Tradition / Region: Japanese Mythology
Alternate Names: 毛羽毛現, Keugegen (variant reading)
Category: Dog, Yokai
The Myth
Keukegen are strange little creatures said to dwell in neglected homes and damp places where dirt gathers and sickness lingers.
They are described as being about the size of a small dog, but their true form is hard to see clearly. From a distance they appear as nothing more than a lump of long, filthy hair. Up close, the mass shifts and moves, revealing a living creature hidden beneath the tangled fur.
These beings prefer cool, dark, and moist places. They settle beneath floorboards, inside moldy closets, or in abandoned corners of houses where dust, rot, and still air collect. Gardens choked with weeds and damp refuse are also said to attract them.
Though they may seem harmless, Keukegen are not welcome visitors. Wherever they settle, sickness soon follows. People in the house begin to fall ill, fevers spread, and misfortune seems to cling to the place. Because the creatures are shy and rarely show themselves, many only realize they are present when illness has already taken hold.
They do not attack openly and usually avoid being seen. Some who claim to have glimpsed one are dismissed as imagining things, yet the signs of its presence — sickness, weakness, and bad luck — are said to be unmistakable.
The only sure way to drive a Keukegen away is simple: clean the house. Fresh air, sunlight, and order force the creature to leave, for it cannot live where a home is well kept.
Thus Keukegen are remembered as small, filthy spirits that creep into neglected places, bringing disease in their wake, and fleeing wherever cleanliness and care take root.
Gallery
Sources
Foster, M. D. (n.d.). Keukegen. In yokai.com, from https://yokai.com/keukegen/
Interpretive Lenses
Religious Readings
- Christian Ascetic Deep Dive
Philosophical Readings
- Nietzschean Deep Dive
Psychological Readings
- Jungian Deep Dive
Esoteric Deep Dive
- Hermetic Deep Dive
Political / Social Readings
- Marxist Deep Dive