yokai

Sanjin, Yokai

Yamabiko

To this day, I am conflicted about today’s yokai. I mean, as a small kawaii critter, it looks like a dog-monkey pokémon. I have always seen it in Toriyama Sekien’s illustrated series and it is as cute as a new-born puppy. On the other hand, there are accounts of experienced hikers who claim that they got terribly lost in the mountainous forests because of the yokai. These accounts make me hope and pray to never encounter the yamabiko.

The yamabiko is a sound-type yokai that will repeat anyone or anything it has heard before. Even though the name is written as ‘mountain boy’, the way its read or pronounced means ‘echo’. The yokai is able to echo any sound, even after prolonged periods of time.

Those who were lost in the forests claim to hear whispers of their doppelgänger voices echoing their words, mocking them constantly. These disembodied whispers seemed to come from everywhere and nowhere at the same time. One of them even heard a child singing an old fold songs.

Forgotten Tale

An old monk claimed to have found himself lost in the misty morning when he was younger. Hours later, he heard the sound of a running brook and decided to follow it. But instead of reaching a stream, he was standing in the middle of a thick, withered bamboo forest.

Recalling his grandmother’s yokai stories, he realised that it was the call of the yamabiko. The young man immediately turned away from the gushing sound and walked while chanted a mantra aloud. Minutes later the sound stopped and he found himself on a hunter’s trail.

Such are the stories of those rescued, but what of those who weren’t. How many lives have the yamabiko claimed? We will never know.

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Yokai Details

  • name: yamabiko (yah-mah-bee-koh)
  • kanji: 山彦 (やまびこ)
  • meaning: echo of the mountains
  • abilities:
    1. sound mimicry — able to replicate any sound, projected from any source
    2. sound dampening — remove sound from an area
Suijin, Yokai

Ningyo

You may have heard of the legend of a Buddhist priestess, of Wakasa province, that lived to 800 years. Interestingly enough, Yao Bikuni (八百比丘尼) did not gain longevity through mantra meditation or a healthy vegetarian diet. Instead, the reason for her prolonged life is because she ate the flesh of a yokai known as ningyo.

The ningyo is a sea yokai that is similar to the mermaids of the world. It has a fish tail as the bottom half and a human as the top. The ningyo is described as having golden shimmering scales and speaks with a soft melodious voice. But, unlike its alluring European counterpart, the Japanese mermaid has monkey-like mouth filled with needle sharp teeth.

Eternal Life

Ancient documents state that, eating the flesh of a ningyo will grant you longevity. The meat are described as having a pleasant taste with no fishy smell. Despite that, to catch a ningyo, intentionally or otherwise, is to bring misfortune to your family. Some records also claim that a ningyo found beached on shore is an omen of natural calamities such as tidal waves, earthquakes and/or typhoons.

The Wakasa legend tells of a man who returned from the mythical land of Hōrai with a special gift. His eldest daughter ate the souvenir which was the meat of a ningyo. Decades past and yet, the girl remained youthful. Eventually, she decided to become a priestess and traveled the nation, spreading the good word.

At the age of 800, Yao Bikuni (八百比丘尼) returned to Wakasa Obama. She entered a cave near the Yakui-mon gate of Kuin-ji Temple, and never left. Many assumed she has peacefully passed away, while few still believed that she is alive and continue to meditate within til this day.

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Yokai Details

  • name: ningyo (neen-gee-yoh)
  • kanji: 人魚 (にんぎょ)
  • meaning: human fish or mermaid
  • abilities:
    • longevity — consuming its flesh prolongs ones natural lifespan
    • hex — ability curse its captor with misfortune
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
Mononoke, Oni, Yokai

Hashihime

Once, in a clear sunny day, as I approached a major bridge to cross it, I saw a couple halfway across coming towards me. Then suddenly, the man was blown off the bridge and the woman vanished. My thoughts raced, “Where’s the yokai? What’s the yokai? Should I still cross the bridge for work?” Being a workaholic, I turnaround and work from home instead. Tasking myself to find the mysterious yokai of the bridge.

Hashihime, meaning lady of the bridge, is one of the most bipolar yokai you are likely to encounter. She loves you for using her bridge but the moment you mention a better bridge, hell has no fury as her scorn. Unlike the bridge trolls of the West, Hashihime is usually seen as a ravishing lady to the men and a handsome dude to the women.

Forgotten Tale

An old tale tells of a now-forgotten trading village that was linked to the Tōkaidō road by a long and sturdy bridge. Through the years, the village had tolerated multiple small bandit raids and their vile atrocities. But an accidental death of a bandit has brought the leader to their door step. The bandit king vowed revenge led his rouge of bandits towards the village but stopped at the end of the bridge.

A woman was standing before the bandit king totally exposed with her wild hair flying in the non-existent winds. As he rose his sword to strike the naked woman, she burst into a flaming oni, burning the bandit king to crisp. The fiery oni, then, charged forward, setting the whole line of bandits and the bridge ablaze. The villagers were eternally grateful to the Hashihime but did not rebuild the bridge, in dread of her.

