Greetings yokai fans! Tonight I bring you Shoki, the Demon Queller. This guy is sure to protect you from all of the nastier yokai we have seen lately!

鍾馗

しょうき

TRANSLATION: none; this is his name

APPEARANCE: Shōki (also known by the Chinese rendering of his name, Zhong Kui) is a legendary hero and deity from ancient China. He is ugly, with a large, hulking body, a long, flowing beard, and fearsome, piercing eyes. He is usually shown carrying a sword and wearing a court official’s cap. Shōki is known as “the demon queller” for his ability to vanquish, exorcise, and even control oni and other demons. He is so feared by oni that even his image is said to scare them away. The demons he defeats sometimes become his servants. It is said that he commands 80,000 demons.

ORIGIN: Shōki originated in ancient China during the 700’s. His story reached Japan by the late Heian period, and his popularity reached its height during the Edo period. Paintings and statues of him are still used as a good luck charms. His image appears on flags, folding screens, and hanging scrolls. Small statues of him can sometimes be seen on the roofs of older houses in Kyoto as well. Shōki is strongly associated with Boys’ Day, a holiday in May. He is revered as a god of protection from demons and sickness (particularly smallpox, which was believed to be spread by evil spirits), and also as a god of scholarship.

LEGENDS: Shōki lived in Shanxi Province in China during the Tang dynasty. His life’s goal was to become a physician in the court of Emperor Xuanzong. Shōki was a smart and diligent student. He trained hard and passed all of the exams to become a physician. He placed first out of all of the applicants and should have easily received the position. However, Shōki was a very ugly man. When the emperor saw his face, he immediately rejected Shōki’s application even though he was the most qualified for the job.

Shōki was devastated. His dreams shattered, he committed suicide on the steps of the imperial palace. The emperor was moved by Shōki’s dedication. He felt great regret for denying the application of such a talented and brilliant man on account of his looks. The emperor ordered that Shōki should receive a state burial of the highest rank—usually only reserved for royalty—and posthumously awarded him the title “Doctor of Zhongnanshan.”

Years later, the emperor became gravely ill. Delirious with fever, he dreamed that he saw two oni. The larger one was wearing the clothing of a court official. It grabbed the smaller oni, killed it, and ate it. Then, it turned to the emperor and introduced itself as Shōki. He vowed to protect the emperor from evil. When the emperor woke up, his fever was gone.

Xuanzong commissioned the court painter to make an painting of Shōki based on his dream. Shōki became a popular deity across China (and later, Japan). He was revered as a god of scholarship for his great devotion to his studies, and as a protector against disease and evil spirits.

You can also see him at http://yokai.com/shouki/

Greetings yokai fans!

Tonight I bring you the last yokai of January, the icicle woman tsurara onna!

She really is a cool yokai, and I had a lot of fun painting on her. I based her appearance on the “fairies” of Suzuki Harunobu, so if you’re a fan of his woodblock prints maybe you will recognize a bit of influence in this one.

Patreon tells me that it will start charging everyone soon, so be on the lookout for that. If you’re getting a postcard, double check your address to make sure it is up to date! If you are getting a print and have any preference over which one you get, now’s the time to let me know! Otherwise, I will surprise you with on I think you’ll like. 🙂

Next month we’ll have two very cool yokai suggested by you guys, and I will be working on getting the tag cloud fleshed out and up and running, to make sure it is useful to everyone.

Enjoy tonight’s yokai, and stay warm!

– Matt

つらら女
つららおんな

TRANSLATION: icicle woman
ALTERNATE NAMES: tsurara nyōbō
HABITAT: snowy areas; only seen during winter
DIET: loneliness; can also eat ordinary food

APPEARANCE: Tsurara onna are beautiful woman that are created from the loneliness of single men during the winter time. When a man gazes longingly at a strong, beautiful icicle hanging from a roof and reflects upon his loneliness, a tsurara onna may appear shortly afterwards. On the surface, a tsurara onna appears to be an ordinary—though exceptionally beautiful—woman. They are very similar in appearance and behavior to yuki onna, which inhabit the same areas during wintertime. When the winter snows melt and icicles can no longer be seen hanging from roofs, tsurara onna disappear along with the cold weather.

