Sinister Spirits of Asia Part II: Legendary Creatures of Japan
Author: Sarah DavisPublished on: Nov 23, 1999
This week, our look at the sinister creatures of Asian mythology continues with a look at some of the ghosts and goblins of Japanese folklore.
A Famous Haunting-The Maidservant Okiku
The tragic story of the maidservant Okiku is associated with the city of Himeji, in which young Okiku was once the favorite servant of a great lord. She loved her master dearly, and never tired of working to please him, hoping that eventually he would come to return her love. One night she was tending to her cleaning duties in the great hall when she overheard a nobleman and his associates plotting the assassination of the castle's master. She revealed the plot as soon as she could, averting the crime, but incurring the enmity of the escaped would-be assassin, who turned his attention to plotting revenge.
The traitor knew that Okiku was responsible for the care and cleaning of a set of ten priceless gilded plates, which her master greatly cherished, and arranged for one of them to be broken and destroyed. When one of the plates was found to be missing, Okiku was tried and executed for the theft. Her body was disposed of in the well inside Himeji castle.
Every night from then on, Okiku's spirit could be heard counting from one to nine. When she reached ten, instead of calling the number, she let out an unearthly wail. Anyone hearing it would be stricken with her despair. Her master, who later discovered the innocence and wrongful death of his favourite servant, was eventually driven mad by her nightly ritual.
Yuki Onna
(The Snow Mother) A beautiful and malicious spirit who appears to travelers along frigid mountain roads as a pale and fragile young woman dressed in fur and carrying a bundle in her arms. When she encounters a hapless wayfarer, she will approach, teary-eyed, and beg him to hold her baby. If he is foolish enough to take the bundle she offers, his blood will instantly be frozen to ice.
Oni are the traditional horned ‘demons' of Japanese myth. Similar to Western trolls and ogres, Oni are incarnate spirits of anger who appear as powerful, hulking monsters in garish shades of blue, red , pink or green. Their major distinguishing feature is the pair of large horns on thier heads, although they may also have animal attributes, or monstrous characteristics such as three eyes or extra fingers and toes. A vengeful person who dies under very tragic circumstances may return as an Oni in order to avenge the death of loved ones.
Yama Uba
(The Crone of the Mountains) A BabaYaga-like figure, this creature appears as an ancient female ogre, and is usually encountered in deep forests by those who have lost their way. She may appear to be helpful, and may even offer hospitality to those who greet her. However, like similar figures in Western mythologies, when she takes in a guest, murder is never far from her mind.
The Yama Uba is often considered to be an oni, and is similar in all respets to the female oni which appear in other, similar myths.
Kappas are diminutive water spirits who appear as goblin-like creatures about the size of young children. Their faces and limbs are monkey-like, and their shelled torsos resemble that of a turtle. The kappa is a water-breather, but has a concave depression on the top of its head, which, when filled with water, enables it to travel on land for a limited amount of time. (If threatened by a kappa, try bowing to it. Kappas are fanatically respectful of formal traditions, and may bow back, even if it means spilling their bowl and being forced to retreat to the water.)
Kappas are incredibly strong for their size, and have been known to attack and kill cattle, horses and even humans in order to feed on their blood or entrails. Because drowned creatures tend to have distended or swollen rectal areas, the traditional site for a kappa bite is the anus (DON'T go in the water!).
Despite their omnivorous ways, kappas are intelligent and not necessarily malicious. It is possible for a person to befriend a kappa by presenting it with frequent gifts of cucumbers (their favourite food). A kappa's friend not only avoids attack, but may benefit from its extensive knowledge of healing. (Kappa healers are rumored to have taught the art of bone setting to humans, and to be able to cure a wide variety of ailments). To be on the safe side, some people make a habit of frequently signing a cucumber with their name and tossing it into the ocean to win the favor of passing kappas.
Nukekubi
Nukekubi are humanoid undead creatures who are able to detach their heads, which fly about independently in search of prey at night. Unlike their Thai and Malaysian parallels, Nukekubi heads lift cleanly from their bodies, exposing no internal tissue, or even blood. When a detached nukekubi head or body is examined, it appears as if the neck has healed into a clean stub. When the two parts are reunited, the creature's only distinguishing feature is a thin like of red glyphs that marks the lower part of the neck. This tatoo-like marking may be hidden by clothing or jewelry when the nukekubi is in human form, and is located on the head section when the two parts are separated.
According to one legend, the travelling monk Kwairyo once unwittingly agreed to spend the night with a family of nukekubi. When he returned to their home after nightfall after going to seek water, he found the headless bodies of his companions on the floor. Noticing that the heads were perfectly and bloodlessly detached, rather than severed, and having heard legends of such things before, the monk hid the bodies. He then went out into the garden to find, as he suspected, five disembodied heads flitting through the darkness like pale bats. Upon seeing him, they retreated into the house, only to find their bodies missing. Enraged, the heads screamed out into the courtyard, where the waiting monk batted them down with his staff. As he beat the heads into submission, one attached itself to his sleeve and died with its jaws locked onto the material.
When the panicked monk ran into the village with what appeared to be a severed head attached to his sleeve, he was arrested, and, thanks to a sage who recognized the undead creature, narrowly escaped being convicted of murder. Tengu are shape-shifting mountain spirits frequently depicted in Japanese art, who most frequently take the form of either anthropomorphic birds or human men with bird-like features. As bird-men, they have beaked faces and feathered wings (they are often depicted as having both arms and wings). As humans, they have sharp, aquiline features and uncommonly long noses. They often imitate the garb of yamabushi priests, and have been known to relentlessly tease and trick wandering priests and their allies by means of these disguises. They are associated in legend with Mount Kuramo, near Kibune, Japan. Like many other Japanese spirits, they are capricious tricksters, and can be either helpful or harmful to those they encounter. Tengu are very skilled at swordsmanship and weapon- smithing, and may act as mentors to those who win their favor through offerings and respect. The name "tengu" is related to "t'ien kou", the name of another mountain spirit in Chinese mythology, which means "celestial hounds". Rokurokubi, or long-necked goblins, usually appear as ordinary humans (almost always women), and may make their homes in human civilizations and marry into human families. The Rokurokubi's primary monstrous feature is her ability to extend her neck impossibly long distances in order to frighten or spy on others. To enhance this performance, she is also able to distort her human face into that of an ogre-like demon. Although sometimes portrayed as malicious creatures who uses her powers to drain the blood or energy of others, Rokurokubi are actually trickster spirits, who delight in causing fear and chaos, and prefer to frighten, rather than harm, victims. Many rokurokubi who have infiltrated human society become so comfortable that they do not wish to jeopardize their position by revealing their monstrous nature. However, these urban rokurokubi's urge to occasionally reveal their monstrous nature is so strong that they will sometimes resort to revealing their bizarre necks to blind, inebriated or sleeping persons, thus pulling off their tricks while avoiding undue attention.
Japanese Folklore Information- With conversions for Role-Playing Games