Yokai

1.Futakuchi-onna

A futakuchi-onna (二口女, "two-mouthed woman") is a type of yōkai or Japanese monster. They are characterized by their two mouths – a normal one located on her face and second one on the back of the head beneath the hair. There, the woman's skull splits apart, forming lips, teeth and a tongue, creating an entirely functional second mouth.

Though there are several stories linking the appearance of a futakuchi-onna's second mouth to different causes, it is most often linked to how little a woman eats. 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. The second mouth 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.

Prototypical story

This is the most famous and prototypical story of a futakuchi-onna:

In a small village there lived a stingy miser who, because he could not bear the expense of paying for food for a wife, lived entirely by himself.

One day he met a woman who did not eat anything, whom he immediately took for his wife. Because she never ate a thing, and was still a hard worker, the old miser was extraordinarily thrilled with her, but on the other hand he began to wonder why his stores of rice were steadily decreasing.

One day the man pretended to leave for work, but instead stayed behind to spy on his new wife. To his horror, he saw his wife’s hair part on the back of her head, her skull split wide revealing a gaping mouth. She unbound her hair, which reached out like tentacles to grasp the rice and shovel it into the hungry mouth.

2.Rokurokubi

Rokurokubi (轆轤首 rokurokubi) are yōkai found in Japanese folklore. They look like normal human beings by day, but at night they gain the ability to stretch their necks to great lengths. They can also change their faces to those of terrifying oni to better scare mortals.

In their daytime human forms, rokurokubi often live undetected and may even take mortal spouses. Many rokurokubi become so accustomed to such a life that they take great pains to keep their demonic forms secret. They are tricksters by nature, however, and the urge to frighten and spy on human beings is hard to resist. Some rokurokubi thus resort to revealing themselves only to drunkards, fools, the sleeping, or the blind in order to satisfy these urges.

According to some tales, rokurokubi were once normal human beings but were transformed by karma for breaking various precepts of Buddhism. Often, these rokurokubi are truly sinister in nature, eating people or drinking their blood rather than merely frightening them. These demonic rokurokubi often have a favored prey, such as others who have broken Buddhist doctrine or human men.

3.Yuki-onna

Yuki Onna (雪女, snow woman) is a spirit or yōkai in Japanese folklore. She is a popular figure in Japanese literature, manga, and animation. Yuki-onna is sometimes confused with Yama-uba ("mountain crone"), but they are not the same.

Yuki-onna appears on snowy nights as a tall, beautiful woman with long black hair and blue lips. Her inhumanly pale or even transparent skin makes her blend into the snowy landscape (as famously described in Lafcadio Hearn's Kwaidan: Stories and Studies of Strange Things). She sometimes wears a white kimono, but other legends describe her as nude, with only her face and hair standing out against the snow. Despite her inhuman beauty, her eyes can strike terror into mortals. She floats across the snow, leaving no footprints (in fact, some tales say she has no feet, a feature of many Japanese ghosts), and she can transform into a cloud of mist or snow if threatened.

Some legends say the Yuki-onna, being associated with winter and snowstorms, is the spirit of someone who perished in the snow. She is at the same time beautiful and serene, yet ruthless in killing unsuspecting mortals. Until the 18th century, she was almost uniformly portrayed as evil. Today, however, stories often color her as more human, emphasizing her ghost-like nature and ephemeral beauty.

In many stories, Yuki-onna appears to travelers trapped in snowstorms, and uses her icy breath to leave them as frost-coated corpses. Other legends say she leads them astray so they simply die of exposure. Other times, she manifests holding a child. When a well-intentioned soul takes the "child" from her, they are frozen in place. Parents searching for lost children are particularly susceptible to this tactic. Other legends make Yuki-onna much more aggressive. In these stories, she often invades homes, blowing in the door with a gust of wind to kill residents in their sleep (Some legends require her to be invited inside first.)

