JAPANESE GHOSTS AND MYTHS

A nure-onna is a yokai which has a snake’s body and woman’s head that had sharp teeth. Usually hanging out along riverbanks or the seaside, the nure-onna shows the upper part of its body and has its hair tied up to entice men. When a man is attracted by her beauty, it will coil around him with its long tails and squeeze him to death.

The jorogumo is a spider yokai which plays the biwa, a Japanese musical instrument, and attracts men with its beauty, When a man is attracted by its appearance and music, the jorogumo will bind spider threads around the victim and have him as its meal.

Resembling a giant bear with a pair of wings and sharp claws, a waira hides in the mountains and feeds on animals. It also eats human beings when it is starving.

The Tenjo-kudari is a ghost which sneaks out of the ceiling to frighten sleepers at night. The Tenjo-kudari enjoys licking people’s faces with its long and red tongue. When the victim is awakened and frightened, it will sneak back into the ceiling.

Kubire-oni are the souls of victims who drown in lake or ponds. The kubire-oni pops out of the water all of a sudden and drags people on the bank to drown them in the water. Those who fall victim will also become a kubire-oni.

Onmoraki are the souls of those who die from starvation and loneliness after losing their way in the mountains or grassland. When there are trespassers in its territory, the onmoraki will scream fearfully, exhale fire and grab their food.

The baku is a yokai which eats up dreams. Those who often have nightmares will only have to say “I’m passing the nightmare over to baku”, and they will never be bothered by nightmares again. The appearance of the baku is a hybrid-a bear’s body, an elephant’s trunk, a rhinoceros’ eyes, a bull’s tail and a tiger’s claws. It is said that when God created animals, the baku was created by assembling the features of these animals.