Japanese folklore is full of strange monsters, ghosts , and demons. A large number of these creatures can be classified as either y?kai or y?rei. The y?kai are generally what in English we would call "monsters", although some of them look like humans, and others are even inanimate objects like umbrellas. The y?rei are ghosts, often unable to move onto the next world because they died violently or are seeking revenge. While many of these creatures are bizarre and unique , the ones listed below are especially fascinating.
5.
Akaname
Image Courtesy; Wikipedia.org The akaname is a red-colored, child-sized demon that licks up filth and waste with its unusually long, sticky tongue. It has slimy hair, greasy skin, and walks on all fours. Its absolute favorite places are dirty bathrooms. This demon might seem helpful, but it really isn't, as it spreads disease wherever it goes.
4.
Katakirauwa
10 Interesting Creatures from Japanese Folklore The katakirauwa is the ghost of a baby piglet. While it doesn't look that different from a normal pig, it 's unable to cast a shadow, and has glowing red eyes and only one ear. It can only be seen at night in large cities, hopping like a rabbit and searching for human souls to steal.
3.
Umibozu
Japanese folklore monsters An encounter with an umibozu rarely leaves any survivors. They are a human-like sea creature with dark skin, but they are so large that nobody has ever seen one from above its shoulders. They appear abruptly on calm nights, attacking ships by pushing waves or outright smashing them. From time to time, an umibozu will ask a ship's crew for a barrel. If the crew can comply, the umibozu fills the barrel up with an insane amount of water, then dumps it out onto the boat until the crew drowns. The only way to stop it is to give it a barrel that doesn't have a bottom. That way, the umibozu will keep attempting to fill it, and the ship can escape. Umibozu literally means "sea monk", and they are thought to be the vengeful spirits of drowned priests.
2.
Rokurokubi
10 Interesting Creatures from Japanese Folklore There are two variants of the rokurokubi, a monster that is practically indistinguishable from a human woman with the exception of what it can do with its head. One type can lengthen its neck up to insane heights, some sources say 20 feet, while the other type is capable of detaching its head and flying around with it. Rokurokubi are born as ordinary female humans, but are cursed and transformed by the bad karma of evil deeds done by themselves or by male relatives.
1.
Jubokko
Image Courtesy Japanese folklore is certainly not without its vampires, and perhaps the most bizarre is the jubokko, a blood-sucking tree. These trees had the misfortune of being located on battlefields, having developed their taste for blood by absorbing blood spilled onto the soil into their roots. Eventually, they get so desperately addicted that they grab passing humans with their branches, attacking them and sucking their blood. Nobody is sure how to kill a jubokko- If you cut it open, it bleeds just like a living thing.
Image Courtesy; Wikipedia.org The akaname is a red-colored, child-sized demon that licks up filth and waste with its unusually long, sticky tongue. It has slimy hair, greasy skin, and walks on all fours. Its absolute favorite places are dirty bathrooms. This demon might seem helpful, but it really isn't, as it spreads disease wherever it goes.
10 Interesting Creatures from Japanese Folklore The katakirauwa is the ghost of a baby piglet. While it doesn't look that different from a normal pig, it 's unable to cast a shadow, and has glowing red eyes and only one ear. It can only be seen at night in large cities, hopping like a rabbit and searching for human souls to steal.
Japanese folklore monsters An encounter with an umibozu rarely leaves any survivors. They are a human-like sea creature with dark skin, but they are so large that nobody has ever seen one from above its shoulders. They appear abruptly on calm nights, attacking ships by pushing waves or outright smashing them. From time to time, an umibozu will ask a ship's crew for a barrel. If the crew can comply, the umibozu fills the barrel up with an insane amount of water, then dumps it out onto the boat until the crew drowns. The only way to stop it is to give it a barrel that doesn't have a bottom. That way, the umibozu will keep attempting to fill it, and the ship can escape. Umibozu literally means "sea monk", and they are thought to be the vengeful spirits of drowned priests.
10 Interesting Creatures from Japanese Folklore There are two variants of the rokurokubi, a monster that is practically indistinguishable from a human woman with the exception of what it can do with its head. One type can lengthen its neck up to insane heights, some sources say 20 feet, while the other type is capable of detaching its head and flying around with it. Rokurokubi are born as ordinary female humans, but are cursed and transformed by the bad karma of evil deeds done by themselves or by male relatives.
Image Courtesy Japanese folklore is certainly not without its vampires, and perhaps the most bizarre is the jubokko, a blood-sucking tree. These trees had the misfortune of being located on battlefields, having developed their taste for blood by absorbing blood spilled onto the soil into their roots. Eventually, they get so desperately addicted that they grab passing humans with their branches, attacking them and sucking their blood. Nobody is sure how to kill a jubokko- If you cut it open, it bleeds just like a living thing.
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