Tradition / Region: Japanese Mythology
Alternate Names: —
Category: Yōkai, Fish, Monk, Catfish
The Myth
Uso no Seirei is a yōkai depicted in the Bakemono Emaki (Monster Picture Scroll) preserved in the Kawasaki City Museum.
It appears in the form of a bald monk-like figure. Its face has no eyes, no nose, and no mouth. From where its face should be, long whiskers grow, resembling those of a catfish. The creature wears a kimono patterned with images believed to represent the uso, the bullfinch.
The spirit stands silently, without expression or speech. Its lack of facial features gives it an unsettling presence, as though it exists without identity or emotion. The bullfinch pattern upon its robes marks its nature, binding it to the idea of the uso itself.
Uso no Seirei does not act violently, nor does it chase or attack. It simply appears, featureless and mute, a quiet and uncanny figure among the monsters of the scroll.
Gallery
Sources
Tyz-Yokai Blog contributors. (n.d.). [Title of entry]. In TYZ-Yokai Blog, from https://tyz-yokai.blog.jp/archives/1010653494.html
Interpretive Lenses
Religious Readings
- Christian Ascetic Deep Dive
Philosophical Readings
- Nietzschean Deep Dive
Psychological Readings
- Jungian Deep Dive
Esoteric Deep Dive
- Hermetic Deep Dive
Political / Social Readings
- Marxist Deep Dive
Other
- How to Invite The Uso no Seire