No.050

Akaname

THE GRIME LICKER

For reference: old artToriyama Sekien（1776）
"Akaname" from Gazu Hyakki Yagyo
Public domain (Wikimedia Commons)

Japanese name: 垢嘗（AKANAME）
Type: Household spirit
Found in: Bathrooms at night, old bathhouses

◆ The legend

Late at night, when the whole house is asleep, this yokai slips into the empty bathroom and licks away the grime stuck to the buckets and the tub. It is said to appear in old houses and in bathhouses that have been left uncared for. It doesn't attack anyone - it only licks the grime. Still, the thought of something working its tongue in the dark bathroom is not exactly relaxing.

The akaname became widely known through Gazu Hyakki Yagyo, a book of yokai pictures by the Edo-period artist Toriyama Sekien. He drew it standing in a bathroom, with messy hair and a long tongue poking out. Few older legends about it are said to survive, so much of what people imagine about the akaname has grown out of that one picture.

◆ Stories about this yokai

November 1, 2026The Akaname Will Come - A Bathroom Yokai and the Lesson of Keeping CleanThe akaname licks the grime in bathrooms late at night. Read less as a scary story and more as a household lesson about keeping the bath clean, it suddenly feels close to home. A gentle look at wooden tubs, dark bathrooms, and what its name tells us.