It is Halloween night! And with that, we come to the end of A-Yokai-A-Day 2026. I hope you all enjoyed these 31 stories from Mimibukuro. If you did, and you’re not already a member, I hope you’ll consider joining my Patreon, where you will get stories like these throughout the year, as well as background insight to my work, sketches, and rewards like monthly postcards or art prints.

Our final story is more of a straightforward, classic ghost story than some of the surreal kidan that we’ve read this month. And it deals with a classic yokai: the tanuki. It’s pretty chilling, so I thought it would make a good final story. I hope you enjoy it!

The Strong Man Who Subdued an Old Tanuki

In Katsuura, Kazusa Province, there is a mountain path called Kannonzaka. Long ago, a great hackberry tree stood there, and anyone who passed in front of this tree would find themselves mysteriously shaved bald.

A strong and brave man from this area vowed to his friends that he would vanquish this monster. He strapped his wakizashi to his belt and went out to the hackberry tree in the dead of night. Drawing his wakizashi, he lay in wait for the yōkai to appear, but nothing happened.

“Just as I expected, the monster was too cowardly to show itself,” he praised himself for his bravery.

When dawn broke, he went back home and told his friends that there had been no sign of the monster. They all said to him, “Take a look at your head!”

He reached his hand up and discovered that, without even noticing it, he had been shaved bald.

A young man living in the area saw this scene and thought, “What a disgrace! I will go and test this myself.” He strapped on his sword, and after nightfall went out to the spot. Climbing into the branches of the hackberry tree, he waited for whatever might appear.

Before long, his neighbor came by and called up to him, “It’s dangerous up there in that tree. And your wife has gone into labor! You must come home now!”

But he replied, “I made a promise to my friends that I would come here tonight. Whatever happens, I cannot go back now.”

The neighbor had no choice but to leave.

A short while later, another man arrived and called out, “Your wife has given birth, but it was a very difficult delivery, and she is in grave danger! You must come home now!”

“Even if my wife dies, I cannot go back tonight,” he answered, paying no heed, and this man also had no choice but to leave.

A little while later, the village headman arrived. He scolded him, saying, “Even though I repeatedly sent men from your neighborhood to fetch you, you did not come home. Your wife has now died, and there are matters that must be settled. You must come home immediately!”

“Even if the village headman demands it, I cannot return home before daybreak,” he replied, refusing to budge. So the village headman also left.

Some time later, a light appeared in the darkness. Something resembling a coffin was carried to the base of the hackberry tree, and there appeared to be a burning body inside of it. The man’s wife emerged from the flames, her hair disheveled, and cried, “How despicable you are, not returning to see me, though my childbirth was so excruciatingly painful!”

She spat curses and grievances in every manner. Then she appeared ready to climb up the tree. The young man drew his wakizashi from his belt and struck her down with a single stroke, splitting her in two. She shrieked and fell to the ground.

He gathered some nearby branches and lit them on fire to create more light, and he saw that the body was his wife. He wondered what on earth was going on. Since it still hadn’t revealed its true form, he did not let his guard down, and waited for some time.

Before long, dawn broke, and some villagers arrived. He asked them about his house, and they said that his wife had not given birth. Someone was sent to the village to check, and when he learned that she was safe, he was relieved.

Then he examined the corpse. Finally, it revealed its true form: it was a huge, old tanuki.