Harionago- Japanese myth: a beautiful young woman with barbed hair that she can completely control. She wanders the roadways and laughs at on coming men. If he dares laugh back she would release her hair and ensnare the poor man.

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Hone-onna- Japanese folklore: a living, moving, female skeleton. She lures men to her cavern or to their bed to sleep with them. They either find out later or before that she is a skeleton when a light shines on her. She usually holds them and sucks their life-force until they become a skeleton them selves

The girl with the peony lantern held it up so that the light fell upon him.

“Hagiwara Sama,” she cried, “by all that is most wonderful! Why, lord, we were told that you were dead. We have daily recited the Nembutsu for your soul these many moons!”

“Come in, come in, O’Yoné,” he said; “and is it indeed your mistress that you hold by the hand? Can it be my lady?… Oh, my love!”

O’Yoné answered, “Who else should it be?” and the two came in at the garden gate.

But the Lady of the Morning Dew held up her sleeve to hide her face.

“How was it I lost you?” said the samurai; “how was it I lost you, O’Yoné?”

“Lord,” she said, “we have moved to a little house, a very little house, in the quarter of the city which is called the Green Hill. We were suffered to take nothing with us there, and we are grown very poor. With grief and want my mistress is become pale.”

From “The Peony Lantern”

Green Willow and Other Japanese Fairy Tales, Grace James, 1910. Illustrations by Warwick Goble

Japanese Folklore — The Two Frogs

Once upon a time in the country of Japan there lived two frogs, one of whom made his home in a ditch near the town of Osaka, on the sea coast, while the other dwelt in a clear little stream which ran through the city of Kyoto. At such a great distance apart, they had never even heard of each other; but, funnily enough, the idea came into both their heads at once that they should like to see a little of the world, and the frog who lived at Kyoto wanted to visit Osaka, and the frog who lived at Osaka wished to go to Kyoto, where the great Mikado had his palace.

So one fine morning in the spring they both set out along the road that led from Kyoto to Osaka, one from one end and the other from the other. The journey was more tiring than they expected, for they did not know much about traveling, and halfway between the two towns there arose a mountain which had to be climbed. It took them a long time and a great many hops to reach the top, but there they were at last, and what was the surprise of each to see another frog before him!

They looked at each other for a moment without speaking, and then fell into conversation, explaining the cause of their meeting so far from their homes. It was delightful to find that they both felt the same wish–to learn a little more of their native country–and as there was no sort of hurry they stretched themselves out in a cool, damp place, and agreed that they would have a good rest before they parted to go their ways.

“What a pity we are not bigger,” said the Osaka frog; “for then we could see both towns from here, and tell if it is worth our while going on.”

“Oh, that is easily managed,” returned the Kyoto frog. “We have only got to stand up on our hind legs, and hold onto each other, and then we can each look at the town he is traveling to.”

This idea pleased the Osaka frog so much that he at once jumped up and put his front paws on the shoulder of his friend, who had risen also. There they both stood, stretching themselves as high as they could, and holding each other tightly, so that they might not fall down. The Kyoto frog turned his nose towards Osaka, and the Osaka frog turned his nose towards Kyoto; but the foolish things forgot that when they stood up their great eyes lay in the backs of their heads, and that though their noses might point to the places to which they wanted to go, their eyes beheld the places from which they had come.

“Dear me!” cried the Osaka frog, “Kyoto is exactly like Osaka. It is certainly not worth such a long journey. I shall go home!”

“If I had had any idea that Osaka was only a copy of Kyoto I should never have traveled all this way,” exclaimed the frog from Kyoto, and as he spoke he took his hands from his friend’s shoulders, and they both fell down on the grass. Then they took a polite farewell of each other, and set off for home again, and to the end of their lives they believed that Osaka and Kyoto, which are as different to look at as two towns can be, were as alike as two peas.

Fending off a Kappa attack with farts

By Tsukioka Yoshitoshi, 19th century.

"One rainy night, something massive and white appeared off the coast of Okino Island, Shimane prefecture. Fishermen from the village watched it get closer and closer, and finally decided to take a rowboat out and see what it was. From its size, they knew it must be some sort of whale, but no one had seen a whale like that before. As they rowed out their boat, they saw the waters of the ocean glimmer with thousands upon thousands of fish, the likes of which they had never seen.

