| Japanese Ghosts (2) | |
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There are a few terms to describe Japanese ghosts. I have introduced "obake" and "yuurei" in the previous article. In this article I will tell you about "youkai," and look at the characters for them. Youkai literally means, "bewitching apparition." They include monsters, goblins, and ghouls. They usually appear at dawn or dusk. Unlike yuurei, which are the souls of the dead and downright scary, youkai are comical, bizarre and mischievous in some way. Here are some youkai.
Oni
Oni, demons or ogres, are one of the most famous youkai.
They are huge and have horns. The color of their body is red, blue, or black. They
usually carry a big iron club (kanabou). They are best known for guarding
the gate of Buddhist hell. They also often appear in folktales. (Momotaro,
Issun-boshi
etc.) They are dumb, cruel, and malicious.
On Setsubun (Feb. 3rd), there is a custom to drive away evil sprits. People scatter soybeans outside of doorways, shouting "Oni wa soto, Fuku wa uchi! (Demon out, Good luck in!)." Click here to learn the kanji character for "oni".
Here are some expressions including oni.
| Oni ni kanabou 鬼に金棒 (Literally means, "Oni with an iron club") |
To make one invincible. |
| Oni no inuma ni sentaku 鬼のいぬまに洗濯 (Literally means, "Do laundry while oni are away") |
When the cat's away, the mice will play. |
| Oni no kubi o totta you 鬼の首を取ったよう (Literally means, "As in beheading oni") |
To achieve a major success. |
| Oni no me nimo namida 鬼の目にも涙 (Literally means, "A tear even in an oni's eye") |
Even the hardest heart will sometimes be moved to pity. |
| Kokoro o oni ni suru 心を鬼にする (Literally means, "To make one's heart an oni's") |
Harden one's heart against pity. |
Click here to see the masks of oni.
Kappa
Kappa are supernatural creatures which live
both on land and in water. They are as tall as a four or five year old child.
They have a beak-like snout, and fins on their hands
and feet. They also have a shell on their back, and a water-filled dish on
their head. As long as the dish is full of water, kappa keep their supernatural
powers. Kappa are known for dragging people into the water and pulling out
their livers through their anuses.
Although kappa harm people sometimes, there are also many tales where they have helped people. They are very curious. They often appear in cartoons because of their lovable images.
Kappa love sumo wrestling and cucumbers.
That is why cucumber sushi rolls are called "kappa
maki". "Okappa" are bobbed hairstyles because they
look like the kappa's hairstyles. Kappa are excellent swimmers. There is a
saying "Kappa no kawa nagare (a drowning kappa)" which means,
even an expert can make mistakes sometimes.
Rokurokubi
Female monsters with long, flexible necks.
They look just like ordinary humans during the day, but at night,
they extend their necks to frighten or spy on people. They sometimes turn their
human faces into those of demons.
Yuki-Onna
A snow woman, appears in a white
kimono on a stormy night. She causes travelers to become lost and freeze to
death. Click here to read
the story of "Yuki-Onna" by Lafcadio
Hearn (Koizumi Yakumo).
Hitotsume-Kozou
A one-eyed goblin,
literally has a large eye in the center of its face. It looks like the shaved head
of a priest. It does not play tricks, but just scares people.
Tengu
Tengu
is also a youkai. Click here to
read about "tengu."
Japanese Ghosts: (1), (2)
