Tradition: Japanese Mythology
Alternative Names: Okita, おきた
Category: Ghost

The Myth

Okita is a tragic woman whose story appears in Tsuruya Nanboku’s illustrated supernatural novel Kaidan Iwakura Mannojō. She is the daughter of Chōshichi, who runs an establishment in Osaka associated with performers who specialize in female impersonation in Kabuki theatre. Okita falls deeply in love with Iwakura Mannojō, a female impersonator who becomes her husband. Despite her devotion, Mannojō is a reckless man who wastes money on drinking and gambling, repeatedly demands money from her, and eventually abandons her while travelling to perform in the provinces. Okita remains faithful and works hard to support herself, but her husband’s debts leave her homeless and destitute. Her only comfort comes from Matasuke, a former servant who helps her financially, and her beloved cat, which mysteriously brings her small silver coins.

Mannojō eventually travels to Echigo, where he begins an affair with Otaka, the daughter of a retainer named Yanagawa Geki. Geki learns Mannojō’s identity and schemes to elevate his own position by falsely presenting him as the missing second son of the Asai family. To clear the way for Mannojō’s new marriage, he sends Okita a letter claiming that her husband has died. Devastated by the news, Okita becomes ill, loses sight in one eye, and spends her days praying. When she finally learns the truth, her grief turns into overwhelming hatred. As she combs her hair, great clumps fall out before her, and she becomes consumed by a desire for revenge. She wanders about in a deranged state, asking for the way to Echigo, before disappearing. On the forty-ninth day after her disappearance, Matasuke discovers a woman’s skull in the Yodo River, with a large, one-eyed eel occupying its eye socket. The eel speaks in Okita’s voice, revealing that she drowned and remains trapped between life and death. She begs Matasuke to have her remains buried and Buddhist prayers performed, but declares that she cannot rest until her vengeance against Mannojō is complete.

Okita’s curse soon reaches Mannojō and Otaka. Her cat appears at their drinking party carrying a false Buddhist memorial tablet and scratches Mannojō’s face. When the tablet is placed against Otaka’s face, it sticks fast, and both suffer grotesque swelling and a mysterious illness. They become increasingly isolated as their servants flee, while Mannojō suffers visions of Okita and attacks those around him in fits of madness. Otaka eventually gives birth to a monstrous, one-eyed eel, which Geki secretly throws into a stream. The family’s misfortunes culminate in violence and betrayal, and Geki kills Mannojō and Otaka while attempting to conceal his own wrongdoing. At Mannojō’s funeral, a terrifying creature known as a Kasha descends amid a storm and seizes the corpse. Although the story does not explicitly identify the creature as Okita’s cat, the narrative suggests that her beloved animal may have transformed into the corpse-stealing monster. Geki is eventually captured after Matasuke exposes the truth, and the corrupt schemes surrounding Mannojō’s false identity are brought to an end. With the return of the Asai family’s stolen heirloom dagger, Okita’s brutal revenge finally concludes.

Sources

“Okita.” 新版TYZ 妖怪図鑑 (New TYZ Yokai Encyclopedia). https://tyz-yokai.blog.jp/archives/1060178316.html

Tradition: Japanese Mythology
Alternative Names: Oosawa, おおさわ
Category: Ghost

The Myth

Osawa is a tragic woman whose vengeful spirit appears in the Japanese supernatural novel Kinsei Kaidan Shimoyo Hoshi, written by Ryūtei Tanehiko and illustrated by Katsushika Hokusai in 1808. The story takes place during Japan’s Bunmei era (1469–1487) and features a character based on Oiwa, the famous vengeful spirit of Japanese ghost lore. Osawa is the daughter and heiress of the Murota family. Although she possesses a pure heart, she is considered exceptionally ugly, with short, curly hair, rough skin, a crooked nose, prominent cheekbones, mottled teeth, and a voice compared to a wolf howling at the moon. She marries Takanishi Ihei, a rōnin from Bōshū, but he resents the marriage and eventually becomes devoted to Hanako, a beautiful woman with whom he had once shared a close relationship.

Ihei conspires with an accomplice to rid himself of Osawa. He pretends to be impoverished, sells her possessions, neglects their home, and falsely accuses her of infidelity before casting her out. Despairing at her treatment, Osawa throws herself into a stream. Ihei subsequently marries Hanako, but on their wedding night strange events begin to occur. Insects repeatedly extinguish their lamp, and a small snake falls from the ceiling. Ihei suspects that Osawa’s vengeful spirit has taken the form of the snake. It repeatedly returns, eventually carrying Hanako’s hairpin in its mouth, before vanishing into a shadowy flame. The couple later have children, but Osawa’s spirit continues to haunt those connected with her suffering, possessing people, causing madness, and bringing death and misfortune upon the families involved.

