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Shadow Wood

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Tradition / Region: Chinese mythology
Alternate Names: Gall Wood
Category: Plant

The Myth

Shadow Wood is a mysterious tree said to grow on Yingzhou Island, a distant and sacred place filled with steep mountains and the dwellings of immortals. Among these divine peaks, the tree stands as one of the island’s wonders.

Its leaves shine in an unusual way. When seen beneath the sun, their clustered forms resemble stars scattered across the sky, so that the tree appears as though it holds a fragment of the heavens within its branches.

The Shadow Wood grows slowly, and centuries pass before it offers its gift. Only once in a thousand years does it bear fruit. When it finally ripens, the fruit resembles a melon, with a green skin and dark, black flesh inside. Those fortunate enough to eat it are said to feel their bodies grow light, as if freed from earthly weight, and some claim it brings them closer to the state of immortals.

Because of its strange nature, the tree is also associated with gall wood, the knotted growths that sometimes form on tree roots. These natural swellings were thought to share in the tree’s power, and so the name Shadow Wood came to be used for them as well.

Thus the tree of Yingzhou remained a sign of the immortal realms — a plant whose fruit ripened only once in an age, and whose taste could lift a mortal body toward the heavens.

Gallery

Sources

Wikipedia contributors. (n.d.). 影木. In Wikipedia. Retrieved March 1, 2026, from https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/影木

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Longqi Grass

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Tradition / Region: Chinese mythology
Alternate Names: Dragon Beard Grass, Jinyun Grass, Dragon Fodder
Category: Plant

The Myth

On Donghai Island, in the waters of the Longju River, there was said to grow a remarkable and powerful grass known as Longqi. The place was already famous in legend as the pasture where King Mu of Zhou once raised his eight extraordinary horses, and it was believed that this grass was the source of their unmatched strength.

Longqi grew among stones and shallow water along the riverbanks and roadsides. Its shoots rose straight from the ground without branches, slender and upright. In summer, small spikes formed at the tips, blooming into flowers that later produced tiny red fruits.

To ordinary eyes it was only a plant, yet its power was known to animals and people alike. Horses that grazed on Longqi became swift beyond measure, able to run thousands of miles in a single day. Because of this, people said that the grass carried the breath of dragons, and an old saying spread: a dragon plant can turn a horse into a dragon foal.

The grass was also valued for its medicinal qualities. It was said to be slightly cold in nature and not poisonous. When used as a remedy, it could drive out harmful forces from the heart, ease troubled urination, cure swelling and sores, and relieve rheumatism. Those who consumed it regularly were believed to grow stronger, their bodies becoming lighter, their sight and hearing sharper, and their lives longer.

Because it could be harvested, tied into bundles, and fed to horses, people also called it Dragon Fodder. Travelers and scholars wrote that wherever water met stone, the grass might be found, quietly growing while carrying the hidden strength of dragons within it.

Thus Longqi was remembered as a humble plant with extraordinary gifts — a grass that could grant speed, health, and long life to those who knew its secret.

Gallery

Sources

Wikipedia contributors. (n.d.). 龙剑. In Wikipedia. Retrieved March 1, 2026, from https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/龙剑

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Ninmenju

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Tradition / Region: Japanese Mythology
Alternate Names: Jinmenju
Category: Plant

The Myth

In remote mountain valleys there grows a strange and unsettling tree known as the Ninmenju, the Human-Face Tree. At first glance it appears ordinary, its trunk and branches no different from any other woodland tree. But when it blossoms, its true nature is revealed.

Instead of normal flowers, the Ninmenju produces heads shaped like human faces. These faces cannot speak, yet they are alive in their own way. They smile constantly, their expressions gentle and curious, and sometimes they even laugh softly among themselves as they sway in the wind.

When autumn comes, the tree bears fruit shaped like these same human faces. Travelers who dared taste them said the fruit was sweet and sour, pleasant despite its eerie form.

The tree reacts to those who pass beneath it. If a traveler laughs at the strange sight of the smiling heads, the flowers will laugh in return. Their laughter echoes back from the branches, as though the tree itself is mocking the person below. But if the laughter grows too loud or too harsh, the delicate heads begin to wither. One by one they wilt, loosen, and fall from the tree to the ground.

