Tradition / Region: Japanese Mythology
Alternate Names: Monster Born from a Dog; Beaked Dog of Tojinmachi
Category: Dog
The Myth
During the Kanpō era in the mid-18th century, a strange event was said to have occurred in Tojinmachi in Fukuoka. A household dog gave birth to a litter in which one of the newborns was unlike the others.
This puppy was described as having the body of a normal dog but a head shaped like the thick, curved beak of a crow. The unnatural appearance shocked those who saw it, and word spread quickly through the town. Such abnormal births were often regarded as signs or warnings, and people treated the creature with a mixture of fear and curiosity.
Despite its unusual form, the puppy was cared for. It was fed rice and fish like any other household animal, but it survived only a short time before dying.
The incident was later recorded in illustrated works such as Kaikaidan Ekotoba. Although the scroll itself did not give the creature a specific name, later sources referred to it simply as “the monster born from a dog.” In modern references, it is often called the Beaked Dog of Tojinmachi, remembered as one of the strange births and ominous wonders noted in Edo-period tales.
Gallery
Sources
Tyz-Yokai Blog. (n.d.). Beaked Dog. Retrieved March 1, 2026, from https://tyz-yokai.blog.jp/archives/1069207156.html
Interpretive Lenses
Religious Readings
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