Tradition / Region: Japan
Alternate Names: Te no Me (“Eye of the Hand”)
Category: Yōkai
The Myth
Me-te is a yōkai known from writings attributed to Sato Arifumi. It is described as a blind creature that wanders through open fields, moving as though it cannot see the world around it.
Despite its blindness, Me-te is extremely dangerous. People are warned never to mock or make light of it. Those who laugh at Me-te or assume it is helpless are said to be punished, for the yōkai will suddenly attack and suck out their eyeballs.
Me-te is also known by the name Te no Me, meaning “Eye of the Hand,” a name that reflects its strange and unsettling nature. In illustrations, it appears in a form similar to figures shown in Gazu Hyakki Yagyō, though it is depicted without wrinkles on the face, and its empty eye sockets are shown through deep shading.
Though little is recorded about its origin or fate, Me-te is remembered as a wandering field yōkai whose apparent weakness conceals a brutal and sudden threat.