INTERACTIONS: Despite their icy origins, tsurara onna can be quite warm and loving spirits. In fact, many stories of tsurara onna involve one which has fallen in love with and married a human. These marriages invariably end in tragedy. The beautiful bride inevitably leaves when the spring comes, leaving her mate confused and heartbroken. And any future encounters the following winter usually do not end well for either party, if the legends are to be believed.

Because they look and behave like ordinary human women, it is often very difficult to identify a tsurara onna. One recognizable warning sign is an unwillingness to enter a bath. Occasionally, stories tell of a woman who refuses to take a bath no matter how much her husband pressures her. Eventually, tired of fighting, she relents and enters the bath. When the husband checks on her later, all he sees are a few tiny shards of ice floating in the tub, and his wife is nowhere to be found.

LEGENDS: There are countless tales of tsurara onna. They are found in every prefecture where snow falls, and each one has its own unique twist. However, there are a few common motifs found in most versions of the story. Many of them are similar or even identical to yuki onna stories. Themes of love, marriage, and betrayal are common.

One iconic example from Echigo Province—modern day Niigata Prefecture—goes like this: a young, single man gazed out his window on a cold, snowy night. He sat there, wistfully admiring the lovely winter scene. He wished in his heart that he could find a wife as beautiful as the icicles hanging from his roof. Suddenly, he heard a knock at his door. A woman’s voice called out, and it was as beautiful and clear as ice.

“Excuse me! I was traveling along this road, but the snowstorm became too fierce and I cannot journey any further. Might I lodge at your house for the night?”

The young man of course accepted (what young man would refuse such a request?), and he was delighted to see the woman’s face was as beautiful as her voice. He worked hard to make sure her stay was as enjoyable as possible.

Several months later, the woman was still staying at the house… In fact, she and the young man had fallen deep in love and she forgot about her journey entirely. They had gotten married and were very happy together.

One spring morning, the beautiful young bride went out shopping. That night she did not return. The young man waited her return night after night. The snows melted, the plum blossoms bloomed, and soon it was spring. The young man asked everyone he met if they had seen his wife. He searched all around, but there was no sign of her at all. Nobody he met could tell him anything either. He slowly forced himself to accept that she had left him. Over time, the young man’s broken heart healed, and he was remarried to young woman from his village.

The following winter, during a snowstorm, the young man found himself looking out the window at the long icicles hanging from his roof. Suddenly, there was a knock at the door. The beautiful woman from the previous winter was standing outside of his house. The young man was shocked.

“I searched for you every day! What is the meaning of this? How could you just vanish like that without a word?” he cried.

The woman replied, “People have different circumstances you know… But we promised to love each other forever. You said that our bond was as long and as solid as the beautiful icicles hanging from your roof. And yet… you have remarried.”

The beautiful woman left the house with a sad look on her face. The young man started after her, when suddenly there was a voice from inside the house. It was his new wife, asking what was going on.

“It’s nothing. Stay inside.”

Suddenly there was loud crash followed by a shriek near the front of the house. The new wife ran to the front door to see what had happened. There, lying in the front yard, was her husband. He was dead, pierced through the brain by an enormous icicle which had fallen from the roof.

Greeting yokai lovers!

I hope you are all weathering the storm. Right now my American home is under over a foot of snow, and my Japanese home is under 3 feet of snow, so everyone in my family is buried in it! But that makes it a good day to sit in with a hot cup of tea and paint all day long. Today’s yokai is perfect for this weather. 

Oh, and we just surpassed the $350 mark, which was the first goal for this Patreon! Hoorah! That means I will be working on adding a searchable tag cloud to the site. It shouldn’t take terribly long, but I will have to write the page, as well as double check all of the tags on each yokai to make sure I haven’t missed any important tags. I’ll post again when that is all finished, but it is something to look forward to in the future! In the meantime, I hope you enjoy today’s yokai!