4.Yotsuya Kaidan

First staged in July 1825, Yotsuya Kaidan appeared at the Nakamuraza Theater in Edo (the former name of present-day Tokyo) as a double-feature with the immensely popular Kanadehon Chushingura. Normally, with a Kabuki double-feature, the first play is staged in its entirety, followed by the second play. However, in the case of Yotsuya Kaidan it was decided to interweave the two dramas, with a full staging on two days: the first day started with Kanadehon Chushingura from Act I to Act VI, followed by Tōkaidō Yotsuya Kaidan from Act I to Act III. The following day started with the Onbo canal scene, followed by Kanadehon Chushingura from Act VII to Act XI, then came Act IV and Act V of Tōkaidō Yotsuya Kaidan to conclude the program.

ACT 1

Tamiya Iemon, a rōnin, is having a heated exchange with his father-in-law, Yotsuya Samon, concerning Samon's daughter Oiwa. After it is suggested by Samon that Iemon and his daughter should separate, the ronin becomes enraged and murders Samon. The next scene focuses on the character Naosuke who is sexually obsessed with Oiwa's sister, the prostitute Osode, despite her being already married to another man, Satô Yomoshichi. As this scene begins, Naosuke is at the local brothel making romantic advances toward Osode when Yomoshichi and the brothel's owner, Takuetsu, enter. Unable to pay a fee demanded by Takuetsu, he is mocked by both Yomoshichi and Osode and forcibly removed. Shortly thereafter an intoxicated Naosuke murders Okuda Shôzaburô, his former master, whom he mistakes for Yomoshichi. This is implied to occur at the precise time of the slaying of Samon. It is at this point that Iemon and Naosuke unite and conspire to mislead Oiwa and Osode into believing that they will exact revenge on the persons responsible for their father's death. In return Osode agrees to marry Naosuke.

5.Ghost of Oiwa

Hokuei's image of Oiwa emerging from the Lantern.

Oiwa is an onryō, a ghost who seeks vengeance. Her strong passion for revenge allows her to bridge the gap back to Earth. She shares most of the common traits of this style of Japanese ghost, including the white dress representing the burial kimono she would have worn, the long, ragged hair and white/indigo face that marks a ghost in kabuki theater.

There are specific traits to Oiwa that set her apart physically from other onryo. Most famous is her left eye, which droops down her face due to poison given her by Iemon. This feature is exaggerated in kabuki performances to give Oiwa a distinct appearance. She is often shown as partially bald, another effect of the poison. In a spectacular scene in the kabuki play, the living Oiwa sits before a mirror and combs her hair, which comes falling out due to the poison. This scene is a subversion of erotically-charged hair combing scenes in kabuki love plays. The hair piles up to tremendous heights, achieved by a stage hand who sits under the stage and pushes more and more hair up through the floor while Oiwa is combing.

6.Banchō Sarayashiki

Banchō Sarayashiki or Bancho Sarayashi (番町皿屋敷 The Dish Mansion at Banchō) is a Japanese ghost story of love separated by social class, broken trust and broken promises, leading to a dismal fate.

Folk version

Once there was a beautiful servant named Okiku. She worked for the samurai Aoyama Tessan. Okiku often refused his amorous advances, so he tricked her into believing that she had carelessly lost one of the family's ten precious delft plates. Such a crime would normally result in her death. In a frenzy, she counted and recounted the nine plates many times. However, she could not find the tenth and went to Aoyama in guilty tears. The samurai offered to overlook the matter if she finally became his lover, but again she refused. Enraged, Aoyama threw her down a well to her death.

It is said that Okiku became a vengeful spirit who tormented her murderer by counting to nine and then making a terrible shriek to represent the missing tenth plate – or perhaps she had tormented herself and was still trying to find the tenth plate but cried out in agony when she never could. In some versions of the story, this torment continued until an exorcist or neighbor shouted "ten" in a loud voice at the end of her count. Her ghost, finally relieved that someone had found the plate for her, haunted the samurai no more.

Ningyō Jōruri version

Hosokawa Katsumoto, the lord of Himeji Castle, has fallen seriously ill. Katsumoto's heir, Tomonosuke, plans to give a set of 10 precious plates to the Shogun to ensure his succession. However, chief retainer Asayama Tetsuzan plots to take over. Tomonosuke's retainer, Funase Sampei Taketsune is engaged to marry a lady in waiting, Okiku. Tetsuzan plans to force Okiku to help him murder Tomonosuke.

