Tradition: Japanese Mythology
Alternative Names: Bakegama, Giant Toad
Category: Frog
The Myth
Ōgama are enormous supernatural toads that inhabit remote mountains and rivers. They can grow to incredible sizes, becoming more dangerous as they age. Their bodies may be so large that they resemble boulders or other natural features, allowing them to remain unnoticed beside ponds and streams. Their long, powerful tongues are both agile and sticky, capable of snatching creatures and dragging them into their enormous mouths. When they exhale, their breath appears in rainbow colours. Some Ōgama can also wield spears to attack humans and transform themselves into human shapes to deceive unsuspecting travellers.
According to Japanese tradition, an ordinary Japanese toad becomes an Ōgama after living for a thousand years. These creatures retain many of the habits of ordinary toads, hunting insects, birds, and snakes in the wilderness. They breathe their strange rainbow-coloured vapour upon their prey before catching it with their powerful tongues. Although they usually avoid human settlements, the largest Ōgama may regard humans as food once they grow beyond three metres in length. Even smaller individuals can be dangerous when provoked, using their intelligence and weapons to pursue people.
In Miyagi Prefecture, a famous marksman heard stories of an old woman who appeared at a dilapidated house beside a bridge every night to spin thread. Her neighbours feared that she was a demon. When the marksman first confronted her, her disturbing smile and cackle frightened him so much that he fired at her heart. The lantern beside her immediately went out, plunging the surroundings into darkness. The next morning, the woman had disappeared without a trace. Several nights later, he returned and fired directly at her lantern instead. This time, he heard a terrible shriek and a clattering sound as the light vanished. At dawn, he discovered the corpse of an enormous, hideous toad where the old woman had stood. The mysterious woman had been an Ōgama in disguise.
Another encounter occurred in the mountains of Niigata Prefecture, where a man went fishing beside a secluded pond. He settled comfortably upon a large boulder at the water’s edge and cast his line. A fisherman on the opposite bank suddenly noticed something horrifying and hurriedly gathered his equipment before fleeing. He motioned for the other man to follow, and once they had escaped into the woods, he explained what he had witnessed: the supposed boulder had opened an enormous eye, red as fire, and yawned. When the two men returned to investigate, the boulder had vanished completely. The object on which the fisherman had been sitting was actually a gigantic Ōgama, resting motionless beside the pond until its true nature was revealed.
Sources
“Ōgama (大蝦蟇).” Yokai.com: The Database of Japanese Folklore. https://yokai.com/oogama/