Japanese Mythology

Nuribotoke

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Tradition: Japanese mythology
Alternative Names: Nuribotoke
Category: Demon

The Myth

Nuribotoke is a yokai depicted in Japanese picture scrolls and illustrated collections of supernatural creatures, including Hyakkai Zukan and Toriyama Sekien’s Gazu Hyakki Yagyō (Illustrated Night Parade of One Hundred Demons).

The creature is generally depicted as a completely black Buddhist monk with bulging eyes and a strange appendage resembling a fish’s tail extending from its back.

In Toriyama Sekien’s Gazu Hyakki Yagyō, the Nuribotoke appears emerging from inside a Buddhist altar. Its body is black, but unlike some other depictions, it does not have a tail on its back.

No accompanying text or explanation survives with the traditional illustrations, so there are no specific characteristics, legends, or stories associated with the Nuribotoke in these sources. In later children’s books dealing with yokai, it is sometimes described as suddenly appearing from a Buddhist altar to surprise people.

Sources

Takahashi, Toshihiro. “塗仏 [ぬりぼとけ] (Nuribotoke).” 新版TYZ 妖怪図鑑 (New TYZ Yokai Encyclopedia). October 25, 2009. https://tyz-yokai.blog.jp/archives/1010652662.html

Kasunga

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Tradition: Japanese Mythology
Alternative Names: Kasunga, Kasuga
Category: Deer, Deity

The Myth

Kasunga refers to the deity associated with Kasuga Grand Shrine in Nara, whose sacred deer were regarded as messengers of the gods. The deer were allowed to roam freely through the streets of Nara and were treated with great reverence.

In 1565, the Jesuit missionary Luis Frois wrote a letter to a colleague in Goa describing Nara as a place subordinate to a shrine of the “devil” named Kasunga. He reported that Nara contained many deer, which he interpreted as idols of the devil. According to his account, the deer wandered through the streets as freely as dogs in Spain, and nobody was permitted to touch them. Anyone who attempted to strike one would supposedly be severely punished, while killing a deer could result in execution and confiscation of all possessions.

Frois therefore understood the worship of Kasunga and the reverence shown toward the deer as a form of devil worship. His description reflects the perspective of a Christian missionary who interpreted Japanese religious practices through the framework of Christianity and regarded non-Christian gods as demonic beings.

Other missionaries who visited Nara during the same period gave different descriptions. In 1565, Almeida described the deity as Kakunga and wrote that the god was believed to grant worldly honor, wealth, longevity, and other things people desired, explaining that these promises made the deity greatly worshipped. He did not specifically characterize the god as a demon.

Gaspar Vilela similarly described the worship at Kasuga Shrine, comparing what he witnessed to the worship of Baal, his priests, and their temples among the ancient Phoenicians. Vilela also recorded a rumor from Miyajima that a demon took the form of a deer in order to be worshipped.

Thus, the accounts of Kasunga preserve an early European interpretation of the sacred deer and religious traditions of Nara. The deer themselves were not originally understood by the Japanese as demons, but as sacred messengers connected with the gods of Kasuga.

Sources

Takahashi, Toshihiro. “カスンガ (Kasunga).” 新版TYZ 妖怪図鑑 (New TYZ Yokai Encyclopedia). December 31, 2019. https://tyz-yokai.blog.jp/archives/1076296181.html

Umishika

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Tradition: Japanese Mythology
Alternative Names: Umishika
Category: Deer

The Myth

Umishika, meaning “sea deer,” are dangerous sea monsters said to inhabit the open waters south of Japan, particularly around the island of Yakushima and off the southern coast of Kyūshū. Because they live deep beneath the sea, little is known about their appearance. Fishermen who encounter them describe seeing dark, shadowy forms lurking beneath the waves. They are greatly feared by the island’s fishermen.

Umishika are carnivorous and prey on medium-sized fish such as skipjack tuna. They are also aggressive toward humans and will attack fishing boats that enter their feeding grounds.

According to a legend from Yakushima, the umishika are responsible for the taboo against fishing on the sixteenth day of the fifth month of the old lunar calendar.

Long ago, the sixteenth day of the fifth month was considered a holy day belonging to the mountain gods. On that day, all the gods and spirits of the mountains gathered together for a great banquet, and villagers were forbidden from entering the mountains.

One year, however, a fishing boat from the village of Issō went out onto the open sea northwest of Yakushima to catch skipjack tuna. A huge number of fish were swimming close to the surface, and the fishermen were certain that a large shoal was nearby.

When they reached the spot, the fishermen were delighted by how easily they could catch fish. They pulled one tuna after another from the water.

Suddenly, a huge dark shape appeared beneath the surface. One of the elder fishermen recognized the danger and cried out, “It’s an umishika!”