Tetsuzan, through the help of a spy, steals one of the 10 plates and summons Okiku to bring the box containing the plates to his chamber. There, he attempts to seduce Okiku. She refuses due to her love for Taketsune. Rejected, Tetsuzan then has Okiku count the plates to find only nine. He blames her for the theft and offers to lie for her if she will be his mistress. Okiku again refuses and Tetsuzan has her beaten with a wooden sword.

Tetsuzan then has her suspended over a well and, erotically enjoying her torture, has her lowered into the well several times, beating her himself when she is raised. He demands that she become his lover and assist in the murder of Tomonosuke. She refuses again, whereupon Tetsuzan strikes her with his sword, sending her body into the well.

7.Botan Dōrō

Botan Dōrō (牡丹燈籠) is a Japanese ghost story that is both romantic and horrific. It involves sex with the dead and the consequences of loving a ghost.

Botan Dōrō entered the Japanese psyche in the 17th century, through a translation of a book of Chinese ghost stories called Jian Deng Xin Hua (New Tales Under the Lamplight). The collection was didactic in nature, containing Buddhist moral lessons on karma.

Otogi Boko version

On the first night of Obon, a beautiful woman and a young girl holding a peony lantern stroll by the house of the widowed samurai Ogiwara Shinnojo. Ogiwara is instantly smitten with the woman, named Otsuyu, and vows an eternal relationship. From that night onward, the woman and the girl visit at dusk, always leaving before dawn. An elderly neighbor, suspicious of the girl, peeks into his home and finds Ogiwara in bed with a skeleton. Consulting a Buddhist priest, Ogiwara finds that he is in danger unless he can resist the woman, and he places a protection charm on his house. The woman is then unable to enter his house, but calls him from outside. Finally, unable to resist, Ogiwara goes out to greet her, and is led back to her house, a grave in a temple. In the morning, Ogiwara's dead body is found entwined with the woman's skeleton.

Kabuki version

A young student named Saburo falls in love with a beautiful woman named Otsuyu, the daughter of his father's best friend. They meet secretly, and promise to be married. But Saburo falls ill, and is unable to see Otsuyu for a long time.

Later, when Saburo recovers and goes to see his love, he is told that Otsuyu has died. He prays for her spirit during the Obon festival, and is surprised to hear the approaching footsteps of two women. When he sees them, they look remarkably like Otsuyu and her maid. It is revealed that her aunt, who opposed the marriage, spread the rumor that Otsuyu had died and told Otsuyu in turn that Saburo had died.

The two lovers, reunited, begin their relationship again in secret. Each night Otsuyu, accompanied by her maid who carries a peony lantern, spends the night with Saburo.

This continues blissfully until one night a servant peeks through a hole in the wall in Saburo's bedroom, and sees him having sex with a decaying skeleton, while another skeleton sits in the doorway holding a peony lantern. He reports this to the local Buddhist priest, who locates the graves of Otsuyu and her maid. Taking Saburo there, he convinces him of the truth, and agrees to help Saburo guard his house against the spirits. The priest places ofuda around the house, and prays the nenbutsu every night.

The plan works, and Otsuyu and her maid are unable to enter, although they come every night and call out their love to Saburo. Pining for his sweetheart, Saburo's health begins to deteriorate. Saburo's servants, afraid that he will die from heartbreak leaving them without work, remove the ofuda from the house. Otsuyu enters, and again has sex with Saburo.

In the morning, the servants find Saburo dead, his body entwined with Otsuyu's skeleton. His face is radiant and blissful.

8.Onibaba (folklore)

Onibaba (鬼婆 demon hag) is an Oni from Japanese folklore that has the appearance of an old woman but is a yōkai that feasts on humans. Variously known as the “Demon-Hag,” “Old Hag,” “Mountain Woman,” “the Goblin of Adachigahara,” and “Kurozuka,” the Onibaba has many stories behind her name.

The Onibaba has the appearance of a shriveled old woman. Some of her more distinctive features include having a disheveled, maniacal appearance, wild-looking hair, and an oversized mouth. She is sometimes depicted with a kitchen knife or sitting with a spool of thread. She often conceals her demonic appearance in order to put visitors into a false sense of security.

