Greetings yokai fans!

Not all water-themed yokai can be bright blues and greens that make you think of tropical waters and cool you down. Some of them have to reflect the oppressive summer heat that makes August in Japan so unbearable! The color palette in today’s illustration just screams “August” to me.

Naegatsuku was delayed a bit because I was trying to find out more about the origin of its name. As a small, local yokai, there is very little writing about the subject, both online and in my personal collection of yokai encyclopedias. There are plenty of references to the same legends about it, but nothing that goes particularly deep. In order to learn more about it, my wife and I contacted the Okagaki town hall in Fukuoka. Okagaki is the town which incorporates the territory where this yokai originally came from: a tiny villlage called Hatsu, located on a narrow strip of beach between a high mountain and the Sea of Japan.

We sometimes contact town halls and culture centers like this to find local pronunciations of strange names and things like that, so we hoped that they could tell us more about the origins of naegatsuku — particularly its name. As you may have figured out by seeing other yokai names like kitsunetsuki, tanukitsuki, tsukimono, tsukumogami; the “tsuku” part means to possess or attach to a person. So the name naegatsuku refers to being possessed by a spirit called a nae. Nae ga tsuku.

From its description, its clear that its a kind of gakitsuki (possession by a gaki). So it’s not hard to know what the yokai is about. But the mystery is where the name came from. What is a nae? It appears to be a local name for some kind of spirit, but the origin is not recorded anywhere. And unfortunately, the Okagaki city hall was unable to help. They were very enthusiastic and were quite interested themselves when we explained the situation to them. However, because of the small size of the town, that information just doesn’t seem to exist. Sadly, this is the case for local yokai all over Japan — as time passes, information is lost, and only hints of it remain.

So we may never know what a “nae” meant hundreds of years ago, but at least we still have the main idea of this yokai preserved. Here is its story. Enjoy!

ナエガツク
なえがつく

Translation: possession by a “nae”
Habitat: drowned corpses
Diet: insatiable

Appearance: Naegatsuku is a phenomenon in which a person becomes haunted or possessed by an evil spirit and develops an insatiable hunger. It is a type of gakitsuki (possession by gaki–hungry ghosts from Buddhist cosmology)

Interactions: Naegatsuku happens to people when they see the corpse of a drowned victim. How or why it happens in unknown, but merely witnessing a drowned corpse is enough for this possession to occur.

Origin: Naegatsuku comes from the folklore of Okagaki in Fukuoka Prefecture. The origin of its name is a mystery. Nae may be a local name for a drowned spirit, so it literally means possession by a nae. Based on descriptions of the phenomenon and similarities to other yōkai, a nae sounds very similar to a gaki (preta in Sanskrit). When a person dies with lingering attachment in their heart (such as hunger), their spirit can transform into a hungry ghost called a gaki. Gaki are obsessed with food and driven solely by the desire to eat; yet they are never able to satiate their hunger. Their throats narrow so that they cannot swallow, and whatever food they do eat never satisfies their hunger. Their bellies swell distend from their bodies, their eyes become sunken and their skin becomes thin. Their entire existence is suffering. When gaki possess the living, they impart some of their traits onto their victims–an overwhelming appetite, an inability to swallow food, or physical characteristics such as a distended belly.

Legends: A young man from the village of Hatsu in Okagaki once witnessed the corpse of a person who drowned at sea. He was suddenly so overcome with hunger that he rushed home and in one sitting ate enough rice to feed five people.

Greetings yokai fans!

I just wanted to let you all know about an online speaking event I will be participating in this month. It’s free to register, so if you’re interested and your time zone allows it, please join us!

I will be speaking along with Michael Dylan Foster, who you may know as the author of several excellent yokai books. I imagine many of you have probably read his books already!

U.S. – Monday, August 16th, 2021 @ 4:30PM (PDT)
Japan – Tuesday, August 17th, 2021 @ 8:30AM (Japan Time)

Visit here to register:

https://www.usajapan.org/event/yokai-101-exploring-the-thrill-of-japanese-folklore 

I hope to see you there!

