Tradition: Japanese mythology
Alternative names: —
Category: Cow
The Myth
Mōnen is a yokai depicted in Kikuya Kinji’s Shinshin Obake Nobanashi (New Ghost Tales), published in 1886.
It appears as a cow that has transformed into a ghost. The creature wears a kimono decorated with a wheel pattern and holds its hooves out in front of its body in the manner of a traditional Japanese ghost.
The name Mōnen is a wordplay on mōnen, meaning “delusion,” and mō, the sound associated with a cow’s moo.
Sources
Takahashi, Toshihiro. “もうねん (Mōnen).” 新版TYZ 妖怪図鑑 (New TYZ Yokai Encyclopedia). April 5, 2021. Accessed August 29, 2026. https://tyz-yokai.blog.jp/archives/1078437875.html