cow

Kaiju, Mamono, Yokai

Ushi-oni (牛鬼) climbs down his web

In Western Japan, there are many tales and fables about bovine-headed yokai. It is a ferocious creature that has typical features of an oni such as large horns, long fangs and slithering tongues. Infamously known as ushi-oni, the daemonic creature rampages through villages during the pre-Edo period. It terrorizes the country folk, attacks feudal lords and destroy their livelihood. None are safe from their savage tantrums.

Across the lands of Western Japan, mythical stories of ushi-oni are quite common but their shape and form varies. Conventionally, they are described as a monstrous oni with a bull for a head. But various regional narratives will describe the brutish body differently. Some describe ushi-oni as having a giant crab body. Others indicate that the beast terrorizes the villagers by flying around with insect wings. Nonetheless, the most common imagery of the ushi-oni is that of a black, gargantuan six-legged monster with the head of a fearsome bull.

In fact, the latter description of ushi-oni are those that roam the mountainous forests of Japan. These infernal mamono live deep in the mountain caves that have been long forgotten. Legend says that these creatures are eternal guardians to a powerful magical artifact. A power that is too great for any single man. Any adventurers foolish enough to try and acquire the sacred object, have to contend with the soul-stealing gaze of the daemonic beast.

Conclusion

Fortunately, ushi-oni are very few in number and their caves are well hidden. They do not require much to eat and usually stay within the range of their guard. You are more likely to randomly encounter a wild tanuki than deliberately try to find an ushi-oni. Nonetheless, while hiking through the forest, do remember to stick to the beaten path. And wear a bell to show that you are not sneaking around.

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Yokai Details

  • name: ushi-oni (oo-she-oh-nee)
    kanji: 牛鬼 (うしおに)
    meaning: cow demon
  • aka: gyuki (ぎゅうき)
  • abilities:
    1. enhanced jump — able to jump extreme distances
    2. energy drain — the ability to sap your stamina away
    3. soul steal — consumes a person’s soul with eye contact
Josei, Yokai

Ushionna (牛女)

In Hyogo Prefecture, near the Rokko mountain range, there is an urban legend about yokai that chases after loud and noisy vehicles. A police report of a speeder claims that he was speeding because he was pursued by such a creature. The dispatch rider describes the yokai as a female minotaur wearing a kimono. Did he come up with such a lame lie or was he just really drunk?

Ushi-onna is a very obscure yokai describe as a female with a cow’s face, or sometimes cow’s head. It is usually described as wearing a kimono and dressed obscenely like a yakuza. Interestingly enough, no male version of a cow-headed yokai has been recorded in Japan.

Reported Incidents

Most reports show that ushi-onna appears suddenly after a vehicle made a loud noise such as screeching. The yokai will run after the vehicle, as if trying to ram it down. A taxi driver claims that the ushi-onna was matching his speed even at 100 kph. Based on the facts that was available, I believe that the female yokai’s charge is an act of protecting its young. This is very similar to wild boars and rhinoceroses.

There are post-war stories of a single mother who gave birth to a baby girl with a cattle-like face. Such accounts were only heard in Kobe and Nishinomiya, both of Hyogo Prefecture. Could this be the origin story of ushionna, a by-product of the bombing raids of World War 2?

Nonetheless, be respectful of the mountainous regions of Japan and drive carefully. Do not make speed over the road limits and honk unnecessary. Unless, of course, if you want to personally meet the ushionna.

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Yokai Details

  • name: ushi-onna (oo-she-on-nah)
  • kanji: 牛女 (うしおんな)
  • meaning: cow woman
  • abilities:
    • unnatural speed — able to move and react very fast

Mamono, Yokai

Waira

In my travels. I’ve come across some mysterious creatures that people have not heard of or encountered before. These obscure creatures are usually of local lore and, unexpectedly, not known beyond its regional borders. The reclusive yokai that I am going to share though, is mention by the illustrious Toriyama Sekien (鳥山 石燕) and yet there are very little literature about it. Today’s obscure yokai is the Waira.

It is depicted as a cow-like creature that creeps around the forest floor, using its single-clawed limbs. An old man claims that  to have encountered the hideous Waira when he was much younger. The yokai was feasting on some forest moles by a hidden pond. He describes it as mossy green with lumpy warts.

There are chroniclers of ancient tales that documented the male waira is mottled earthly brown while the female gender is dark red in colour. These records of sexual dimorphism in waira cannot be verified because, as we know, in nature, the male gender usually has a flashier plumage and/or hue.

Earthly Protectors

Some stories suggest that waira are virtue guardians of the mountain temples. They crawl on their bellies keeping an eye out for the wicked hearted. Their thick sharpened claws ready to slice the vile and maintain the purity of the temple grounds.

Truth be told, none of the accounts above, and its origins, can be verified. The only thing we can be certain is that Toriyama Sekien has included the waira in his Gazu Hyakki Yagyō which means that it exists. Any legends or stories related to the waira is now as obscure as the yokai itself.

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Yokai Details

  • name: waira (wah-ee-rah)
  • kanji: わいら
  • meaning: deformation of the word meaning fear
  • abilities:
    1. fear projection — cause fear and/or terror on an individual