The fishermen immediately pulled in their lines, raised the sails, and prepared to flee toward shore. But the umishika had already noticed them.

The monster pursued the boat, diving beneath the waves and appearing again between the swells. The wind made it difficult for the fishermen to escape, while they rowed with all their strength. They attempted to slow the creature by throwing all of the tuna they had caught into the water behind the boat, hoping it would stop to feed on them.

The tactic failed. Before long, the umishika had caught up with them.

As the monster prepared to climb aboard the boat, one of the fishermen seized an oar and thrust it with all his strength into the creature’s open mouth. The umishika recoiled and fell back into the sea, abandoning its pursuit.

The fishermen rowed continuously toward shore, exhausted by their struggle but grateful to have survived.

Afterwards, the villagers decided that the prohibition on the sixteenth day of the fifth month should apply not only to the mountains but also to the sea. From then on, hunters and fishermen remained at home on that day, making offerings and holding festivals for the gods of the mountains and the sea.

Sources

“Umishika.” Yokai.com: The Japanese Yokai Encyclopedia. Accessed September 5, 2026. https://yokai.com/umishika/

Konjiki-shika

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Tradition: Japanese Mythology
Alternative Names: Golden Deer
Category: Deer

The Myth

The Golden Deer is a supernatural deer described in a tale from Kai Province, Japan. Its body shone with a brilliant golden light, illuminating the surrounding valley as brightly as daylight.

The story comes from Urami Kanwa, a collection of observations and experiences from Kai Province compiled by Noda Narikata, who served as a Kofu official from 1724 to 1753.

In Tsukahara Village in Yamanashi County, there lived a fisherman named Takebei. One night toward the end of the rainy season in May, Takebei climbed to the top of Hachioji Mountain and looked in every direction, searching for birds and animals to hunt. That night, however, he encountered nothing.

Then he happened to look down into the valley. To his surprise, the entire valley was filled with a golden light as bright as daytime.

Wondering what could be causing such a strange sight, Takebei looked more closely. Within the golden light he saw a deer quietly walking through the valley, attempting to climb the mountain. Its body appeared golden and was surrounded by the brilliant light.

Takebei rejoiced, believing that the extraordinary animal had been sent to him as a gift from Heaven. He raised his gun and took aim at the Golden Deer.

At that moment, however, someone suddenly seized Takebei by his topknot and pulled him violently to the ground onto his back. His gun went off, but the bullet merely cut through the air.

Takebei was left stunned by what had happened. It was thought that the mysterious force that stopped him from killing the Golden Deer may have been the work of the spirit of the mountain god.

Sources

Takahashi, Toshihiro. “金色の鹿 [こんじき‐しか] (Konjiki-shika).” 新版TYZ 妖怪図鑑 (New TYZ Yokai Encyclopedia). April 14, 2019.
https://tyz-yokai.blog.jp/archives/1074336998.html

Kushikiroku

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Tradition: Japanese Mythology
Alternative Names: Nine-Colored Deer,
Category: Deer

The Myth

The Nine-Colored Deer is a remarkable deer with nine-colored fur and antlers as white as snow. It lived hidden from humans in a mountain in India, where it was rarely seen. A crow also lived near the river at the foot of the mountain and had a deep bond with the deer.

One day, a man was swept away by the river and was close to drowning. Clinging desperately to a branch, he cried out to the mountain god, tree god, heavenly beings, and dragon god, asking why none of them would save him.

Hearing his cries, the Nine-Colored Deer came to the riverbank. It told the man not to be afraid and instructed him to climb onto its back and hold onto its antlers. The deer then carried him safely to land.

The man wept with gratitude and asked how he could ever repay the deer. The deer asked for only one thing: that the man never reveal that it lived on the mountain.

The deer explained that its nine-colored body and snow-white antlers were unlike anything else in the world. If people discovered it, they would surely kill it for its beautiful fur and antlers. Because of this, it had hidden itself deep within the mountains. Yet when it heard the man’s cries, pity overcame its fear and it came to rescue him.

The man promised never to reveal the deer’s whereabouts and returned home.

Some time later, the queen of the country dreamed of a deer with nine-colored fur and snow-white antlers. She became captivated by the creature and developed such a strong desire to possess its fur and antlers that she fell ill and was confined to her bed. She begged the king to find the deer, convinced that such a creature truly existed.

The king announced a great reward of gold, silver, and other treasures for anyone who could capture the Nine-Colored Deer.

The man who had been rescued knew exactly where the deer lived. At first, he kept the secret. But when he heard of the king’s reward, greed overcame his gratitude. He revealed the deer’s hiding place to the king, forgetting that the creature had saved his life.

