Tradition: Japanese Mythology
Alternative Names: 豚化け美女, Buta Baké Bijō, Pig Transformed into a Beautiful Woman, Pig-Woman
Category: Pig
The Myth
Buta Bake Bijo, meaning “Beautiful Woman Transformed from a Pig,” is a supernatural figure from Okinawan tradition in which pigs can take on human appearances. Tales collected in Folktales of Yonagusuku: Stories Told by Grandfathers and Grandmothers, published by the Yonagusuku Village Board of Education in 1989, describe pigs disguising themselves as beautiful women and appearing among young people gathered for nighttime singing, dancing, and socializing.
In one story, young men and women gather in the village of Nōbe for mōashibi, a traditional Okinawan custom in which young people meet outdoors at night to sing, dance, eat, and socialize. A beautiful woman arrives and joins the dancing. Captivated by her appearance, one of the young men follows her after the gathering. To his surprise, she enters a pigsty: the beautiful woman was actually a pig in disguise.
Another tale, reportedly heard in Yambaru by a resident of Tōbaru in Yonagusuku, concerns a large pig that had lived for eight years in a household in Kanna, Ginoza Village. The animal would eat when the household’s mother fed it but refused food from the young daughter-in-law. One day, when the woman tried to feed it again, the pig suddenly attacked her, grunting loudly. After she told her husband what had happened, the animal fled into the mountains.
Later, while young people were gathering for mōashibi near the racecourse at Kanna, a strange woman appeared among them, making pig-like grunting sounds. Recognizing the possibility that the escaped animal was a supernatural pig, the young people fled in fear. The story spread throughout the village, and young men reportedly began pursuing the pig with sticks each night, believing that it had to be killed.
Sources
“Butababijo.” 新版TYZ 妖怪図鑑 (New TYZ Yokai Encyclopedia). https://tyz-yokai.blog.jp/archives/1073560156.html?utm_source=chatgpt.com