Happy Halloween!

Today marks the end of A-Yokai-A-Day — a day that is always both sad and a relief for me, as I enjoy doing this project so much, but it’s also exhausting. If you’ve enjoyed A-Yokai-A-Day, I hope you’ll consider becoming a patron (even for just $1!) to help me continue sharing new yokai tales year-round. Patreon is a major source of my income, and I couldn’t do this without the help of all of my patrons. You can become a patron here.

Tonight’s story is about lacquer, and take place place in an area of Tanba Province which is now part of Kyoto. There’s a very similar story from here in Fukui, another famous lacquerware center. So like many folktales, this is one that probably has local variations anywhere that lacquer was produced.

I’ve had the pleasure of learning a lot about lacquer since living in Fukui. Not far from my home is a place where they make traditional lacquerware in the old fashioned way. I’ve visited there several times, and the skill of the artisans as well as the variety of products that can be made are fascinating! Lacquer itself is an interesting substance. It’s basically a kind of tree sap which is very toxic and will give you a really horrible, blistering rash if you touch it. So artisans have to be careful when working with it. It also has this weird property where it dries when it gets wet. It can be used just like oil paint when pigments are added to it, but when it comes into contact with water (or even humid air) it will dry fairly quickly and harden into a very tough substance. That is a key fact to remember during tonight’s story, so keep that in mind!

The Man From Saiki Village in Tanba Province Who Became an Oni While Still Living

There was a poor man in Saiki Village in Tanba Province. He was exceedingly devoted to his parents. One day when he went to gather firewood in the mountains, he went down into the valley to drink and he saw something that looked like a large cow lying down under the water. Mystified, he looked closely and discovered that it was a hardened lump of lacquer that had been flowing down from the mountain year after year.

Thinking that this was a blessing from heaven, he began collecting the lacquer and taking it to Hida and to the capital to sell, and he became very wealthy.

His next door neighbor was an evil man, and when he heard about this situation he planned to somehow stop the man from coming there so that he could collect the lacquer for himself. He put on a large chamfron and a red wig made of yak fur so that he looked like an oni. Then he dove down into the water and waited for the man to arrive. As usual, he came to collect the lacquer, but this time he saw an oni at the bottom of the water and he ran away in fear.

The evil man was overjoyed that his plan worked, but when he tried to get out of the water he found that he could not move. He died, still in his oni disguise.

Tonight’s story is wonderfully silly. And the yokai in this story is a rare one! Instead of a tanuki, yūrei, or a daija, as this book is fond of, we have something like a kodama. To be more specific, this is the spirit of an enoki mushroom, which for some reason or another, has decided to play pranks on humans. Wonderful! Everything about this story, from the evil mushroom, to the ridiculous actor, to the way the mushroom is defeated, is just silly. I love it.

How Mankichi Tayū Became a Bakemono’s Master

In Kamitachiuri, Kyōto there was a sarugaku master named Mankichi Tayū. His noh acting was poor, and when his money ran out he decided to head to Ōsaka. On the way, he stopped to relax and drink tea at a roadside teahouse in Hirakata. It was almost dusk, so he said to the teahouse owner, “I would like to stay here for one night.”

The teahouse owner replied, “That is no problem, except that there is a bakemono who comes here every night and takes people. So we won’t be here at night.”

Mankichi replied, “Even so, I don’t mind.” And he spent that night at the roadside teahouse.

At around midnight, sure enough, he heard the sound of someone crossing the river from the other side. When he looked, he saw a rich monk standing over two meters tall. Mankichi called out to the monk:

“No, no, that kind of transformation is no good. You’re still a novice.”

The monk replied, “What kind of person are you to speak in such a way?”

Mankichi said, “I am a bakemono from the capital, and I heard that a bakemono lives around here, so I came to meet him and see how skilled he is. If he is skilled, I thought I would take him as my master, and if he is unskilled, I thought I would take him as an apprentice. That’s why I’m staying at this teahouse.”

The monk said, “In that case, show me your transformation skills.”

“Very well,” said Mankichi. And he took his noh costumes out of his pack and dressed himself up as an oni.

The monk was impressed and said, “Well now, you’re very good! Next, turn into a woman.”

“Very well,” said Mankichi. And he turned himself into a woman.

The monk replied, “I am amazed at how skilled you are! I would like to ask you to become my master from now on. I am a mushroom who lives under a hackberry tree across the river. I’ve been living here and bothering the people nearby for several years.”

Mankichi asked, “What is your least favorite thing?”

“I can’t stand soup made from miso that has been fermented for three years,” replied the monk. “And what is your least favorite thing?”

Mankichi answered, “I can’t stand freshly caught and cooked sea bream. If I eat it, I will just die right away!”

As they spoke, the dawn was beginning to break. The monk said farewell and went back across the river.

Mankichi dayū told all of the people of Hirakata and Takatsuki about his meeting with the bakemono and their conversation. Then they all gathered together and boiled some miso that had been fermenting for three years. When they poured it on the mushroom underneath the hackberry tree, it immediately shriveled up and disappeared. The bakemono was never seen after that.