Tradition / Region: Japanese Mythology
Alternative name: –
Category: Forest dweller
The Myth
Kebō is a strange yōkai said to have appeared in the fields of Hama in Satsuma Province. It is described as being about the size of a four- or five-year-old child, small but unsettling in form.
Its body is covered in red hair, giving it a wild, unkempt appearance. Kebō has a human-like head and torso, with two arms and four legs, each ending in black, sharp, claw-like tips. Around its waist, thick hair hangs down like a coarse skirt.
Although it resembles a small humanoid, Kebō is also compared to an aged ebi-gani, a creature likened to a shrimp or crab that has lived far beyond its time. This gives it an uncanny, half-human, half-creature quality.
Kebō is said to feed on small fish. It does not cry out or speak, remaining silent at all times. When encountered by people, it does not attack. Instead, it is described as smiling quietly, watching without expression or sound.
Because of its silence, its strange smile, and its unnatural form, Kebō is remembered not as a violent yōkai, but as an eerie presence—one that appears briefly, observes, and disappears without explanation.
Sources
TYZ-Yokai Blog contributors. (n.d.). 化け物屋敷のうわさ (Bakemono-yashiki no Uwasa). In TYZ-Yokai Blog, from https://tyz-yokai.blog.jp/archives/1077511760.html