It’s hard to believe how fast this month is going by! I guess it’s true that keeping busy is the best way to lose track of time (is that a saying?). We’re nearing the 2/3 point of the month, and that means that the 2nd section of A-Yokai-A-Day will be coming to an end soon. First we looked at animalian yokai, then we moved into more monstrous and ghostly yokai, and in the next few days we will be gradually transitioning into phase three: scary women! To kick it off, today’s yokai straddles that border; she is both scary woman and horrible monster.

Nure-onna

Literally “wet woman,” nure-onna is something you should hope never to run into. Normally she is a solitary yokai, but occasionally it is said she works together with one of the crab-like ushi-oni. She’s a clever shapeshifter and disguises herself as a beautiful woman in need to help — usually carrying a baby, waiting by a lake or a river or the sea, and sometimes baby-less and combing her hair by herself. When an unsuspecting human comes by and offers to help her, or disturbs her, she begins her attack! If she is carrying a baby, she will ask her would-be savior to carry it for her. Then, the baby will grow heavier and heavier until the human is unable to move under its weight. Examining the bundle will reveal it to be only a pile of rocks wrapped in clothes, but by the time her victim realizes this, it is too late. She will have revealed her true form: a huge, snake-like body up to 300 meters long, and a long serpentine tongue! The final blow comes from her tongue, which she uses to drain all the blood from her victim.

So let that be a warning to you: never to offer kindness to a lone Japanese woman in distress!

Nure-onna

One more announcement: my Etsy store has been fully updated with a 2nd batch of yokai from this month’s creations. The prints are quite beautiful and make great Halloween presents at a very good price! Don’t forget to check them out! | 今月ももう２/３のところまできました！時のたつのは早いものですね。２/３という事は、この妖怪シリーズの第二セクションに入るという事です。最初のほうは動物に関係した妖怪を描いてきました。しかしここからはもっと怖く、ゴーストのような妖怪を描いていきます。そして残り3枚の所にきた所で、大変怖い有名な女の幽霊を描きたいと思っていますよ。

「今日の妖怪シリーズ」今日は濡れ女です。通常は濡れ女は単独で見られる妖怪ですが、牛鬼とともに出没するという伝説がよく聞かれます。彼女はとても上手く姿を変えることができ、助けてあげたいなと相手に思わせるくらいの美人になります（湖か川岸または海で子供を抱いているか自分の髪を抱いて現れます）何の気なしにやってきた人間が彼女に助けを申し出ると、濡れ女の攻撃が開始となります！

もし濡れ女が子供を抱いているならば、その子をしばらく抱いてくれるよう頼みます。それを受け入れてその子を抱くや否やその子供は段々と重くなり、抱いた人間は動けなくなります。奇異に思ってその子を見てみるとそれは大きな岩になっていますが、確認したときには時すでに遅し・・・濡れ女はその正体を現してしまっています。300メートルもある長い蛇のような体に長い蛇の舌をもっており、その舌を使って犠牲者の血を飲み干してしまうのです！

さて、皆さんも日本人女性が水際で困っている様子を見つけても、助ける前にちょっと考えてみてはいかがでしょうか？女は人間でしょうか・・・？

濡れ女