甘酒婆

あまざけばばあ

TRANSLATION: amazake (a sweet, low-alcohol content form of sake) hag

ALTERNATE NAMES: amazake banbā

HABITAT: dark streets at night, particularly in urban areas

DIET: amazake and sake

APPEARANCE: Amazake babā is a haggardly old woman from northeastern Japan. She is practically indistinguishable from an ordinary old woman, which makes her difficult to recognize as a yōkai until it is too late.

INTERACTIONS: Amazake babā appears on winter nights and travels from house to house. She knocks on doors and calls out, “Might you have any amazake?” Those who answer her, whether the answer is yes or no, fall terribly ill. A cedar branch hung over the door is said to keep the amazake babā from approaching your house.

A variation of amazake babā from Yamanashi prefecture is called amazake banbā. She travels from house to house trying to sell sake and amazake. The consequences of replying to her are the same as with amazake babā, but the way to keep her at bay is slightly different. If you hang a sign at the front door that says “we do not like sake or amazake,” she will leave you alone and go on to the next house.

ORIGIN: Originally amazake babā was considered to be a god of disease—specifically smallpox. During smallpox outbreaks, there was a large increase in amazake babā sightings in major urban centers across Japan, not just in the northeast. Rumors of old women roaming the streets at night selling sake and bringing sickness were rampant in large cities such as Edo, Kyōto, Osaka, and Nagoya. Fear of smallpox was a major concern in urban centers, and contributed to the popularity of amazake babā rumors.

Since the eradication of smallpox, the sickness spread by amazake babā’s has changed from smallpox to the common cold. Even today, statues of her can be found in cities. Mothers visit these statues to leave offerings of sake and amazake so that that their children will not become sick.

Greetings patrons!

Today I bring you January’s first yokai. At first I expected this one to be pretty simple, and I suppose it was in a way. But it was simple because there was literally only one single reference to it in all of Japanese folklore! And sometimes it takes a lot of research to find that out. This is one of those yokai for which nothing exists at all except for a single illustration, with no accompanying text at all, so everything is speculative. (I have added that image as an attachment, along with my sketch of it, if you are interested!) Still, it is a cute yokai and just like the person who requested it, I wished that there was more to know about it.

One of my favorite things to paint is waves like the ones you see above. One of my friends calls them “candy waves” and I like that. They do take a terribly long time though! I’m glad that, even if shihofuki is pretty much unknown and mysterious, I got to paint him along with some candy waves. I hope you all enjoy it!

This post was made possible by the generous support from my Patreon backers. If you like yokai and want to learn more, please consider pledging $1 per month to support my work.

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Happy New Year, everyone!

I’m a bit behind on this final December yokai due to the hardware failure earlier this month. But I just finished her and wanted to share. I will put a longer writeup on yokai.com a little later.

This is kitsune tsuki, or fox possession. We looked at myobu and Kuzunoha, two examples of good foxes… well kitsune tsuki is done by bad foxes. They possess people, causing sickness or mental illness. In fact, up until modern medicine was introduced to Japan, many illness were blamed on foxes! And virtually all mental illness was blamed on them!

Foxes can possess the weak-minded, and are especially good at possessing women (yes, Japanese folklore is very sexist). They enter through a number of places, particularly under the finger nails. There is a long laundry list of symptoms, and the long and short of it is that you need an onmyoji to get the fox spirit out of you.

—

I will be posting a January yokai plan soon, so if you have any yokai you’d like to see, please leave a comment here. Otherwise, you can leave it up to me and I will choose some fun ones! 🙂 I’ll post the hi-res files separately, and I will post again when the writeup for this one is on yokai.com.

Happy New Year!

Greetings, backers!

