Tradition: Japanese Mythology
Alternative Names: Mitsume-Yōsō, Three-Eyed Demon Monk
Category: Giant
The Myth
Mitsume-Yōsō is a supernatural figure depicted as a gigantic monk with three eyes in a Japanese woodblock print newspaper published in September 1874. The illustration portrays the strange monk towering over a man and a child, while the accompanying story reveals that the terrifying apparition is actually an old tanuki, a Japanese raccoon dog known for its supernatural shapeshifting abilities.
The story reportedly took place on August 3, 1873, in Yanagihara-chō, Tokyo, where a man named Umemura Toyotarō was awakened by an earthquake at around three in the morning. Unable to fall asleep again, he lay in bed beside two boys, aged fourteen and eleven. Suddenly, the boys became frightened, and a gigantic monk appeared beside Toyotarō’s pillow. The figure grew rapidly until its head nearly reached the ceiling.
Toyotarō bravely seized the shapeshifter by the hem of its clothing and wrestled it to the ground. With the assistance of the two boys, he managed to capture the creature, discovering that the enormous monk was actually an old tanuki in disguise.
Although the woodblock print prominently depicts the monk with three eyes, the original newspaper report described only a monk of extraordinary height and made no mention of additional eyes. The three-eyed appearance was therefore an embellishment of the illustrated version of the story.
Sources
“Mitsume Yoso.” 新版TYZ 妖怪図鑑 (New TYZ Yokai Encyclopedia). https://tyz-yokai.blog.jp/archives/1071401240.html