Tradition: Japanese Mythology
Alternative Names: Mi-Mi, “Show Me, Show Me”
Category: Ghost
The Myth
Misho Misho is a mysterious supernatural creature described in New Tales of One Hundred Ghost Stories. It appears as a woman’s severed head that floats above the ground, accompanied by eerie flames and mournful cries. Its name is associated with the repeated words “Look, look,” which it speaks as it passes unsuspecting travelers.
The creature appears in a tale about Risuke, a bookseller from Samegai Street in Kyoto who regularly traveled to Nara to sell books purchased in Kyoto and Osaka. One year, after recovering from an illness, Risuke decided to make the journey alone for the first time in a long while. An errand delayed his departure, however, and he was forced to continue along the road after nightfall. As he passed a remote cemetery on the Nara Road, a cold wind swept across the fields, and the darkness of the starless night filled him with unease.
Ahead of him, Risuke spotted a wavering light that was neither foxfire nor the glow of a lantern. As it approached, he heard a woman’s cries. He quickly hid behind a large stone pagoda beside the road and watched as a woman’s head emerged from the darkness, its hair disheveled and its teeth blackened. The head floated about a foot above the ground as though carried by the wind. Passing by with a mournful voice, it repeatedly uttered the words “Look, look,” each time releasing flames from its mouth.
Risuke watched the apparition until it had traveled several dozen feet away, but he soon became dizzy and lost consciousness. He did not recover his senses until just before dawn. When he finally reached Nara and recounted the encounter to his innkeeper, he was still trembling with fear. The tale leaves the nature and purpose of Misho Misho unexplained, presenting it as a terrifying apparition encountered on a lonely road after dark.
Sources
“Misefumisu.” 新版TYZ 妖怪図鑑 (New TYZ Yokai Encyclopedia). https://tyz-yokai.blog.jp/archives/1070141379.html