Tonight's story is a short and strange collection of happenings that occurred at the house of "a certain samurai" in Iga Province during the Keichō era. Iga was located on the famous Tōkaidō highway running east-west linking Kyōto with Edo, and due to its location right on the border of the capital, it was a
Oct 22, 2023 • Subscribe
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(My Wife Draws) A-Yokai-A-Day: The Bakemono of the Outhouse in Kasamari, Ōmi Province
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(My Wife Draws) A-Yokai-A-Day: The Tengu Disguised as a Zatō in Iga Province
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A-Yokai-A-Day: The Nekomata of Echigo Province
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A-Yokai-A-Day: The Bōrei of Tsuruga Province
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A-Yokai-A-Day: The Bakemono of Himeji Castle, Banshū
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…
A-Yokai-A-Day: The Bakemono in the Outhouse
Tonight's story is very short and, if I'm being honest, doesn't translate too well into English. In Japanese, the language is creepy and evocative, but translated into English…
A-Yokai-A-Day: The Ao Oni of Kaga Province
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A-Yokai-A-Day: The Rokurokubi of Fuchū, Echizen Province
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A-Yokai-A-Day: The Bakemono of the Twin Mounds of Rendaino
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A-Yokai-A-Day: The Bakemono at Asama Shrine
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A-Yokai-A-Day: The Bakemono of Komatsu Castle in Ōshū
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A-Yokai-A-Day: The Painted Corpse Wife of Bungo Province
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A-Yokai-A-Day: The Illness of Lord Ikeda Sanzaemon of Harima Province
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A-Yokai-A-Day: The Bakemono Who Haunted Matsuura Iyo’s House
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Today's story talks about a monster called a bakemono (pronounced bah-keh-mo-no). Like yesterday's henge, this is not a specific monster's name, but a generic term for any monster.…
A-Yokai-A-Day: The Bakemono Called Shunoban at the Suwa Shrine in Aizu
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A-Yokai-A-Day: The Attachment of a Goze at an Inn in Mitsuke, Tōtōmi Province
The title of this story refers to a goze. Goze were a female counterpart to zatō, who we looked at earlier this month. The women were traveling entertainers…
A-Yokai-A-Day: The Snake from Tōtōmi Province Who Violated a Man’s Wife
Tonight's story features a common folkloric theme found in tales around the world: animal-human coupling. Japanese folklore is especially rich with this, featuring tales of humans getting it…
A-Yokai-A-Day: How Sandayū From Chikuzen Province Slept With a Ghost
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A-Yokai-A-Day: The Elder of Saikōji in Bungo Province Who Was Attached to Gold
Tonight's story is another example of a problem caused by attachment to material things -- the core sin of Buddhism. That this story takes place at a temple,…
A-Yokai-A-Day: The Incident at Nunobiki Falls, Settsu Province; or, The Pilgrims’ Poems
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A-Yokai-A-Day: How a Woman’s Obsession Became a Snake in Tōsa Province
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A-Yokai-A-Day: How Denzaemon from Amagasaki Met a Bakemono at a Hot Spring
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A-Yokai-A-Day: The Woman Who Every Night Visited Usa Hachiman in Buzen Province
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(My Wife Draws) A-Yokai-A-Day: How Hating a Stepdaughter Backfired in Shimōsa Province
I'm resting my broken arm today to make sure I don't over-stress it, so my wife has kindly taken over for the illustration again. Tonight's story features a…
A-Yokai-A-Day: How Itagaki Saburō Was Killed by a Henge in Suruga Province
Hello yokai lovers! It's that time of the year again: A-Yokai-A-Day is here! In celebration of Halloween season, every day this October I will post a translation and…
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Tonight's yokai is a yūrei, or simply, a ghost. There are lots of ways to say "ghost" in Japanese. Yūrei literally means "faint spirit," and it is used…
A-Yokai-A-Day: How Unshō, a Monk from Shima Province, Escaped from a Poisonous Serpent
Tonight's yōkai is another serpent like the one we saw a couple of weeks ago. Contrary to my normal pattern of leaving yōkai names untranslated, I use English…
A-Yokai-A-Day: How the Mistress of a Certain Man in Kii Province Died and Obsession Brought Her Back
Tonight's yokai is another ghost. However, while yesterday's was described as a yūrei due to being faint and eerie, this one is much more violent. The story never…
(My Wife Draws) A-Yokai-A-Day: The Man Who Had His Bones Pulled Out by a Bakemono
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Tonight's story is about a katawaguruma, although the original illustration found in Shokoku hyakumonogatari more closely resembles a wanyūdō. It just goes to show that the names and…
(My Wife Draws) A-Yokai-A-Day: The Corpse That Came Back to Life in Echizen Province
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A-Yokai-A-Day: The Origin of the Surname ‘Nikurube’
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A-Yokai-A-Day: Munemushi
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A-Yokai-A-Day: Kanmushi
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A-Yokai-A-Day: Shinshaku
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(My Wife Draws) A-Yokai-A-Day: The Bakemono That Lived in the Pond on Lord Mori Mimasaka’s Estate
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A-Yokai-A-Day: How Horikoshi From Tōtomi Province Was Infatuated With His Daughter-in-Law
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A-Yokai-A-Day: The Jealousy of Shibata Shume’s Wife
Jealousy once again rears its ugly head! It's a very common theme in Shokoku hyakumonogatari. In fact, tonight's story contains quite a few repeated themes that we've seen…
A-Yokai-A-Day: The Ghost of Shimazu Tōshirō’s Wife
Tonight's story is a classic ghost story. The ghost has all of the standard elements: the white kimono, the disheveled, long hair, blackened teeth; and she visits every…
A-Yokai-A-Day: The Ghost of Honnōji Shichibyōe’s Wife
One thing I love about the stories in Shokoku hyakumonogatari is that they are so specific about the locations these stories take place. Some of them go right…
A-Yokai-A-Day: The Attachment of Saigō Iyo’s Wife
Tonight's tale takes place in Gōshū, which is another name for Ōmi Province, or what is today Shiga Prefecture. Sawayama is in what is now Hikone City, however…
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Tonight's story features an onryō, the most terrifying of all Japanese monsters. (Yes, even more terrifying than the toilet stroker!) The fear of ghosts that come back from…
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