The woman from whom the Onibaba originated is said to have lived in a cave or small house in Adachi-ga-hara (安達が原 lit. the moor of Adachi) and died close-by, in a place called Kurozuka ( 黒塚). There is a small museum in Adachigahara that is said to hold her remains as well as the cooking pot and knife that she used on her victims

9.Tale of Origin

Tsukioka Yoshitoshi, The Lonely House, September 1885. 9" by 28". The print depicts the Hag of Adachi Moor, who was said to drink the blood of unborn children.

One version of the story of the creation of the Onibaba involves the baby girl of a wealthy family in Kyoto. Although already five-years-old and otherwise healthy and happy, the child had not uttered a sound since birth. Worried and desperate, the family consulted doctor after doctor with no success until they came upon a fortune teller who told them that the cure was to feed the girl the fresh liver of a living fetus. This gruesome task was passed on to her nanny who set off on the search after leaving her own similarly aged daughter an omamori, an amulet for protection. The nanny’s search for a woman willing to give up her unborn child’s liver lasted for weeks and months before the nanny, tired and weary, reached Adachigahara, where she decided to stay in a cave to wait for pregnant travelers to pass by. Years passed before a lone pregnant woman approached her cave. Desperate, the nanny jumped upon the woman and retrieved the fetus’ liver. Only after accomplishing her goal did she realize that the woman was wearing the omamori she had given her daughter many years ago. Driven insane by this realization, the nanny became a yōkai and from then on attacked passers-by and ate their flesh.

In another version of the story, the nanny goes on the trip because she loves the child she is nursing. In this version, the nanny has no daughter - the cure is a pregnant woman’s liver instead of the fetus’ liver.

10.UBUME

Ubume merupakan arwah penasaran dari perempuan yang mati dalam keadaan mengandung .Versi lainnya menyebutkan, ubume adalah yuurei dari perempuan yang hamil yang sudah meninggal namun melahirkan dalam kuburnya.

Ubume datang hanya untuk mengasuh anaknya.Si anak yang polos ttidak menyadari bahwa ia dirawat oleh ibunya yang telah meninggal.Ubume menggiring manusia ke tempat anaknya agar bisa dirawat oleh mereka.

Ubume digambarkan memiliki sosok berupa wanita berwajah pucat,berambut sangat panjang,berbaju putih,dengan bercak darah di sekitar kemaluan,dan kakinya tidak tampak.

Cara menjaga diri dari ubume adalah jika ingin mengadopsi anak yang ditinggal mati oleh ibunya,pastikan ketahui dulu latar belakang keluarga anak tersebut. Jika ibunya meninggal dalam keadaan mengenaskan,sebelum mengadopsi, sebaiknya kamu membuat sebuah upacara khusus untuk mendoakan arwah si ibu agar mendapat kedamaian di alam kuburnya. Setelah itu, jangan lupa untuk meminta ijin pada kerabatnya dan bertanggung jawablah menjadi orangtua yang baik bagi si anak adopsi.

11.Toire No Hanako

Legenda hantu hanako bermula pada tahun 1950-an dimana saat itu telah heboh penampakan anak kecil di toilet sekolah.Wujudnya seperti anak perempuan pada umumnya,memakai baju seragam sekolah,dengan rok merah,berambut bob pendek,dan biasa muncul di kamar mandi sekolah-sekolah sd di jepang.

Urban legend mengatakan, bahwa pada saat itu ada seorang anak kecil tengah bersembunyi di toilet sekolah dari kejaran ibunya yang gila,namun malang ia berhasil ditemukan dan dibunuh oleh sang ibu.

Versi lainnya menyebutkan hanako adalah anak kecil yang tewas akibat serangan udara perang duniaII,saat dia sedang bermain petak umpet bersama temannya dan bersembunyi di toliet.

12.Kawashima Reiko

Hantu wanita ini memiliki sosok yang cukup mengerikan dan terkenal menggentayanggi toilet-toilet di sekolah untuk mencari kakinya yang hilang.Ia akan terus mencari kakinya yang hilang sambil berseru “Dimana kakiku? Dimana kakiku?”.Jika kamu bertemu dengannya, hadapilah dengan tenang dan jawab seperti ini : “Meishin Expressway”. Kalau dia bertanya balik “Darimana kamu tahu?” jawablah dengan “’Kashima Reiko yang mengatakan padaku”.

