*
Nurarihyon (ぬらりひょん) : A youkai that when you try to catch it, it just slip off your hand and appear in another direction. Originally a demonization of big jellyfish. A bald old man wearing a refined clothes. The youkai's leader theory came from
Fujisawa Morihiko's Youkai Picture Story Compilation - Japan Arc. While theory of coming into people house started by
Saitou Arifumi's 1972 book,
Most Detailed Japanese Youkai Illustration.
- Nurarihyon, Nura Rihan, Nura Rikuo
* Yamabuki-otome : Kerria maiden. From a
waka in
Goshuui Wakashuu about Kerria lamenting it's inability to bear fruit.
*
Yuki-onna (雪女) : Snow woman. A youkai from areas with a lot of snow. A beautiful woman with a cold body. Live in cold places and will melted if she took a bath with hot water.
- Tsurara, Setsura, Reira
* Aotabou (青田坊) : A depraved monk turn into youkai because of killing too much. Use brute strength to fight.
* Kurotabou (黒田坊) : A depraved monk turn into youkai. Wears black robe, a conical hat and use hidden weapons.
*
Kappa (河童) : A youkai that lives in river, lake, swamp etc. Have webbed hands and feet, put a plate that always wet above his head. Said to have it's hand connected so if one of it's hand pulled out the other hand will be pulled in. There are 2 types : humanoid/monkey-like and tortoise-like. Love cucumber, fish, fruits and shirikotama. The cucumber part is because kappa associated to water god, and the offering to water god is cucumber.
*
Nukekubi (抜け首) : A youkai with head detached from it's body.
- Kubinashi
*
Kejourou (毛倡妓) : A female youkai with long hair. Dress like a courtesan and appears in brothel.
- Kino
*
Karasu Ten'gu (烏天狗) : A crow ten'gu. In the past, ten'gu was used to refer falling star, but from Heian period, ten'gu started to be used to refer youkai that live deep inside the mountain. In Edo period, it's established that the one with long nose is Ooten'gu and their subordinate is Koppa/Konoha Ten'gu, while the crow-headed one is Karasu Ten'gu.
- Karasu Ten'gu, his 2 sons, Kuroumaru and Tosakamaru, and his daughter, Sasami
*
Jami (邪魅) : Explained only as youkai that do harm to human. Originally from China, appears in
Ge Hong's Shenxian zhuan. Mizuki Shigeru define it as youkai that attached to people that hated by others.
* Nattou-kozou (納豆小僧) : A small youkai with nattou as head.
*
Toufu-kozou (豆腐小僧) : Hitotsume-kozou variant. Originally from a toufu shop's image character in Edo period. Always let his tongue out and bring a tray of toufu with him. The toufu will make molds grows all over the body if eaten. Harmless youkai.
* Ko'oni (小鬼) : Small oni.
*
Te no me (手の目) : A youkai that have no eye in the face and have it in each of his palm instead. From a blind man that killed and turned into youkai from his grudge, the eyes popped up in his palm when he search around with his hand.
* San no kuchi (3の口) : A youkai with a 3-shaped mouth.
*
Gyuuki (牛鬼) : A youkai with horned, bovine head and crab/spider-like body.
- Gyuuki, Gozumaru, Mezumaru, Negoro, Uwajima
*
Mokugyo Daruma (木魚達磨) : A tsukumogami of a
mokugyo that changed into
dharma form. Youkai created from combining the theme of sleepless. Mokugyo is a tool to remind the monks to meditate without sleep and rest (fish always open it's eyes day and night). While
Dharma meditated for 9 years without sleep.
*
Zen (鴆) : Originally from China. Recorded on ancient texts like
Shiji. A bird with deadly poison. It's as big as a hawk, have green feather and copper-colored beak. Have poisonous snake as it's diet. The poison made by dipping Zen's feather into a bowl of sake. The only thing that can neutralize Zen's poison is a rhinoceros' horn. Yun-ri and Yin-xie is the male and female version.
*
Hihi (狒々) : Originally from China, taken from
Sancai Tuhui. A large ape youkai. Live in the mountain, have brute strength, and likes to kidnap woman. When it meet human it will laugh, hence the name. About 3 meters tall, it's body covered with black hairy fur. Can understand human language and able to predict human's lifespan.
- Hihi, Shou'ei
*
Hitotsume Nyuudou (一つ目入道) : One-eyed youkai in a form of a big monk.
*
Soroban-bou (算盤坊) : A youkai that startle people by sounds of abacus, but when approached the sounds gone and comes out from another direction.
* Oomukade (大百足) : Giant centipede. There's a legend of the duel between giant centipede of Mt. Nantai and giant snake of Mt. Akagi. Snake symbolize river and represents people that gathering iron sands and producing iron, while centipede symbolize mine trail and represents people that mining ore such as native gold.
*
Asajigahara no Kijo (浅茅ヶ原の鬼女) : An old woman and her daughter. From Hanakawado, Taito city, Tokyo. In Youmei emperor's time, Asajigahara is the only road that connected
Oushuu and
Shimousa. It was a wasteland and there's no place to rest, except a house. The grandmother pretended to let travelers rest, but when they sleep, she hit their head with the stone pillow, throw the bodies at the pond nearby and made a living with the stolen money. Killed 999 travelers until stopped by Asakusa Kannon Bossatsu.
*
Mottainai Obake (もったいないお化け) : A ghost appear in a tv commercial made by Advertising Council Japan. If someone do something that wasteful, Mottainai Obake will appear at his pillow and preach him. There are some versions whether the soul will be taken, eaten or only preached according to the area the commercial broadcasted.