Stories say that this tree did not originate in Japan. It was said to have come from distant lands far to the west, beyond deserts and foreign kingdoms, in territories known only from travelers’ tales. From there, its legend journeyed across countries and centuries until it became known in the mountains of Japan, where the smiling faces still bloom in hidden valleys.

Gallery

Sources

Wikipedia contributors. (n.d.). Jinmenju. In Wikipedia. Retrieved March 1, 2026, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jinmenju

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Tree of Waq Waq

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Tradition / Region: Arabic mythology
Alternate Names: Waqwaq Tree, Tree of Women, Waq Waq Islands Tree
Category: Plant

The Myth

Far beyond the known seas, on distant and mysterious islands, travelers spoke of a marvelous tree unlike any other. This was the Tree of Waq Waq, a tree said not to bear fruit, but living beings.

From its branches grew figures shaped like humans. In some tellings they were small children, hanging from the limbs like strange blossoms. In others, especially in the western Islamic lands, the fruits of the tree were beautiful women. They formed gradually, swelling and ripening as if nourished by the tree itself, until they were complete.

When the time came, the figures would detach and fall to the ground. As they dropped, they gave out a sharp cry — “Waq! Waq!” — the sound from which the tree took its name. Some were said to live after falling, while others perished the moment they struck the earth, like fruit that had ripened only to spoil.

Sailors, merchants, and scholars repeated stories of these islands, placing them somewhere at the edges of the world, beyond India or near the lands of the rising sun. Some described entire shores lined with these trees, their branches heavy with human forms swaying in the wind.

Because the tree produced only women in certain accounts, it was said that this was how the island’s people reproduced, the tree itself sustaining their lineage generation after generation.

Thus the Tree of Waq Waq stood in legend as one of the wonders of the world — a living tree whose fruit was human life itself.

Gallery

Sources

Sibree, J. (1896). Madagascar before the conquest: The island, the country, and the people, with chapters on travel and topography, folk-lore, strange customs and superstitions, the animal life of the island, and mission work and progress among the inhabitants. New York: Macmillan; London: T. F. Unwin.

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Alruinmannetje

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Tradition / Region: Dutch Mythology
Alternate Names: Galgenmannetje, Pismannetje, Alruin
Category: Plant

The Myth

The Alruinmannetje is said to be the root of the poisonous mandrake plant, shaped vaguely like a tiny human figure. Because of this form, people believed the plant was not merely a root but a being with a spirit living inside it.

It was feared above all when pulled from the earth. The Alruinmannetje was said to scream with such a terrible, piercing cry that anyone who heard it would fall dead on the spot. Only those who managed to survive this dreadful moment could claim the root. If they then treated it well — giving it a small bed, dressing it in cloth, and feeding it milk and food — the spirit within would become loyal to its keeper.

Once cared for properly, the Alruinmannetje was believed to whisper secrets to its owner and reveal hidden knowledge. It could also bring wealth. At night, it would fetch money for the household, and coins placed beside it in the evening would be found doubled by morning.

The root was sometimes called Pismannetje because people believed it sprang from the urine of a freshly hanged man beneath the gallows. From this grim origin, the plant gained its connection to death, magic, and the unseen world.

In Friesland, the name Alrún was also used for a witch from Raerd who possessed the power to heal people and lift enchantments, showing how the name of the root became linked not only to a plant, but to human magic as well.

Gallery

Sources

Abe de Verteller. (n.d.). Van aardmannetje tot zwarte juffer: Een lijst van Nederlandse en Vlaamse elfen en geesten. Retrieved March 1, 2026, from https://abedeverteller.nl/van-aardmannetje-tot-zwarte-juffer-een-lijst-van-nederlandse-en-vlaamse-elfen-en-geesten/

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Daigo Hakurō

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Tradition / Region: Japanese Mythology
Alternate Names: —
Category: Wolf

The Myth

In the mountains of Daigo in Yamashiro Province, many wolves were said to roam, troubling travelers and woodcutters who entered the forests.

One day a young boy went into the mountains to gather firewood. As he worked, a wolf suddenly appeared, seized him, and carried him deep into the wilderness. When the wolf reached a grassy place, it set the boy down. Realizing he could not escape by force, the boy pretended to be dead.

