Tradition / Region: Japanese Mythology
Alternate Names: Matsutake Monster
Category: Plant, mushroom
The Myth
Long ago, on a distant place known as Dwarf Island, there lived tiny creatures skilled in transformation. Yet they grew bored of practicing their tricks in a land where nothing seemed new. Wanting to improve their powers, they decided to travel to Japan, where many famous spirits and monsters were said to live.
They hid themselves inside a hollow in the mast of a great ship and at last reached Osaka. When they stepped ashore, they were stunned by what they saw. Everything was enormous — the houses, the streets, and above all the people. Still, they did not abandon their plan.
They journeyed to Mount Yoshino, hoping to learn from well-known monsters there. They sought out Imohoribo of Mount Imoyama and Semushibo of Mount Seyama, but the two only laughed at them. Mocking their small size, they joked that the little creatures should crawl into their ears and clean out the dirt. Ashamed and discouraged, the travelers left.
They went on to visit other famous beings, including a monster of Saga and the mighty Fuji Daitahoshi. Yet everywhere they went, their size made them seem insignificant, and they could only flee from the towering figures they met.
At last they reached Miho no Matsubara. There, from the forest floor, appeared a strange being — a Matsutake-bakemono, a monster in the form of a matsutake mushroom. It called out, “Who am I? I am only a small thing.”
Hearing this, the tiny travelers explained their journey. The matsutake monster welcomed them kindly and told them that being small could be an advantage, since people would not easily fear them. It gave them careful directions toward Mount Hakone and urged them to continue their training.
But when they arrived in Hakone, the monster there refused to take them as students. Instead, it warned them that their fate in Japan was uncertain and advised them to return home while they still could.
Before leaving, the little creatures went down to Edo, hoping at least to frighten the townspeople and prove their abilities. Yet their plan failed. Their bodies were so small that people treated them like toys, picking them up and playing with them. After being handled and tossed about, they were finally captured.
In the end, the tiny monsters saw a painted crane by the artist Sesshū and, believing it to be real, were so startled that they vanished completely, disappearing without a trace. Thus their journey ended, remembered only as a curious tale of wandering spirits and the small mushroom monster who alone had treated them with kindness.
Gallery
Sources
Tyz-Yokai Blog. (n.d.). Matsutake-bakemono. Retrieved March 1, 2026, from https://tyz-yokai.blog.jp/archives/1013072024.html
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