I am going to be honest here; I have always been very interested in
Mythology, especially Greek and I have always wanted for at least some
of it to be real. When we talk of supernatural, I am sure you can do an
adequate job in picturing certain creatures. But that’s not exactly the
case when it comes to Japanese folklore or mythology. The sort of
creatures their stories talk about are way too different from the rest
of the world’s. I am sure you have no idea what I am talking about. This
article discusses ten extremely weird creatures from the folklore of
Japan. Read on to know more about this ‘Bizarreness’.
10. KAPPA
There isn’t anything really weird about this creature. It looks
pretty much like a goblin. They are usually referred to as a water
monkey. They have a dent on their head and it has water in it from their
native spring. If the water spills out, they lose their magical powers.
They drink blood and can be good and evil. They love cucumbers, they
are polite and they keep their promises. There are many different Kappas
in Japanese folklore for example, one-eyed Kappas, cowardly Kappas,
Party Animal kappas and hairy kappas etc.
9. HEIKEGANI
Well, you should be pleased to know that these guys actually exist.
They are a species of anthropod and they are native to Japan. It is said
that these crabs had faces similar to Samurais who lost their lives in
battle Dan-no-ura. The bodies of these crabs do resemble human faces
actually. It is said that Japanese people would only eat crabs that
didn’t resemble human faces so the ones that resembled human faces could
mate and have offspring ensuring the existence of Heikegani crabs with
human-face-like appearance.
8. KASA-OBAKE
This guy is a type of Tsukumogami. Tsukumogami is an object that
randomly comes to life after being in existence for a hundred years.
Imagine you have a beautiful library in your home with really old books
and suddenly one of those books comes alive, just like that. A weird
thought I know, but its folklore, what can you do? Kasa-Obake is
actually an umbrella that seems to come alive so make sure you throw
your older umbrellas away.
7. NUPPEPPO
This guy has a cute name, in my opinion. But they are actually
animated lumps of human flesh; there goes the cuteness. They are usually
spotted in graveyards and they are walking on their hands. There is not
much information available on this particular creature. If you happen
to go to Japan, please ask the natives there and let us know more about
them in the comments below.
6. MAKURA-GAESHI
This guy is actually known for moving pillows from under your head
when you are all ready and dying to sleep; mischievous little thing.
Stories suggest that they move the pillows to the foot of the bed while
you are sound asleep. I wonder what purpose it serves. Another story
goes like they throw sand particles into your eyes (like the sandman).
The only difference is that they steal your soul after that.
5. MOKUMOKUREN
So far I had only heard that the ‘walls had ears’. This is a slightly
different concept. In ancient Japan, walls were usually made with paper
and they could slide and paper can be torn. If your paper is torn or
has a hole in it, chances are that Mokumokuren will dwell in those.
Mokumokuren is a spirit that does exactly that. If your paper wall has
many holes, than you just might be lucky enough to see Mokumokuren’s
eyes looking at you and following your every move.
4. KONAK JIJI
This guy turns itself into an infant and hides in the mountains where
it waits for travelers. When it sees one, the Konak Jii begins to cry
and since humans usually tend to help the crying infant, they end up
dead. As soon as the ‘infant’ is picked up, it becomes unbearably heavy.
Some tales say that it can weigh around 350 kg and that I believe is
enough to do some serious damage to a normal human. If you are able to
survive the weight of the Konak Jii, it might give you magical powers.
3. AKANAME
This is one disgusting creature. If you translate this name into
English, the exact words would be ‘filth licker’. So, it doesn’t take a
lot of brains to figure out that you should be able to find this guy in
your bathrooms and other dirty places. Although, it is said that Akaname
will lick your dirty bathroom clean with the help of its tongue. It is
said to have poisonous saliva.
2. ITTAN MOMEN
This guy doesn’t sound or look all the harmless since it is a piece
of cloth after all; it’s 33 feet long though. It likes to fly around at
night. It is not exactly frightening until it is bothered or become
scared. It has the ability to wrap itself around your head and smother
you to death or otherwise just break your skull. You can gain its trust
and wear it around your neck and apparently the Ittan Momen likes that.
But we are not sure exactly how you can accomplish that.
1. SHIRIME
You should know that I was not very comfortable writing about this
guy and I am sure you can understand why. Shirime is an apparition of a
man who has an eye ball at the place where the anus should be. There are
no prehistoric stories that might let us know the exact whereabouts of
this creature but apparently it’s quite famous in Japan. One of their
well celebrated artists used the concept in several of his paintings.
The only story goes like this. A Samurai was walking on a road when he
heard a voice and turned around to look at the source. He saw a man
undressing and pointing at his ‘you know’. The samurai saw an eye
opening up and he ran away screaming.