Sekedar Info ,Kashima Reiko diambil dari gabungan kata ka=kamen (Topeng), Shi=shinin(mati;jasad orang mati ),dan Ma=ma (iblis).Jangan menjawab sembarangan pertanyaan dari hantu ini karena salah-salah yang ada kamu bisa kehilangan kakimu sendiri atau kakimu berubah menjadi melintir.

13.Akamento

Konon hantu ini akan melemparkan pertanyaan kepada siapapun yang akan menggunakan toiletnya : “Akai-kami-Aoi-Kami?”(tissue merah atau tissue biru?).Jika memilih tissue merah,maka kamu akan tewas dengan tubuh bersimbah darah. Jika kamu memilih tissue biru maka kamu akan tewas dengan tubuh membiru karena seluruh darahmu terhisap atau tewas gantung diri. Jika kamu memilih warna lain,kamu akan terlempar ke dunia gaib dan tidak akan pernah kembali lagi. Jadi berdoalah agar tidak pernah bertemu dengan hantu ini.

14.Azuki Arai

Digambarkan menyerupai kakek-kakek dengan postur kecil sekitar 150 cm. Kepalanya botak dengan helai rambut tipis di sisi kiri dan kanan kepalanya.Tubuhnya bungkuk dan selalu membawa bejana bambu berisi kacang azuki.

Kuo ka,shoki shoki” (cuci kacang ini? Atau kutangkap seorang manusia untuk kumakan? Shoki-shoki!”

Legenda tentang azuki arai berawal dari anggapan yang mengatakan bahwa suara gemericik air di tepi sungai membuat pendengaran disorientasi.Kebanyakan orang yang mendengar nyanyian azuki arai merasa penasaran dan ingin mencari tau dari mana asalnya.berhati-hatilah,karena di sinilah perangkap azuki arai sebenarnya.Saat kelelahan atau lengah,orang tersebut akan mengambil jalan yang lengah,orang tersebut akan mengambil jalan yang salah hingga tersesat dan celaka.

15.Nekomata

Merupakan salah satu jenis bakeneko(hantu kucing) yang berarti kucing berekor 2.

menurut Meigetsuki yang ditulis pada abadke-13 oleh seorang bangsawan kyoto,pernah terjadi seorang nekomata datang menghabisi 7-8 manusia hanya dalam 1 malam.Jika orang yang dituju ternyata sudah meninggal dunia,nekomata akan menghantui keturunan maupun kerabat sang majikan.Youkai ini tidak akan menggangu orang lain yang tidak ada urusan dengannya.

Nekomata bisa membangkitkan jasad tersebut menjadi seperti hidup dan ia mainkan seperti boneka.Karena itulah,muncul mitos bahwa sangat dilarang membiarkan kucing berada di dekat jenazah apalagi sampai melangkahi jenazah.

16.Kyohime

“kebencian mampu mengubah wanita menjadi ular”

Story

Di tepi sungai hidaka,terdapatlah sebuah kuil yang bernama Doujouji.Disananalah hidup seorang biarawan muda bernama achin.Dia adalah saudara laki-laki Kaisar Suzaku,namun karena suatu hal dirinya diperintahkan menjadi biarawan.Setiap tahun achin melakukan perjalanan ke tiga empat suci dan kebiasaannya mneginap di penginapan di desa musago.Disana dia bertemu Kiyohime. Anchin sering memanjakannya,sehingga pada suatu hari Kiyohime menyatakan cintanya pada Anchin.

Anchin berusaha menolak,karena dirinya sudah berikrar.Kiyohime tidak pedulu tetap mengejarnya,sampai akhirnya ia meminta pada pertolongan roh neraka,namun kesolehannya Anchin selamat. Karena semakin lama dia sudah marah karena ditolak, perasaannya berubah menjadi kebencian.Kiyohime mengunjungi biara tempat achin berada tetapi ia terperangkap di lonceng besar ketika menunggu dan ia berubah seekor ular api.setalah itu,ditemukan debu putih jenazah anchin,namun Kiyohime tidak ditemukan.

