Tonight’s yokai is a famous one that has appeared not only on yokai.com and A-Yokai-A-Day before, but even in Shokoku hyakumonogatari. Although she is not referred to by name in this story, Osakabe hime is the spirit who inhabits the top floor of Himeji Castle’s keep. According to legend, she appears to the lord of the keep once per year and foretells the castle’s fortune. She considers herself the lord of the castle, and demands the appropriate respect for her position.
I like this story. She seems like a pretty chill yokai, and is even kind to the novice samurai who screws up and has to come back and ask her twice — although it feels like there’s an underlying menace to her calm demeanor, like she is toying with the boy. Then she makes herself known to the lord and shows him who is the real boss. Very cool.
This story mentions the Japanese word zatō, which is a word I’ve chosen not to translate. Zatō make lots of appearances in yokai lore, so readers may be familiar with them already. But just in case, I’ll refer curious readers to this post from a previous A-Yokai-A-Day that talks about zatō in detail.
The Bakemono of Himeji Castle, Banshū
One night, Lord Hidekatsu of Himeji Castle in Harima was bored, so he gathered all of his retainers and said, “Every night, a light appears on the fifth floor of this castle. Is anyone among you willing to go and check it out?”
However, nobody would accept his challenge. Just then, a samurai of 18 years said, “I will go and see.”
“Then, I will give this to you to use as proof,” said the lord, and he handed over a paper lantern. “Light this with the light from the castle and then come back.”
The samurai took the lantern and climbed up the castle’s tower. There was a 17 or 18 year old noblewoman wearing a 12-layered kimono, alone by a lamp. She asked the samurai, “Why have you come here?”
The samurai replied, “I have come on my lord’s orders. Please light my lantern with your lamp,”
The noblewoman said, “As it was the lord’s command, I will permit you.” And she lit the lantern for him.
The samurai was pleased and left, but when he reached the third floor, the light went out. He went back a second time and said, “I’m so sorry but the light went out. Please light it again.”
The noblewoman changed the candle for him and lit the lantern, then said, “Let this be another sign of proof.” And she gave him one of a pair of two combs. The samurai was delighted. He went back to his lord and showed him the lit lantern. Hidekatsu thought this was marvelous and tried to extinguish the light, but it would not go out. When the samurai put the light out, it went out.
“Now then, did anything else strange happen?” asked Hidekatsu.
The samurai retrieved the comb. When Hidekatsu examined it, he saw that it was the comb he had placed in his armor chest. Curious, he checked inside of his armor chest and discovered one of the two combs he had placed in there was missing.
After that, Hidekatsu decided to go and see for himself, so he climbed up the castle tower alone, but all he found was a lamp and nothing else. He waited for some time, and then a zatō appeared.
“Why have you come?” asked Hidekatsu.
“I thought you would be lonely, so I came here,” replied the zatō. “I cannot open the lid of my koto box.”
“Come here and I shall open it for you,” said Hidekatsu.
When Hidekatsu placed his hands on the koto box, they became stuck to it and he could not let go.
“Curses, it was a trick!” he exclaimed, and he tried to smash the box with his feet; but his feet became stuck too.
Then the zatō turned into a kijin around three meters tall, and said, “I am the lord of this castle. If you mock me or fail to respect me, I will rip you into pieces right now!”
When Hidekatsu surrendered and made his submission abundantly clear, the box detached itself and dawn broke. What he thought was the fifth floor of the castle turned out to be Hidekatsu’s own reception chamber.
You did an excellent job capturing the “friendly with some underlying malice.” She looks normal, but the fan, eyes and nails say otherwise.