That’s all from Japan ladies and gentlemen. Let us know what you think about these creatures in the comments below. We wouldn’t mind comparing them to ‘normal’ myths as well.
10. KAPPA
There isn’t anything really weird about this creature. It looks
pretty much like a goblin. They are usually referred to as a water
monkey. They have a dent on their head and it has water in it from their
native spring. If the water spills out, they lose their magical powers.
They drink blood and can be good and evil. They love cucumbers, they
are polite and they keep their promises. There are many different Kappas
in Japanese folklore for example, one-eyed Kappas, cowardly Kappas,
Party Animal kappas and hairy kappas etc.
9. HEIKEGANI
Well, you should be pleased to know that these guys actually exist.
They are a species of anthropod and they are native to Japan. It is said
that these crabs had faces similar to Samurais who lost their lives in
battle Dan-no-ura. The bodies of these crabs do resemble human faces
actually. It is said that Japanese people would only eat crabs that
didn’t resemble human faces so the ones that resembled human faces could
mate and have offspring ensuring the existence of Heikegani crabs with
human-face-like appearance.
8. KASA-OBAKE
This guy is a type of Tsukumogami. Tsukumogami is an object that
randomly comes to life after being in existence for a hundred years.
Imagine you have a beautiful library in your home with really old books
and suddenly one of those books comes alive, just like that. A weird
thought I know, but its folklore, what can you do? Kasa-Obake is
actually an umbrella that seems to come alive so make sure you throw
your older umbrellas away.
7. NUPPEPPO
This guy has a cute name, in my opinion. But they are actually
animated lumps of human flesh; there goes the cuteness. They are usually
spotted in graveyards and they are walking on their hands. There is not
much information available on this particular creature. If you happen
to go to Japan, please ask the natives there and let us know more about
them in the comments below.
6. MAKURA-GAESHI
This guy is actually known for moving pillows from under your head
when you are all ready and dying to sleep; mischievous little thing.
Stories suggest that they move the pillows to the foot of the bed while
you are sound asleep. I wonder what purpose it serves. Another story
goes like they throw sand particles into your eyes (like the sandman).
The only difference is that they steal your soul after that.
5. MOKUMOKUREN
So far I had only heard that the ‘walls had ears’. This is a slightly
different concept. In ancient Japan, walls were usually made with paper
and they could slide and paper can be torn. If your paper is torn or
has a hole in it, chances are that Mokumokuren will dwell in those.
Mokumokuren is a spirit that does exactly that. If your paper wall has
many holes, than you just might be lucky enough to see Mokumokuren’s
eyes looking at you and following your every move.
4. KONAK JIJI
This guy turns itself into an infant and hides in the mountains where
it waits for travelers. When it sees one, the Konak Jii begins to cry
and since humans usually tend to help the crying infant, they end up
dead. As soon as the ‘infant’ is picked up, it becomes unbearably heavy.
Some tales say that it can weigh around 350 kg and that I believe is
enough to do some serious damage to a normal human. If you are able to
survive the weight of the Konak Jii, it might give you magical powers.
3. AKANAME
This is one disgusting creature. If you translate this name into
English, the exact words would be ‘filth licker’. So, it doesn’t take a
lot of brains to figure out that you should be able to find this guy in
your bathrooms and other dirty places. Although, it is said that Akaname
will lick your dirty bathroom clean with the help of its tongue. It is
said to have poisonous saliva.
2. ITTAN MOMEN
This guy doesn’t sound or look all the harmless since it is a piece
of cloth after all; it’s 33 feet long though. It likes to fly around at
night. It is not exactly frightening until it is bothered or become
scared. It has the ability to wrap itself around your head and smother
you to death or otherwise just break your skull. You can gain its trust
and wear it around your neck and apparently the Ittan Momen likes that.
But we are not sure exactly how you can accomplish that.
1. SHIRIME
You should know that I was not very comfortable writing about this
guy and I am sure you can understand why. Shirime is an apparition of a
man who has an eye ball at the place where the anus should be. There are
no prehistoric stories that might let us know the exact whereabouts of
this creature but apparently it’s quite famous in Japan. One of their
well celebrated artists used the concept in several of his paintings.
The only story goes like this. A Samurai was walking on a road when he
heard a voice and turned around to look at the source. He saw a man
undressing and pointing at his ‘you know’. The samurai saw an eye
opening up and he ran away screaming.That’s all from Japan ladies and gentlemen. Let us know what you think about these creatures in the comments below. We wouldn’t mind comparing them to ‘normal’ myths as well.
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