For today’s yokai I’m going to pause the “cute but scary women” theme and post a cute but scary bird yokai. This one is in memory of my little Pi-chan, who died this morning. She was 7 years old, and was a loving and playful bird who lived a full and happy life. Here she is helping me paint yokai:

I’ll miss you, Pi-chan!

As for today’s yokai, this is the nyūnai suzume. It’s actually a very special kind of yokai, despite its very ordinary appearance. As you’ll find out from its entry on yokai.com, it is the ghost of a nobleman who died in exile, transformed into a yokai, and then returned to Kyoto to attack those who wronged it. You may think that a sparrow would not be so scary, but the nyūnai suzume struck fear into the hearts of the citizens of Kyoto many centuries ago!

What’s special about this kind of deceased nobleman yokai is that an entire ceremonial religion sprang up around them. Called goryō shinkō, it means “religion of ghosts,” and it shaped the foundations of court life in classical Japan. The entire “science” of onmyōdō, or sorcery, was developed to pursue this religion. The purpose of goryō shinkō is to pacify the ghosts (or onryō) of people who were wronged by the nobility and came back to haunt them.

A good part of The Hour of Meeting Evil Spirits is dedicated to goryō shinkō, onmyōdō, and the ghosts connected with this religion. In the book you’ll read about some of Japan’s most famous ghosts and how their worship has helped shape parts of Japanese culture that can still be felt today.

Anyway, on to today’s scarier-than-it-looks yokai!

Nyuunaisuzume / 入内雀 / にゅうないすずめ

Read the full entry at yokai.com!