Osawa’s revenge grows increasingly terrifying. She appears as a pale woman with disheveled hair, manifests as ghostly fire, and confronts Ihei with a cold hand that seizes his collar. Her spirit can vanish and reappear elsewhere, while attempts to attack her prove futile, as though striking through mist. Snakes, hairpins, rats, and other uncanny manifestations become instruments of her curse. Ihei eventually develops a festering wound and confesses that his mistreatment of Osawa has brought these calamities upon him. His daughter Omura is also tormented by the spirit, and Ihei ultimately dies when a sash transforms into a snake and strangles him. Osawa’s haunting continues in the surrounding region, where ghostly fires and the sounds of an unseen carriage inspire fear. The apparitions finally cease after the Buddhist abbot Shōkai builds a mound for Osawa and chants sutras. In the story’s conclusion, Osawa’s accumulated grudges are finally released, and her spirit begins to find a path toward salvation through Buddhist prayer and mourning.

Sources

“Osawa” 新版TYZ 妖怪図鑑 (New TYZ Yokai Encyclopedia). https://tyz-yokai.blog.jp/archives/1038485591.html

Tradition: Japanese Mythology
Alternative Names: 後神, うしろがみ, Behind Spirit
Category: Ghost

The Myth

Ushirogami, whose name translates as “Behind Spirit,” is a Japanese supernatural being associated with cowardice and fear. It resembles a ghost with long black hair and a single large eyeball on the top of its head. Rather than having feet, it possesses a long, twisting body that allows it to leap high into the air. Ushirogami is considered a kind of okubyōgami, a spirit that causes cowardice or specifically preys upon those who are already timid.

The Ushirogami’s favorite trick is to sneak up behind unsuspecting people and frighten them. It tugs at the hair on the backs of their necks, then vanishes as soon as they turn around to discover who touched them. Sometimes it presses icy hands against their necks or breathes hot air onto them. The spirit particularly enjoys targeting cowardly young women walking alone at night. It may suddenly untie their hair, let it fall loose, or run its hands through it until it becomes tangled. It can also summon powerful gusts of wind to blow umbrellas away, leaving its victims startled and unsettled.

The Ushirogami’s name contains a wordplay that connects its supernatural behavior with human reluctance. The Japanese word ushiro means “behind,” while kami means “spirit” in this context. However, ushirogami also refers to the hair at the back of the neck. The expression ushirogami wo hikikaeru, meaning to have the hair at the back of the neck pulled, describes the painful reluctance of someone who must do something they desperately wish to avoid. As they search for an excuse to escape, they may look back as though something were pulling them away. By tugging at this hair, the Ushirogami gives physical form to the feeling of cowardice and hesitation. It can therefore be understood both as an external spirit that instills fear and as a personification of a person’s own reluctance to face something they dread.

Sources

“Ushirogami.” Yokai.com. https://yokai.com/ushirogami/

Tradition: Japanese Mythology
Alternative Names: Bakemono (化け物), お化け
Category: Ghost

The Myth

Obake and bakemono are terms used in Japanese folklore for supernatural beings associated with transformation and shapeshifting. Their names refer to things that change form. Although they are sometimes translated as ghosts, they primarily describe living creatures or supernatural entities that temporarily transform into different shapes. In a secondary sense, obake can also refer to the spirit of a deceased human, making it a synonym for yūrei.

The true form of an obake or bakemono may be an animal, a plant spirit, or even an inanimate object. Foxes known as kitsune, raccoon dogs called bake-danuki, badgers known as mujina, and supernatural cats called bakeneko are all associated with transformation. Plant spirits such as kodama may also fall within this broad category, while objects believed to develop souls are known as tsukumogami.

A bakemono may disguise itself as a human or appear in a strange and frightening shape. Examples include the one-eyed childlike hitotsume-kozō, the towering ōnyūdō, and the faceless noppera-bō. In common usage, obake and bakemono can refer to a wide range of bizarre apparitions and supernatural beings, making them broadly similar to the term yōkai.

The concept of obake also spread into Hawaiian local culture through the influence of Japanese communities. Japanese supernatural stories became part of local folklore, including tales of the water-dwelling kappa and faceless apparitions known as noppera-bō. In Hawaii, these faceless ghosts are also called mujina, a name confusion associated with a story by Lafcadio Hearn in which a badger transforms into a faceless being. Hawaiian folklorist Glen Grant further documented reports of supernatural incidents, including many involving Japanese-style obake.

Sources

“Obake.” Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Accessed October 16, 2026. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Obake