As they neared the white whale, one of the fisherman threw his harpoon and it passed through the mass of white unnoticed. Their vision obscured by the pounding rain, the fishermen finally got a good look at the monster—it was the skeleton of a great baleen whale, without an ounce of skin nor meat on it. But it was moving and alive.

The men were terrified, even more so because the ocean was writhing with unknown fish, and the skies were filled with strange birds. In the distance they saw an island that hadn’t been there before, as if they had rowed into some mysterious country. Then suddenly the vision ended, and the massive bakekujira—for that is what they called it—retreated back to the open sea as quickly as it had come.

When the fishermen went back to shore, they speculated that it might have been the ghost of a whale killed in a hunt or some strange god. Whatever it was, the bakekujira was never seen again."

- Legend of the Bakekujira

In Japanese folklore a Gashadokuro is a giant skeleton many times taller than a human. It is thought to be made of the bones of people who have starved to death. After midnight the ghost roams the streets making a ringing noise that sounds in the ears. If people do not run away when the Gashadokuro approaches it will bite off their heads with its giant teeth.

- All information from The Element Encyclopedia of Ghosts and Hauntings -

Ogre fireworks by Hirokazu Saito.

The Aka-name

    The Aka-name is a demon, or yokai, from Japanese folklore whose name means “filth licker” (or “red licker”, which is why it is often depicted as being red in colour). The monster first appears in Toriyama Sekien’s famous Gazu Hyakki Yako (“The Illustrated Night Parade of a Hundred Demons”). It is a long tongued creature who is said to come out at night and lick the filth off of unclean bathrooms. The Aka-name will leave an itchy saliva on the newly cleaned bathroom.

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Tsukumogami from Hyakki Yako Emaki

by Utagawa Hiroshige from his “One Hundred Famous Views of Edo” series.”

This is one of the most famous prints in the series, it is also one of the last. It depicts a Japanese legend that at the Shinto Oji shrine, there is an old tree (the ‘Garment Nettle Tree’) at which all the trickster fox spirits (kitsune) of that province gather once a year at night, bearing torches to light their way; at the meeting they receive their orders for the up-coming year. Interestingly, one of the two trees can still be seen.

Ningyo (人魚, “human fish”, often translated as “mermaid”) is a fish-like creature from Japanese folklore. Anciently, it was described with a mokey’s mouth with small teeth like a fish’s, shining golden scales, and a quiet voice like a skylark or a flute. Its flesh is pleasant-tasting, and anyone who eats it will attain remarkable longevity. However, catching a ningyo was believed to bring storms and misfortune, so fishermen who caught these creatures were said to throw them back into the sea. A ningyo washed onto the beach was an omen of war or calamity.

I’ve been delving into a lot of mythology lately, searching for inspiration and also doing research for a couple stories I’m working on; a personal project and another screenplay for some friends - a short horror film they’re developing this summer. Since I was a child, I’ve always been captivated by Japanese culture so when I stumbled upon Japanese folklore/mythology especially yokai, I was instantly hooked. Even though there’s obvious parallels to other world mythologies, there’s something so unique about these stories, especially the origins of these creatures, that make me want to create stories inspired by them. I’m currently flipping through The Night Parade of One Hundred Demons and I’m going to share whatever creatures appeal to me or offer any kinds of inspiration, for instance, starting it off with the illustrations and back story of the shadow woman:

A futakuchi-onna is characterized by two mouths – a normal one located on her face and second one on the back of the head. There, the woman’s skull splits apart, forming lips, teeth and a tongue, creating an entirely functional second mouth.

The soon-to-be futakuchi-onna is usually a wife of a miser and rarely eats. To counteract this, a second mouth mysteriously appears on the back of the woman’s head. It often mumbles spiteful and threatening things to the woman and demands food. If it is not fed, it can screech obscenely and cause the woman tremendous pain. Eventually, the woman’s hair begins to move like a pair of serpents, allowing the mouth to help itself to the woman’s meals.

(picture source: Ehon Hyaku Monogatari, 1841)

Nukekubi

Origin: Japanese folklore

Type: Trickster

Appearing as a human during the day, at night they detach their heads from their bodies and fly around attacking people. They scream before they strike to bring fear. They can be identified by locating a ring of red circle at the base of their neck.