*
Houkou (彭侯) : A tree spirit from Chinese folklore. It is described in
Soushenji.
*
Kyourinrin (経凛々) : A tsukumogami of Shubin's magical scroll that thrown away after his defeat against
Kukai at rain-calling ceremony.
*
Gagoze (元興寺) : A youkai that appeared at Gangouji temple. A corpse of the temple's servant that turned into youkai and killed children every night.
*
Nekomata (猫又) : 100 years old cat turned into youkai. It's tail forked into two. The forked tail myth comes later at Edo period though, because the word's origin is from nekomata that cursed human by stradling on them.
- Nekome no Tsume, Ryoutaneko, Saburouneko
*
Oboroguruma (朧車) : A semi-transparent oxcart without the ox to pull it, and the screen/blind became a big face instead.
*
Takara-bune (宝船) : Seven Lucky Gods' ship. In the manga the room's name based on Seven Lucky Gods.
* Hebi-nyoro (蛇ニョロ) : A flying serpentine youkai with woman face.
* Abura-gaeshi (油返し) :
Abura-bou variant. From Koya, Settsu no kuni, Hyougo prefecture. A will-o-wisp type youkai. Said to be from a soul of someone who stole oil from Nakayama temple. In early summer or winter night, appears from a grave and moves along pond or dike, ascend from Tenshin river to Nakayama.
*
Sune-kosuri (脛擦り) : From Okayama prefecture. A youkai that appears at night. Youkai that looks like small animal such as cats or dogs. Snuggle up to one's feet and rub the shin, made it hard to walk.
*
Ganbari Nyuudou (加牟波理入道) : A youkai that appears outside toiler at New Year's Eve. Enchant "Ganbari Nyuudou hototogisu" 3 times, and his head will fall. Put the head inside clothes and take it out again, and it will turn into gold pieces. The person will also safe and sound for all next year.
* Nuregarasu (濡烏) : Karasu Ten'gu's wife.
* Tsukumogami of Taisho Roman glasses (大正浪漫硝子の九十九神)
*
Wanyuudou (輪入道) : A chart wheel with a bald man face in the middle. Wanyuudou's myth moral lesson is for mothers not to neglect their children or Wanyuudou will eat their children.
*
Narigama (鳴釜) : A tsukumogami of an iron kettle. Originally from Okayama prefecture's myth about a kettle that can predict fortune.
*
Tenaga (手長) : Long-armed people.
* Ashinaga (足長) : Long-legged people.
*
Chouchin Obake (提灯お化け) : A paper lantern ghost.
*
Ohagurobettari (お歯黒べったり) : Faceless woman with only mouth and blackened teeth. In Edo period, married woman have make up by blackening their teeth, so it is considered that Ohagurobettari is a woman that died during her wedding night and turned into youkai.
*
Yamachichi (山地乳) : It's said that after years bat turned into nobusuma, then after more years turned into yamachichi. Ape-like with pointy mouth. Kisses a person while they sleep and sucks their breath and then tap the victim's chest. The victim will die the next day. But if someone saw the happening, the sucked person life will be prolonged.
*
Amikiri (網切) : A youkai with shrimp body and crab-like scissor-hands.
*
Dorotabou (泥田坊) : A muddy youkai. From a grudge of an old man that worked hard for his field when he alive, but his son neglected it and sold the field.
*
Nuribotoke (塗仏) : A black buddha/corpse with popped-out eyes.
*
Biwabokuboku (琵琶牧々) : A tsukumogami of a
biwa.
*
Karakasa (からかさ) : A tsukumogami of an old umbrella. Have one eye and it's handle become it's leg.
*
Hone karakasa (骨傘) : A tsukumogami of an old umbrella that have it's cloth torn up and it's frame sticking out.
*
Hatahiro (機尋) : Loom-weaved cloth that turned into snake-shaped youkai. There's a woman that felt grudge over her husband that never comes home. The cloth that she weaves confined with the grudge and take a shape of a snake to look for the husband.
*
Tenjou-kudari (天井下り) : An ugly old woman that hanged upside down in the ceiling.
*
Rokurokubi (轆轤首) : A youkai than can stretch it's neck.
*
Nadezatou (撫で座頭) : A youkai that try to blame his sin to others or remove disaster fall upon him to others, hides it's true nature by pretends to be docile.
*
Otoroshi (おとろし) : A big head with long hair and talons. Said to live at temple and give punishment to those who make graffiti or vandalism to the temple.
* Taketsubo (竹壷) : A tsukumogami of a bamboo pot. Used to store bandage.
* Kusuritsubo (薬壷) : A tsukumogami of a medicine pot. Used to store ointment.
*
Oitekebori (置行堀) : Originally it's a youkai that tells fisherman to leave the catched fish behind, but it developed into youkai that asks for interesting thing to replace the old thing it gets bored into.
*
Shirohebi (白蛇) : From Iwakuni city, Yamaguchi prefecture. White snake is said to be
Benzaiten's familiar and bring monetary fortune. Believed to be an animal that brings good luck.
Kokehime (苔姫) : Land god that has her tears turn into pearls.
Senba (千羽) : Land god that heals people if they give him 1000 paper crane offerings.
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Originally Posted by Sama_al_Azraq
31 Member(s) thanked this post
but either way, this is a great list and thanks for the hard work!
by Kaiten.