Greetings yokai lovers!

Today’s post is kainan hōshi, the creepy ghosts from the Izu Islands. While July is the heart of ghost season here in Japan, you fortunately won’t have to worry about these spooky guys coming to get you until January!

Read on to see what makes them so interesting:

海難法師
かいなんほうし

Translation: shipwreck priest
Alternate names: kannan bōshi, Hiimisama
Habitat: ocean waters around the Izu Islands

Appearance: Kainan hōshi are the ghosts of drowned shipwreck victims. They roam the open sea, riding in washbasins like little boats. On the 24th night of the 1st month of the old lunar calendar, the kainan hōshi come to shore and visit the villages of the Izu Islands. Anyone unfortunate enough to witness them is doomed die.

Interactions: On the Izu Islands, the 24th day of the 1st month is a day of ritual fasting. People do not go to work, and you must stay indoors and remain silent all day. Going outside even to use the outhouse is forbidden–before modern plumbing was invented, villagers would prepare bottles and pots for that purpose. In case you have no choice but to go outside, you should place fragrant leaves in your hair or put a bag over your head. By all means you must never look in the direction of the ocean.

Traditions vary from island to island. In general, on the night of the 24th the kainan hōshi come ashore. Residents plug up the cracks of their doors and shutters with the fragrant leaves of false holly (Osmanthus heterophyllus) and mock orange (Pittosporum tobira). The following day, the sprigs are ceremonially burned. If they make loud noises while burning, it is a signal that the year’s harvest will be bountiful. On Miyake Island they travel from house to house and chant, “Give us dishes, give us bowls, or else give us a human child!” Miyake Islanders place dishes and bowls in front of their houses in order to protect themselves.

On Izu Ōshima these spirits are called Hiimisama and worshipped at a small shrine. On the 24th, a single family is tasked with receiving the Hiimisama as guests. One member of that family spends the night alone on the beach. There, exposed to the elements, they await the Hiimisama’s coming, welcome them, and see that they leave safely.

People who refuse to follow these superstitions soon meet with disaster. Those who fail to put leaves in their doors, or who open their doors during this period may lose the ability to speak, or contract psychological illnesses requiring hospitalization. People foolish enough to venture outside have returned home covered in blood and unable to explain what happened to them. And anyone who catches a glimpse of the kainan hōshi will die.

Origin: Kainan hōshi originate in an incident that took place in 1628. The governor of Hachijō Island, Toyoshima Tadamatsu, was a wicked lord who was hated by the islanders he ruled over. His subjects conspired to murder him. In one version of the story, the islanders convinced Tadamatsu to perform his routine tour of the islands during a time when the sea was roughest. On the 24th day of the 1st month, a storm came down upon Tadamatsu’s boat, and he was lost at sea. Tadamatsu’s vengeful spirit became an onryō. Ever since then, on the anniversary of his death, the ghost of Tadamatsu performs its island tour, seeking vengeance on the treacherous islanders who tricked him.

Another version of the legend says that kainan hōshi are the spirits of twenty five islanders who conspired against Tadamatsu. They murdered him on a dark and stormy night. Afterwards, they escaped into the rough seas riding in wooden washbasins. The conspirators sailed from island to island, but no villagers were willing to give them shelter. And so they were forced to roam the sea, until a storm on the 24th day of the 1st month capsized their ship and they all drowned. Their spirits became onryō. Every year on the anniversary of their deaths, they sail from island to island, cursing the faithless islanders who refused to shelter them.

Kainan hōshi share a number of similarities with funa yūrei, umi bōzu, and other seaborn ghosts. However, the superstitions and customs surrounding kainan hōshi suggest a connection with mikari baba, namahage, and other spirits classified as raihōjin–gods who visit during New Year’s. The dates, ritual purification, decoration of entrances, and receiving of potentially dangerous spirits as guests are features shared by a number of local traditions across Japan.