Today was the first actually chilly day this fall. I was beginning to get worried because we had such a long, hot summer — I was afraid our fall would be late and warm as well. I finally noticed a little bit of color on the trees today, though, and I had to wear a light jacket today. It was wonderful, and it really made me feel like this is fall; and it really made me feel like Halloween is coming soon! And this perfect fall weather couldn’t have come at a better time, because we are now most definitely in the 3rd and final section of 2010’s A-Yokai-A-Day project: scary women! From now on until the end of the month I will bring you a different scary/evil/ghostly woman straight out of Japan’s most chilling ghost tales. Let’s take a look at today’s:
Kage-onna
With a name like kage-onna, or “shadow woman,” this yokai is pretty self descriptive. There are a number of ancient tales of this yokai/ghost appearing in homes, but they generally follow the same theme: the shadow of a young woman appears mysteriously on the opposite side of the shoji, or rice-paper door, but when you check the other side, there is nobody there. She may be accompanied by noises as well. The stories of people haunted by kage-onna generally don’t have people running screaming out of the house… they’re eerie and creepy, but more-or-less benign. Perhaps the creepiest thing, though, is that while usually this monster takes the form of a younger, attractive woman… other days, for no apparent reason, the shadow will be that of a withered old crone with a bell hanging from her neck.
On first thought, that doesn’t seem so scary to most people… but think about it, and visualize it. It’s pretty terrifying. I know — I sleep right next to our window, and I see shadows playing on the curtains all the time… and I have to go to bed right after writing this…
One other foreboding thing about kage-onna is that she often haunts houses that are already full of other yokai or mononoke. So if you happen to see one of these at your window, perhaps you should be expecting other company very very soon!

Kage-onna
Check my Etsy store for the most recent yokai fine art prints! And check back again later this week for when I list the final batch of yokai prints for sale! | 今日はこの秋一番の寒い日です。今年は本当に暑い日が長く続いたので、秋が来るのかと心配になったくらいでしたが、やっと少し木々の葉が色づき始めているのを見る事が出来ました。秋が感じられるようになってきたので、それと同じくハロウィーンが近づいていると実感してきます!秋を感じられるようになってきましたので、丁度いいタイミングです。これから第3セクションが始まり、最終セクションに向かいます!
Kage-onna (影女)
古くからの言い伝えには家に出る妖怪や幽霊の話が多くあります。そのような話によく出てくるのは、若い女性の影が障子に映るが外を見ても誰もいないというものです。また、その女が現れる時には床の軋む音なども聞こえるのというのです。
影女はとても気味が悪く怖いものですが人を傷つけることはありません。しかし人を大変怖がらせるものです・・・。恐らく最も不気味な妖怪のうちの一つなのですが、多くは若くて美しい女性なのだそうです。ところが他の事例では、この影は首に鈴をつけた老婆の姿であるともいわれているそうです。
さっと見た限りではそれほど怖くは思わないのですが、ちょっと考えてみると・もしくはこれを思い描いて見ると・・・これほど怖いものはないですね。私のベッドの横には窓があり、カーテンには影が映っています。これを書き終わったらベッドに行かなくてはなりません・・・。
もう一つ、影女に関するお話があります。それによると、影女が憑いた家にはもうすでに他の妖怪や物の怪がいるという意味を持つというのです。もし、窓辺に影女をみたとしたらば、あなたは予見しなくてはならない。すぐに他の仲間も現れると!

Kage-onna