of camouflage, hiding in plain sight. Furthermore, these hideous yokai dwell in elevated habitats, always ready to hook up the wicked who nears these hallowed grounds. For example, Otoroshi have been seen perched on temple roofs and ancient holy trees. But they are most commonly found on top of torii gates.

Many Edo-period paintings portray otoroshi as a blue, wide-mouthed creature covered in mangy hair. Its large fangs and unblinking eyes are reminiscent of Rangda, the demon Queen of Balinese mythology. otoroshi typical use their prehensile hair to catch their diet of wild animals, such as birds and lizards. But these scary creatures prefer to pounce on the wicked and devour on the victim’s foul heart.

Conclusion

Interestingly, some researchers propose that otoroshi and waira are counterparts to each other, both protecting the holy grounds. The former attacks from above, while the latter strikes from below. Strangely enough, these two yokai have never been reported seen together, at the same sacred sites. Nonetheless, always be reverent and respectful when visiting the temple grounds, especially in Japan.

Yokai Details

name: otoroshi (oh-toh-roh-she)
hiragana: おとろし
meaning: corruption of osoroshii (恐ろしい) which means dreadful or scary
aka:
- otoron ( おとろん )
- odoro odoro ( おどろおどろ )
- keippai ( 毛一杯 )
abilities:
1. enhanced jump — able to jump extreme distances
2. hair manipulation — the ability to control and use her hair as extra limbs

Josei, Warai-onago, Yokai

Nure-onago Preys on Gullible Young Men

Have you noticed puddles along roads forming but it has not rain for days? Or come across a pool of water while hiking in the woods but there is no river in sight? These are evidence of the female yokai locally known as nure-onago. She preys on gullible young men by enchanting them with her bewitching smile.

The lore of nure-onago has been heard and shared, predominantly, across the region of Shikoku and Kyushu. And the origin is most likely from the Ehime Prefecture (愛媛県). In olden days, nure-onago encounters vary quite a bit, depending on the story teller. Some recount the tales of her coming out of the sea, while others recite a young lady standing by the quiet path after a rainy night. There are even accounts of a strange maiden in the middle of an overgrown swamp, seemingly waiting for someone.

Description & Behaviour

But in all the stories, the depictions and interactions of nure-onago is eerily similar. She is described as a young woman who is drenched wet from head to toe. As she stares at her feet, her tousled long hair continuously drip with mysterious water. All this while, the shy maiden unsuccessfully protects her dignity as her bosom peaked through the soaking wet kimono.

The unwitting hero advances towards the damsel in distress. As the young man approaches, nure-onago slowly raise her head and presents her saviour with a bewitching smile. When her prey returns the smile, the trap springs. Nure-onago‘s enchantment paralyzes her victim in catatonic state. Slowly, but surely, she encase her new boyfriend-victim in a watery prison. Eventually they disappear into the dark waters, never to be seen again.

Genesis

Many believe that nure-onago arise from the accumulation of sadness and loss of the drowned victims in torrential rain, floods and/or tsunami. During the rainy seasons, the grievances and unrequited loss are amplified. Consequently, the number of accounts recorded are greater during the monsoon seasons.

Interestingly, nure-onago has strikingly similar behaviour to hari-onago and ohaguro nettari. These female yokai bewitch their victims with their smiles and their victims are young, virile men. Collectively they are known as warai-onago, literally meaning “the smiling girls”.

Modern Accounts

In recent years, nure-onago accounts have slightly in their appearances. Of late, tales of missing young men after a rainy night are coupled with sightings of a drenching wet young woman in a local high school uniform. nure-onago seemed to have evolved in order to maintain her diet of young men. Some recent accounts include cars and trucks found empty after a rainy night while the engines continue to run. Many speculate that these are also the works of nure-onago.

So, while you are driving home from school or work and you do happen to see a drenched school girl, best to ignore and continue on home. But if you really have to be a hero about it, don’t smile back. Just be grumpy about your rescue. It might just save your life.

Yokai Details

name: nure-onago (noo-reh-oh-nah-goh)
kanji: 濡女子 ( ぬれおなご )
meaning: wet girls
alternative spelling:
- nure-onago (濡れ女子)
abilities:
1. hydrokinesis — generate significant amount of water
2. mental paralysis — immobilize a person with a smile
3. water prison — create a water bubble to capture a person

Mamono, Onryō, Yokai

Wanyudo Burns Across the Fiery Sunset

One of the most feared yokai in Japanese history, if not the most, is the blazing wanyudo. Also known as Firewheel or Soultaker (魂狩), he is the infernal guardian that patrols the fiendish pathway to the Gates of Hell. On a fiery crimson sunset, the filament between Here and There thins just enough for the wanyudo to burn through. Then he will fiercely whirl his oxcart wheel, jumping from rooftop to rooftop, terrorizing the city and leaving a trail of soulless bodies along its path.

Origin

It is commonly believed that wanyudo is the reincarnated condemned soul of an tyrant Daimyo. And this unnamed feudal lord of ancient Kyoto was notorious for abusing and torturing his rivals. He would parade his semi-conscious victims around by dragging them behind his grand oxcart.

Eventually, on the Daimyo’s last torture towing tours, he was assassinated and beheaded by a ninja. The lord’s tormented face reeled across the town square and continued to roll into the fiery depths of hell. As divine punishment, he was cursed to become Wanyudo and terrorize the skies of Kyoto for decades after.

