Tradition / Region: Japanese Mythology
Alternate Names: —
Category: Cow
The Myth
In old Japanese lore there is mention of a strange being shown only in image, known as the Cow-Faced Monster.
It is depicted with the face of a cow and skin of a deep blue color. Upon its head rests an upside-down trivet like a curious crown. Its eyes are large and round, its nose crooked, and its mouth stretches wide to the ears. The creature has no arms and wears only a simple loincloth.
No tale survives explaining where it came from, what it did, or what became of it. Instead, the record that preserves its image speaks of other things.
It tells of a quiet day at the beginning of the year, when the world seems calm and time passes unnoticed. It reflects that people change while memories remain, that regret arises though the past cannot be returned, and that fortune and misfortune shift without warning. Joy and sorrow, it says, never last, and the heart moves in ways beyond reason, stirred by wind, rain, and memory.
The monster itself stands silent beside these thoughts, neither acting nor speaking. It remains only as an image — strange, unmoving, and unexplained — lingering like a symbol beside reflections on time, impermanence, and the restless human mind.
Gallery
Sources
Youkai Gazou Database. (n.d.). Ushi; Goto-ku (牛；ウシ，五徳；ゴトク). International Research Center for Japanese Studies (Nichibunken). Retrieved from https://www.nichibun.ac.jp/cgi-bin/YoukaiGazou/card.cgi?identifier=U426_nichibunken_0056_0002_0002
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