Today I bring you another kitsune for kitsune month! Today’s is a fairly famous one, and if you’ve read The Hour of Meeting Evil Spirits, you’ve seen her name before: Kuzunoha, the mother of Abe no Seimei!

You can also view her up on yokai.com/kuzunoha

葛の葉
くずのは

TRANSLATION: kudzu leaves
ALTERNATE NAMES: Shinodazuma (the Wife of Shinoda)

ORIGIN: Kuzunoha is a byakko, or white kitsune. She is most famous for being the wife of Abe no Yasuna and the mother of Abe no Seimei. Her story is preserved in a number of kabuki and bunraku plays. The Inari shrine near where Abe no Yasuna first met Kuzunoha still stands today, and is popularly known as the Kuzunoha Shrine.

LEGENDS: During the reign of Emperor Murakami (946—967 CE), the onmyōji Abe no Yasuna sought to rebuild his family house. The Abe family had once been a rich and powerful one, but their land and status were lost years before by Yasuna’s father, who had been tricked by con men. While rebuilding his house, Yasuna regularly traveled to the Inari shrine in Shinoda, Izumi Province, to pray for the god’s blessings.

One day, while walking through the woods of Shinoda, a beautiful white fox jumped in front of Yasuna’s path. It was being chased by a hunter, and it asked Yasuna to save it. Yasuna knew that white foxes were holy to Inari, and he helped the creature to escape. Shortly afterwards, the hunter came to where Yasuna was and the two got into a fight. Yasuna was wounded in the fight, and fell to the ground.

After the hunter left, a young woman came out of the forest to Yasuna’s side. She told him her name was Kuzunoha. She took Yasuna all the way back to his home, and nursed him back to health. The woman continued to visit Yasuna, caring for him and checking up on his recovery. At some point during her visits, Kuzunoha and Yasuna had fallen in love, and so when he was better they got married.

Eventually Kuzunoha became pregnant, and she bore Yasuna a son. They three of them lived happily for some time. However, when their son was five years old, he witnessed something strange. Some say it was when she looked in a mirror, others say it was while she was sleeping; but his mother accidentally let her true form appear for a brief second: she a white-furred kitsune!

Her secret having been discovered, Kuzunoha had no choice but to leave her beloved family. Holding a brush in her mouth, she wrote a farewell tanka on the paper door and vanished:

If you love me, come and visit, in the forest of Shinoda in Izumi, the resentful kudzu leaf

When Yasuna read her poem, he realized that his beloved wife was the fox whom he had saved years earlier. He and their son traveled to the forests of Shinoda, where Kuzunoha had first entered the world of humankind. There, Kuzunoha appeared before them one last time. She presented them a crystal ball and a golden box as parting gifts, and then she left her human family forever.

Kuzunoha and Yasuna’s son grew up to become a powerful sorcerer, thanks to the magical gifts his mother had given him, her yōkai lineage, and his father’s onmyōji training. He took the name Abe no Seimei, and became the most powerful onmyōji in all of Japanese history.

Greetings, patrons!

Great news! My new painting tablet arrived yesterday. It’s been a harrowing two weeks… The customer support at Wacom was a nightmare, and very unhelpful, but I finally managed to get a replacement tablet for the defective one (at no charge… which is nice when we’re talking about a $2500 tool…). The wait time was the worst part of all, and I was beginning to think I might have to put this project on pause this month.

But luckily my new tablet arrived yesterday, and I spent the whole day updating and installing software and getting back to work. Since I finished all of the sketching and research for this month during the almost 20-day hiatus from painting, the only thing left to do is ink and paint the illustrations for this month. So, for that reason, today I can present to you myoubu, the good fox spirits who serve Inari! It’s a little later than I had hoped, but I hope you enjoy it nonetheless.

I will be creating 2 more yokai during the next week, so it’s going to be a busy week catching up on painting. But don’t worry, you will have two more kitsune before New Year’s!

This post was made possible by the generous support from my Patreon backers. If you like yokai and want to learn more, please consider pledging $1 per month to support my work.

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