The wolf clawed open the earth and dug a large pit. It pushed the boy into the hole and buried him beneath the soil. Yet each time the boy tried to move, the wolf returned to sniff the ground, guarding its hidden prey. At last, when the wolf seemed satisfied and went away, the boy dug himself free and climbed a tall tree nearby, hiding among the leaves to watch.

After some time, the wolf returned — this time accompanied by a great white wolf, far larger than the first. Together they dug open the pit, only to find it empty. The first wolf ran about in agitation, howling in anger, never suspecting the boy above them. At length it lowered its ears, bowed its head, and crouched before the great white wolf as if in shame.

The white wolf stood still for a time. Then it rose and struck the other wolf upon the head with its paw.

The punished wolf remained crouched and motionless. Evening fell, and the boy stayed in the tree through the night. By morning, passing woodcutters came near, and the boy cried out to them, asking for rescue and warning that a wolf sat below.

The men rushed forward with axes and blades, but the wolf did not move. When they approached, they found it already dead. Its skull had been crushed, and its head lay broken open.

When the boy told what he had witnessed, everyone was astonished. They praised his quick thinking and spoke of the strange justice of wolves, recalling the old saying that even tigers and wolves possess a sense of duty.

Thus the tale was told as proof that even among beasts, there can be order, judgment, and punishment.

Gallery

Sources

Tyz-Yokai Blog. (n.d.). Daigo Hakurō. Retrieved March 1, 2026, from https://tyz-yokai.blog.jp/archives/1074589299.html

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Shōben-no-

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Tradition / Region: Japanese Mythology
Alternate Names: —
Category: Wolf

The Myth

In Kotonan Town of Kagawa Prefecture, charcoal burners working deep in the mountains lived in simple huts far from villages. At night they relieved themselves in buckets kept as makeshift toilets beside the huts.

Yet many mornings the buckets were found strangely empty.

People said that in the dark hours a creature known as the Shōben-no- came creeping out of the forest. Silent and unseen, it approached the huts and drank the urine left in the containers. No one ever clearly saw it, but its presence was taken for certain, for the buckets never remained full overnight.

Some believed the being was not a yokai at all, but a wolf in disguise. Wolves, it was said, craved salt, and the taste of urine drew them from the mountains. Across the region stories spread of wolves licking urine barrels or creeping near homes in search of the salty liquid.

To keep the creature away, some people moved their toilets indoors or placed them in courtyards. Others left salt outside in hopes of satisfying the animal before it came closer to the house.

In some places it was said that wolves which drank urine became dangerous and might attack people. In others, they were believed to do so only when sick, seeking the liquid as a cure. One tale tells that when a wolf repeatedly came to drink from a household’s bucket, the family prayed to the deity Gion-san, and after the prayers the visits ceased.

Thus the Shōben-no- remained a shadow of the mountains — perhaps a yokai, perhaps a wolf — known only by the emptied buckets it left behind.

Gallery

Sources

Tyz-Yokai Blog. (n.d.). Shoben-no. Retrieved March 1, 2026, from https://tyz-yokai.blog.jp/archives/1010654291.html

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Kintakakō

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Tradition / Region: Japanese Mythology
Alternate Names: —
Category: Dog

The Myth

In the Saigo region of Miyazaki Prefecture, people once believed that certain invisible spirits could possess human beings. Among these were snake gods, Inari spirits, dog spirits, and a more powerful presence known as the Kintakakō.

Dog spirits in the region were thought to be unseen by ordinary eyes. Some said they appeared like rats, snakes, or dogs with forked tails. These spirits could be sent against a person out of jealousy, hatred, or rivalry. Those who were weak in body or spirit — the elderly, the sick, or pregnant women — were especially vulnerable.

When such a spirit entered someone, the person might suddenly lose their senses while walking along the road. They would shout strange words, speak wildly, or collapse before recovering as if nothing had happened. Others suffered joint pain, fever, or lingering illness. People believed these afflictions were the work of dog spirits directed by hostile families.

The Kintakakō were said to be similar to these dog spirits but of higher rank and greater power. They were feared because they were said to bite their victims. A person possessed by one was called a kazemochi. The condition was believed to run in families, passed down through bloodlines. Children under the influence of a Kintakakō were said to speak boldly and strangely, uttering words no child should know.