Yokai Terrorist

Based on its most prominent origin story (above), wanyudo can be considered a type of onryo, even though it is not a yurei. This categorization can be further reasoned by its malicious actions such as running over its victims and/or rending the limbs off said person. The only way to protect yourself from the rampaging wanyudo is to avoid its terrorizing path and wicked gaze.

For instance, there is an ancient story from Kyoto tells of a woman who peeked at wanyudo as it rolled through town. “Instead of me, you should have looked at your child!” it screamed. The woman turned only to see a limbless infant in a pool of blood. When she looked out again, wanyudo was already whirling away, munching on her baby’s legs.

Even in this modern age, there are still many who believe and fear in the wanyudo. No wards can protect you from his terrors. No charm can save you from his dread. All you can do is stay indoors, hide and pray that he does not catch a glimpse of your soul.

Yokai Details

name: wanyudo (wah-ni-you-doh)
kanji: 輪入道 (わにゅうどう)
meaning: wheel monk
aka:
- firewheel ( 火輪 )
- soultaker ( 魂狩 )
abilities:
1. pyrokinesis — generate extreme heat and produce fire
2. pyrexia — give an individual severe fever
3. flight — ability to fly
4. soul steal — remove the life essence of any individual

Suijin, Tsukumogami, Yokai

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

Josei, Yokai

Yuki-onna Blamed For Frozen Deaths

Today’s yokai is one of the more feared beings of the supernatural family. In wintry days of old, in the snow country regions, there were many frigid demise of lost travelers. And all villagers agreed that yuki-onna are to be blamed for these frozen deaths.

Legends of yuki-onna is notorious in the northern regions of Japan where snowfall are heavier and mountain paths more desolate. As such, she is known by other names such as snow daughter (yuki-musume) and snow sister (yuki-anesan), depending on the province. Interestingly, there are regions calling yuki-onna, yukifuri-baba (snowfall crone) and tsurara-onna (icicle woman), but I believe these are completely different yokai because they behave quite differently.

Cold Portrayal

Yuki-onna is a snow yokai usually in the form of a pale and beautiful young woman wearing a white translucent furisode (振袖). Some legends even say she roams through the white woods in the nude. She lures lone mountain travelers away from the main path and freezes them into ice pops. Other times, she will charm the vagabond off an unseen cliff.

Like the snowy weather, yuki-onna‘s wrath can be cold, frigid and deadly. But there is also her soft compassion, just like a fresh light snowfall. Usually she appears as ghost-like and floats across the snow leaving no snow prints. These traits led some to believe that yuki-onna is a yurei, the spirit of woman who perished in the snow, or left to die there.

Tale of Oyuki

A yuki-onna story made popular by Lafcadio Hearn, where two woodcutters were stuck in a snowstorm and met the ethereal yuki-onna. She froze one with her icy breath but decided not to harm the handsome Minokichi. In return, yuki-onna made him promise to not tell anyone about her or the incident.

Many years later, Minokichi met a beautiful lady, fell in love and got married. The woman named Oyuki was a good wife and bore several children. One night, Minokichi confessed about the yuki-onna incident to Oyuki who declared that she was the same snow woman. She wanted to kill him but changed her mind again, because of their children. Then Oyuki melted away and disappeared, never to be seen again.

Moral of the story is, avoid travelling through the mountainous forest in the dead of winter. And, if you have to, stick to the main well-taken path and avoid taking any detour for any reasons. Unless, of course, you really want to meet a yuki-onna and her kiss of death.

Yokai Details

name: yuki-onna (you-kee-on-nah)
kanji: 雪女 (ゆきおんな)
meaning: snow woman
aka:
- yuki-musume (雪娘)
- yuki-onago (雪女子)
- yuki-jorō (雪女郎)
- yuki-anesan (雪姐さん)
abilities:
1. cryogenesis — lower temperature of an area
2. frost breath — freeze multiple targets into blocks of ice

Henge, Kaibyo, Yokai

True Origin Of Catgirls, Neko-musume

Female characters with feline features are lovingly called nekomimi. They are a common part of the Japanese pop culture especially among otaku and cosplayers. But only a handful of them know the origins of catgirls originate and its relationship to another feline yokai, Neko-musume.

Neko-musume is a type of kaibyo that is quite different from the other cat-yokai counterparts such as the nekomata and bakeneko. She is usually described as a young girl with cat ears, and sometimes a feline tail.

Early documents about the neko-musume can be traced back to the misemono (見世物) of the 1700s. A Japanese sideshow carnival full of curiosities and oddities, mostly fakes and forgeries made by worksmiths. Around 1769, there is a show, in Asakusa district of Edo, that became very popular because it had a cat-girl as one of its exhibitor. Many who went and saw, swore that she was a genuine yokai with real feline features.

Human Connections

There are also many stories from the Edo period, of neko-musume that are of human parentage. They live with their parents and some even go to school. Neko-musume enjoy hunting for mice and rats, as such, she is seen as a benefit to the village and society.

So the next time you see a girl with cat ears, walking along the streets, maybe she’s not a cosplayer. Maybe, she’s a real yokai who can help you catch rodents and maybe even be a life-time companion.

Yokai Details

name: neko-musume (neh-koh-moo-soo-meh)
kanji: 猫娘 (ねこむすめ )
meaning: cat girl or daughter of cats
abilities
1. hyper senses — possess acute sense of smell and hearing
2. super agility — a very good sense of balance and body coordination
3. high metabolism — able to heal quickly from minor ailments and injuries