STORIES
Yokai Stories
A new yokai story, almost every day.
Miage-nyudo, Shidaidaka: The Mikoshi-nyudo Through Its Names and How to Make It VanishThe mikoshi-nyudo is a monk who grows taller the more you look up. It has different names around Japan, like Miage-nyudo on Sado Island and Shidaidaka in the Chugoku region, and it's said to vanish with a single phrase or a change in where you look. A gentle look at its names and how to make it disappear.
What Is a Tsurube? The Yokai Named After a Well BucketThe tsurube-otoshi is a yokai that drops from the treetops as a giant head. Its name comes from the tsurube, the bucket used to draw water from a well. A gentle look at how a well bucket works, an old saying about autumn sunsets, why a big tree makes a fitting home, and how it differs from the rokurokubi.
Kasha and the "Fire Cart": How a Cart from Hell Became a Corpse-Stealing CatThe kasha is a yokai said to snatch the dead from funeral processions. Its name comes from the burning cart that carries sinners to hell in Buddhist belief. A gentle look at the everyday phrase it left behind, how it came to be a cat, and a folktale in which a cat repays a poor temple.
Wanyudo and "the Village of Shobo": A Yokai Kept Away by a Slip of PaperThe wanyudo is a burning wheel with a man's face. Toriyama Sekien noted that a paper reading "This is the village of Shobo" keeps it away. Why would those words work as a charm? A gentle look, from an old Chinese tale to the similar katawaguruma.
Sunekosuri: The Thing That Brushes Your Shins on Rainy NightsThe sunekosuri of Okayama does little more than brush past people's legs on rainy nights. So why did it get a name, and why do people still tell of it? A gentle look, side by side with other yokai of the night road.
The Neighbor in the Banyan Tree: How People and Kijimuna Got AlongKijimuna are spirits said to live in Okinawa's gajumaru (banyan) trees. Stories tell of going fishing with a kijimuna friend, and of the day a kijimuna leaves for good. A gentle look at how people have lived alongside these neighbors in the trees.
Princess Uriko and the Feet of the Guardians: The Two Faces of the AmanojakuThe contrary imp known as the amanojaku has two famous faces: the villain who tricks a girl home alone in the folktale "Princess Uriko," and the little demon trampled beneath temple guardian statues. A gentle look at both.
Why Is the Umibozu a "Monk"? The Great Round Shadow on the Night SeaIt's a giant yokai of the sea, yet its name means "monk." The umibozu's name preserves the shape of the great round shadow people once saw on the night sea. A gentle look at its family of giant monks, ideas about what it really was, and a sailor's saying about the sea below.
Who Is Washing the Beans? Searching for the Source of the Azuki-arai's SoundThe azuki-arai is a yokai you only hear: the sound of beans being washed by a river. People once blamed foxes, tanuki, and otters for it, and even gave its name to a tiny insect. A gentle hunt for the source of the sound, and for why it had to be azuki beans.
When Did Nurarihyon Become the "Supreme Commander"? An Unexplained Old Picture and a Personality Added LaterNurarihyon is known today as the "supreme commander of the yokai," yet the old Edo-period pictures say almost nothing about him. A gentle look at how a picture, a name, and modern books slowly built up the character we know.