Yokai Attack!. Hiroko Yoda

      Happy households

      Claim to Fame:

      A cute and cuddly countenance cloaks this yokai’s startling ability to destroy people’s lives. But don’t get the wrong idea: it isn’t angry or out for vengeance. In fact, most of the time it’s downright playful.

      Taking its name from the Japanese term for a traditional tatami-floored room and an archaic term for “child,” when happy, the Zashiki Warashi is a pleasant sort of poltergeist. It is especially fond of pranks and tricks, including climbing atop sleeping people in the dead of night, flipping over pillows and unmaking beds, causing music to issue from otherwise uninhabited rooms, and hiding in the midst of large groups of children during mealtimes.

      In essence, this is one yokai you want to have haunting your home, for the Zashiki Warashi’s presence is a sign of good fortune. The problems come when it leaves.

      The Attack!

      The Zashiki Warashi isn’t aggressive. It looks like a harmless little kid. So what’s to be afraid of? That’s the trick. Zashiki Warashi’s glowing good fortune only lasts as long as it’s in your home. Its very presence is a silent demand for respect and care. If it—or more specifically, the home it inhabits—is neglected, it will leave. And when a Zashiki Warashi leaves, you and your family are most definitely in trouble, for bankruptcy, disaster, and domestic strife are certain to follow. A home deserted by a Zashiki Warashi is on the road to ruin.

      “Rake of Prosperity” offerings are sold at temples to beckon the kind of fortune that the Zashiki Warashi can bring.

      Surviving an Encounter:

      Think of the Zashiki Warashi as an adopted child. Take care of your home and everyone in it, and the Zashiki Warashi will take care of you. This yokai is essentially a reflection of the level of happiness of a household. If it leaves, it’s already too late for you and your family.

      Tracking the Zashiki Warashi:

      In spite of its penchant for fun and games, the Zashiki Warashi is actually a timid sort, tending to hide from all but the residents of the homes it inhabits, and more frequently only making itself visible to very small children. Scattering ash on the floor in the evening may capture its tiny footprints come morning.

      Those who want to come face to face with this yokai should visit a certain room in a hotel by the name of Ryokufuso in the Kindai-Ichi Onsen area of Iwate Prefecture. It is fabled as the home of a Zashiki Warashi. There is apparently no shortage of individuals who want to make the acquaintance of this gentle yokai, for the hotel is often booked solid for two years in advance.

      Ferocious Fiends: 005

      Wanyudo

      Ferocious Fiends: 005

      Wanyudo

      輪入道

      Pronunciation:

      (Wah-NEW-doh)

      English Names:

      Firewheel, Soultaker

      Gender:

      Male

      Size:

      Roughly 3 ft. (1m) in diameter

      Locomotion:

      Airborne

      Distinctive Features:

      A flaming wagon-wheel with a human face for a hub

      Offensive Weapons:

      Gaze of death

      Weaknesses:

      Ofuda (paper talismans)

      Abundance

      One of a kind

      Habitat:

      Urban areas

      Claim to Fame:

      One of the oldest yokai; the origins of the Wanyudo extend back more than a thousand years to Japan’s Heian era. When a tyrannous nobleman with a penchant for viciously mistreating townspeople was assassinated during an ox-drawn wagon tour of the city, his vengeful spirit returned in the form of the Wanyudo. Some say it continues to haunt the streets of Kyoto and other cities even today. Taking the form of a spinning, flaming wagon-wheel with a furious human face in place of the hub, the Wanyudo is generally encountered in large cities, particularly residential areas.

      The Attack!

      Those unfortunate enough to find themselves in the path of the Wanyudo as it traces its furious trajectory through the night are mercilessly run down and ripped limb from limb, their remains left smoldering in the streets. In fact, it is said that those foolish enough to gaze upon the Wanyudo as it rolls and flames its way through city skies and streets will forfeit their lives—and their souls—to the angry creature. Such is the power of this ferocious yokai’s countenance that even the shortest, quickest glimpse is enough to induce a raging and life-threatening fever in the observer.

      In one famous urban legend involving the Wanyudo, a woman who peeked out of her home to get a glimpse of the creature was spared death, but startled to see tiny human limbs dangling from its spokes. “If you have the time to gaze upon me, tend to your own child!” it is reported to have roared at her. When she did so, she discovered to her horror that her infant’s legs had been reduced to bloody stumps.

      Sekien’s Wanyudo

      Surviving an Encounter:

      Averting one’s eyes is the traditional expedient. And if you do happen to catch a glimpse, take heart: some people merely faint from the sight of the creature rather than dying. Hey, life’s a crapshoot.

      Another traditional method of surviving Wanyudo encounters is hiding. The Wanyudo is a creature of the night; when day breaks, it heads for the mountains, where it apparently slumbers in anticipation of another night’s terror. In the meantime, whatever you do, no matter what you may hear or how tempted you might be by the fury raging outside your door, do not look at the Wanyudo.

      The safest place to hide from the Wanyudo is indoors. When you have located a suitable structure, paste ofuda, slips of consecrated paper inscribed with the term “kono-tokoro-shobo-no-sato,” on the doorways to keep the beast at bay. Even if the commotion outside seems to have died down, the safest course of action is to remain hidden until sunrise. The Wanyudo is too dangerous to tempt fate by leaving earlier.

      Warding off the Wanyudo:

      Both the legend of the inattentive mother who allowed harm to come to her child and the writing on the ofuda paper have a distinct Confucian bent. The Chinese philosopher Confucius advocated (among many other things) respect for one’s elders, and his teachings spread widely throughout Asia. The text, “kono-tokoro-shobo-no-sato,” literally, “this is the town of Shobo,” refers to a parable involving one of Confucius’ disciples avoiding the Chinese town of the same name because the characters “Shobo” can be read as “triumph over one’s mother.”

      For those interested in creating their own ofuda to ward off the Wanyudo, the specific kanji characters are:

      Copy and post this "ofuda" slip to keep the Wanyudo at bay!