In nearby districts, certain priests known as Hijirigami were believed able to drive these spirits away. Some people described the possessing being as a small animal the size of a kitten. A household that secretly kept such a creature might prosper, for it was believed to harm enemies and steal fortune from others on behalf of its master.

Thus the Kintakakō was feared both as a curse and as a dangerous blessing — an unseen dog spirit whose bite could bring madness, illness, or hidden wealth, depending on whose command it obeyed.

Gallery

Sources

Tyz-Yokai Blog. (n.d.). Kintakakou. Retrieved March 1, 2026, from https://tyz-yokai.blog.jp/archives/1085598002.html

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Inugami Myōjin

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Tradition / Region: Japanese Mythology
Alternate Names: Inugami, Inuzuka, Loyal Dog
Category: Dog

The Myth

Across Japan there are many stories of loyal dogs who sacrifice themselves to save their masters, and in some places these dogs are worshipped as gods under the name Inugami Myōjin.

One ancient tale tells of a hunter who lived by the Shirajiya River. He hunted constantly in the mountains, killing deer and wolves without prayer or remorse. His only companion was a faithful hunting dog named Koshiromaru.

One day, the hunter entered the forest with his dog and was caught far from home when night fell. Uneasy, he took shelter beneath a rotten tree and prepared to sleep. As darkness deepened, Koshiromaru suddenly began barking wildly at him, leaping and circling in agitation. The hunter tried to quiet him, but the dog would not stop. Angered and thinking the dog had gone mad, the hunter drew his sword and cut off its head.

In that instant the severed head leapt into the hollow of the tree and clamped its jaws onto a giant snake that had been hiding there, ready to swallow the hunter whole. The head continued biting until the serpent died.

Realizing that his dog had tried to save him, the hunter was overcome with grief and remorse. To honor Koshiromaru’s loyalty, he built a shrine on that very spot and began worshipping the dog’s spirit as a deity. The shrine came to be known as Inugami Myōjin, and the region itself took its name from the dog’s sacrifice.

Another old story tells of a hunter in Mutsu who kept many dogs and often slept in the mountains with them. One night a single dog woke and barked fiercely, leaping at its master. Thinking it had turned savage, the man tried to strike it down. But when he stepped aside, the dog sprang into the hollow tree where the man had planned to sleep and attacked a massive snake hidden within. The hunter then understood the dog’s warning and killed the serpent. This time the dog survived, and the man returned home deeply grateful for its devotion.

In some darker versions, the master kills the dog in suspicion, only to be slain by the snake afterward. In others, the regretful master is reborn as a bird, forever crying out the dog’s name.

Because of these tales, loyal dogs who died protecting their masters came to be honored throughout Japan. Shrines, mounds, and place names commemorate them, and their spirits are believed to guard the living. Thus the faithful dog, once a humble companion, is remembered as Inugami Myōjin — a protector whose loyalty transcends death.

Gallery

Sources

Tyz-Yokai Blog. (n.d.). Inugami Myōjin. Retrieved March 1, 2026, from https://tyz-yokai.blog.jp/archives/1069534939.html

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Inugami-onna

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Tradition / Region: Japanese Mythology
Alternate Names: —
Category: Dog, Shape-Shifter

The Myth

Inugami-onna is said to be a strange and deadly being — a dog that has taken on the form of a woman.

She appears at first glance to be a beautiful human woman. Her face, body, and voice are entirely human, graceful and alluring. Only when looked at closely does her true nature reveal itself: her legs remain those of a dog, and from behind trails a canine tail that betrays what she truly is.

Those who encounter her are said to feel an immediate, piercing pain in their neck, as though struck by an invisible force. The pain worsens rapidly, and the victim soon collapses, dying in agony without any visible wound.

Because of this, people fear even catching sight of her. Some say she wanders lonely roads or deserted places, appearing silently before travelers. Others claim she comes only to those whose fate is already sealed.

Whether she was once a dog that became human through sorcery, or a spirit born from the power of an inugami, no one can say for certain. But the tales warn that beauty in the night may conceal something far more dangerous — and that meeting the gaze of Inugami-onna is often the last thing a person will ever do.

Gallery

Sources

Tyz-Yokai Blog. (n.d.). Inugami-onna. Retrieved March 1, 2026, from https://tyz-yokai.blog.jp/archives/1069395698.html

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