Tradition: Japanese Mythology
Alternative names: Ō-gyūnikukai
Category: Cow
The Myth
During the Meiji era, an inn in Hirakawa-chō, Kojimachi Ward, Tokyo, became notorious for strange occurrences in its eight-mat room on the second floor. According to an 1898 report in the Miyako Shimbun, anyone who stayed there was said to experience terrifying nightmares in a state somewhere between dreaming and waking.
One guest dreamed that a giant was strangling him. Another experienced a beautiful young woman tormenting him. Two explorers who had returned from overseas decided to stay in the room themselves in order to discover the truth behind the phenomenon.
During the night, one of the explorers awoke from a nightmare in which a giant was strangling him. When he asked his companion what was happening, the other revealed that he too had experienced a strange dream.
His nightmare, however, concerned something much stranger: beef.
In the dream, an enormous piece of beef suddenly descended from the ceiling beams. As someone who considered himself a great eater of beef and horse meat, he initially believed that disposing of it should have been easy, whether by boiling or roasting it. Yet within the dream he found himself completely unable to get rid of the enormous mass of meat.
He tried various methods, but nothing worked. Eventually he became overwhelmed and helpless, suffering so intensely that he awoke covered in sweat.
At the same time, his companion was also suffering from his own nightmare about the giant monster.
The report offered several possible explanations for the strange experiences. Some suggested that animals such as martens living in the attic might emit a form of “animal electricity” that caused the disturbing dreams. Another explanation was more psychological: the first person to experience a nightmare in the room may have told others about it, causing subsequent guests to enter the room already frightened and consequently experience similar nightmares.
The Ō-gyūnikukai is therefore less a conventional monster than a strange Meiji-era account of a supernatural nightmare, in which an enormous piece of beef itself becomes the source of terror.
Sources
Takahashi, Toshihiro. “大いなる牛肉塊 (Ō-gyūnikukai).” 新版TYZ 妖怪図鑑 (New TYZ Yokai Encyclopedia). April 29, 2021. Accessed August 29, 2026. https://tyz-yokai.blog.jp/archives/1078437884.html