Hidden Shrine

In Kyoto, there is a shrine dedicated to Hashihime, the guardian deity of Uji Bridge. The original shrine was located in the west bank but was washed away by floods of 1870. Legend has it that a lady of the courts prayed to the Kami of Kifune to make her a living oni that has powers as great as her bitter jealousy.  After 7 days of continual devotions at Kifune-jinja, her prayers were answered. She were told to perform a sacred ceremony in the Kawase River at Uji.

The noble lady returned to the capital city where she twisted her hair into five horns and painted herself bloody red. She then lit five torches, three on an iron trivet on her head and two clenched between her teeth. Once her preparations complete, she ran down the street to Kawase River paralyzing  many onlookers and scaring others to death.

Oni Transformation

She dived into the rivers and stayed submerged fueled with rage and jealousy. After 21 days, the courtly lady emerged, transformed into the dreaded Hashihime. As a living oni, she took revenge on all who she envied and anyone else related to them. Her rage continue afterwards, as she slayed many that crosses the Uji Bridge.

Eventually a shrine was built to placate the Hashihime of Uji Bridge. In modern times, there are less deaths on the bridge and visitors to the shrine has more benign requests. Prayers such as to forget an old flame or cut off ties of your complicated relationships. Hashihime is really good at burning one’s bridges.

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Yokai Details

  • name: Hashihime (hah-shi-hee-meh)
  • kanji: 橋姫 (はしひめ)
  • meaning: maiden of the bridge
  • abilities:
    1. paralysis — ability to knock anyone unconscious
    2. oni transformation — transform into a fiery demonic form
    3. fire manipulation — limited control over fire
Tsukumogami, Yokai

Boroboroton

Normally, a futon mattress is not a bother, especially one that’s tattered. Boroboroton, on the other hand, is a sentient futon that will suffocate you while you dream away your last sleep. Some feudal tales of bandits hiding in abandoned houses with scenes of worn-out futons constricting the bandits’ corpses. Their uncanny deaths are definitely the boroboroton‘s doing.

This yokai belongs to a group of spirited objects, usually household items, known as tsukumogami. A futon mattress or bedding coverlet  become imbued with life after decades of abandonment. It evolves into boroboroton, with traits of extreme loneliness and desolation.

Forgotten Tales

I’ve read a story about a Kyoto woman crying night after night because her husband left her for a richer mistress. Her sorrow and misery continue nightly until she died in her sleep on the 99th night. The futon she slept on, instantaneously turned into a boroboroton and disappeared. Her husband and his mistress were found dead the next day, under mysterious consequences and under a futon mattress! Coincidence? Unlikely.

Some believe that the boroboroton hungers for the human touch. Its desperate desire to hold a human is the final embrace that constricts a man, woman, or both, to death.  So if you go on your forest hikes in Japan, remember a granny’s saying “If you have to take shelter in an deserted house, sleep only on the floor and in the corner”.

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Yokai Details

  • name: boroboroton (boh-roh-boh-roh-ton)
  • kanji: 暮露暮露団  (ぼろぼろとん)
  • meaning: tattered futon
  • abilities:
    1. levitation — silently float across any surface
    2. mental sedation — make others feel comfortable & sleepy
Henge, Kaibyo, Yokai

Bakeneko

You have no idea how many times I’ve heard (or even seen) of stories where cats have human-like behaviours, such as playing the piano and standing on their hind legs. Just type “cats” in your YouTube search and you’ll see thousands of videos about these human performances.

But what interests me is a story from Tokyo about a high schooler who claims to have caught her calico cat prancing about, wearing her blue-striped panties with a towel on its head. It is unmistakable that the feline is no ordinary cat. It is a yokai locally known as the Bakeneko.

Supernatural Creatures

Cats are naturally supernatural creatures. Did you not notice how they are always watching us and acting cute? They are quietly learning how to be less feline and more human. Cats, that age beyond its lifespan of 12-13 years,  have been known evolve into  a bakeneko. Once evolved, they gain preternatural powers such as bewitching and shape-shifting.

Inititally, they can morph into human form with feline features such as facial fur and whiskers for an hour or so. But over time, these uncanny powers grow stronger and lasts longer. Malevolent bakeneko has been documented to replace their owners permanently! Haven’t you wondered why that cat lady looks so much like her cats?

Forgotten Tales

I’ve read old stories of a great and ancient bakeneko that had lived in a family for many generations. When its true identity was discovered, it increased its size to that of a house and went on a rampage. It killed the whole household and everyone else in the village. It was finally brought down by the feudal lord’s retinue of samurai.

So, how do you know that the cat that is watching you now is not a bakeneko? The telltale, bakeneko has exceptionally long tail. Long ago, a grandmotherly figure told me, “The longer the tail, the older the bakeneko, the stronger its power.” Now, that you mention this, that wise woman does have a feline grace to her.

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Yokai Details

  • name: bakeneko (bah-keh-neh-koh)
  • kanji: 化け猫 (ばけねこ)
  • meaning: changing cat or transforming cat
  • abilities:
    1. metamorph — shape-shift into any human of any age
    2. mass alteration — change its mass and size at will
    3. tactile hypnosis — change the perception of anyone it touches
    4. super agility — able to effortlessly dodge any attacks
    5. hyper senses — possess acute sense of smell and hearing
    6. longevity — able to prolong its natural lifespan