17. Akaname

Jangan malas membersihkan kamar mandi atau akaname akan datang ke rumahmu. Jaman dulu kamar mandi jepang sangat sempit dan tidak terawat.Kehadiran akaname juga musiman. Ia lebih senang datang pada saat musim panas di saat kondisi kamarb mandi lebih hangat,lembab,dan lebih cepat berbau dibanding biasanya.Akaname baru akan keluar jika pemiliknya rumah sudah tertidur lelap.

Cara menyerang

Akaname tidak berbahaya dan tidak melukai. Ia lebih cenderung mengagetkan siapa saja yang melihatnya.Walau ia bergerak secara sembunyi-sembunyi,akaname kurang kurang pandai menyembunyikan suara berisik akibat kukunya yang mengetuk lantai saat ia jalan.Ia malah paling tidak suka jika aksinya diketahui orang lain dan akan buru-buru kabur.Jika aksinya sukses,akaname baru akan pergi setelah merasa kenyang.

18.Karakasa

Youkai berwujud unik ini sebenarnya memiliki masa lalu yang cukup menyedihkan.Pada suatu hari,ada sebuah payung kertas yang tertinggal di keranjang tempat penitipan payung.Payung dengan kondisi bagus tersebut tidak pernah diambil lagi oleh pemiliknya. Si payung kertas berada di keranjang dalam waktu yang lama dengan penantian yang panjang. Semakin lama menunggu,lembaran kertas payung itu sobek dan kayunya menjadi lapuk. Si payung akhirnya menjadi benda yang “mati” karena sudah tidak bermanfaat lagi.`Perasaan’ terbuang ini membuat payung itu menjadi ‘medium’ empuk bagi makhluk halus untuk merasukinya sehinggalah jadilah Karakasa alias hantu payung.Youkai ini memiliki ciri berbentuk payung kertas,memiliki 1 buah mata dan sebuah kaki yang berbulu seperti kaki dewasa. Karakasa biasanya berkeliaran saat malam hari untuk mencari perhatian manusia.Mereka tidak membahayakan jiwa,dan cenderung lebih mencari perhatian. Namun karena wujudnya yang mengerikan,bukannya tertarik untuk bermain, manusia akan lari tunggang langgang melihatnya.

19.Bura-Bura

Lampion yang sepintas mirip dengan Jack’O Lantern dalam budaya barat.Bedanya,Jack’O Lantern versi Jepang terbuat dari lampu kertas.Jaman dahulu sebelum ada listrik di Jepang.Restoran biasanya menggunakan lampion dengan lilin didalamnya sebagai penerangan.Namun seiring dengan perkembangan teknologi,penggunaan lampion menjadi berkurang dan manusia lebih memilih memakai lampu hemat energi. Beberapa lampion yang sudah tidak terpakai dibiarkan begitu saja dan kemudian menjadi ‘hantu’ la,pion karena dirasuki oleh makhluk halus. Wujud bura-bura adalah lampion kertas dengan wajah menyerupai manusia. Memiliki mata,mulut dan lidah yang terjulur keluar.Kadang lidahnya menyerupai nyala api.

20.Mokumokuren

Jaman dahulu kala,musafir menjadikan rumah tak berpenghuni sebagai pemberhentian sementara. Tentulah rumahnya sudah tidak bagus lagi.Kondisi ini kerap menjadi sasaran empuk bagi makhluk halus bersemayam. Dengan memanfaatkan benda-bemda rusak itulah moku-mokuren.

Youkai ini berwujud hanya sepasang bola mata.Bola mata ini biasanya menampakkan dirinya dari celah0celah benda yang sudah rusak seperti mata kayu,serat-serat tatami,atau mengntip dari kertas shoji yang sudah bolong.

Alkisah pada zaman Jepang kuno,ada seorang pedagang yang pelit dan kikir dan mata duitan tengah melakukan perjalanan jauh. Berniat ingin menghemat ongkos. Ia memilih bermalam di rumah kosong. Walau ada orang mengigatkannya jangan masuk ke rumah itu,tidak dihiraukannya. Awalnya biasa saja,tetapi lama-lama sperti ada yang mengawasinya. Bukannya takut dia malah mengconkel mata dari kertas shoji di pintu geser yang sudah sobek dan menjualnya ke dukun yang biasa menjalani praktek secara ilegal.