The king immediately gathered many soldiers and took the man with him as their guide. They surrounded the valley where the deer lived.

The crow saw what was happening and flew to the cave where the Nine-Colored Deer was sleeping. It cried out a warning, telling the deer that the king had come with an army seeking its rare fur and that the valley had been surrounded.

The deer awoke and came out of its cave, but by then the king and his soldiers were already directly before it. There was nowhere left to escape.

Rather than flee, the deer walked fearlessly toward the king’s palanquin. The soldiers prepared to shoot it with arrows, but the king was moved by the creature’s fearless approach and ordered them to stop.

The deer knelt before the king and asked how he had discovered its hiding place. The king answered that the man standing beside him had led him there.

The deer looked at the man. A bruise had appeared on his face, perhaps as punishment for breaking his promise.

The deer then reminded him of what had happened. It had risked its own life to rescue him from the river, and he had promised never to reveal its existence. Yet he had forgotten the kindness shown to him and had betrayed the deer in exchange for a reward.

The man was unable to answer.

Seeing this, the king understood the man’s ingratitude. He issued a decree forbidding the killing of deer anywhere in his kingdom. Anyone who violated the decree would be executed, and their family would also be destroyed. The king then withdrew his soldiers and returned to his palace.

The Nine-Colored Deer had escaped death. It returned joyfully to its mountain, and afterwards the country prospered. Moderate rains fell, there were no destructive winds or epidemics, the harvests were abundant, and nobody lived in poverty.

The story concludes by contrasting human ingratitude with the kindness of animals: forgetting kindness is found among humans, while helping humans is found among animals. Such things, the story says, have happened both in the past and in the present.

The Nine-Colored Deer is also identified with the Buddha in one of his previous lives. The crow is identified with Ananda, the queen with Sundari, and the ungrateful drowned man with Devadatta. The Nine-Colored Deer Sutra additionally tells that the king scolded the man after learning the truth, and that thousands of deer gathered around the departing Nine-Colored Deer and followed it.

Sources

Takahashi, Toshihiro. “九色鹿 [くしきろく] (Kushikiroku).” 新版TYZ 妖怪図鑑 (New TYZ Yokai Encyclopedia). December 31, 2019. https://tyz-yokai.blog.jp/archives/1076296180.html

Yamiyo no Ushi-oni

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Tradition: Japanese mythology
Alternative Names: 闇夜の牛鬼
Category: Cow

The Myth

The Yamiyo no Ushi-oni is a strange yokai described in the Tamakushige. It has the head of a bull and the body of a human, with a tiger’s hide wrapped around its waist. Its face shines with an intense light that radiates outward, illuminating the darkness around it. In the tale, the creature is also able to perch high in the branches of a tree despite its large and powerful form.

The story takes place during the time when Ukita Naoie ruled Bizen Province. Kuroshima Sakon Nyūdō Munetsuna was a warrior from Kuroshima in Sanuki and was said to be a descendant of Tawara no Tōta Hidesato. Through circumstances of marriage and inheritance, Munetsuna came to succeed the household of Hatano and entered the service of Hoshiga Tōnai, the lord of Shūsō Castle in Bizen.

One night, Munetsuna was invited to the home of another retainer of Hoshiga Tōnai, Dokura Kamanosuke, where the two became absorbed in playing go. By the time they finished, it was already deep into the night. Around the hour of Ushi Mitsu, Munetsuna set out for home accompanied by his attendant, Mimizawa Riemon.

As they traveled along the road, they suddenly saw an extraordinarily bright light in the otherwise completely dark night. It was so brilliant that they could clearly see people’s faces and even the crests on their clothing. There was no fire nearby, and it was far too early for sunrise.

Wondering what could possibly be producing such light, Munetsuna looked around. About fifty ken ahead stood the residence of a samurai named Motoki Shichirō. From within its gate grew a large paulownia tree, and high among its branches was something that appeared to be a calf of about three years old—a large and powerful bull.

Its eyes shone like mirrors, while intense light also poured from its two raised horns, illuminating the surrounding area.

The creature’s head pointed toward the east and its tail toward the west. Despite its enormous and powerful appearance, it was crouched among the branches of the paulownia, resting upon one of the thinnest branches with the lightness of a dog or a butterfly.

Munetsuna, being a fearless man, was not frightened. Instead, he approached the gate and declared that this must be the Ushi-oni he had heard about. He considered himself fortunate to have encountered such a strange monster and decided that he would see exactly what it was.

The monster suddenly leapt toward him.

Munetsuna, who was highly skilled in martial arts, quickly grappled with the creature and forced it to the ground. He then drove his sword through its body.

At that very moment, the Ushi-oni vanished without leaving a trace. The brilliant light disappeared with it, and the surroundings immediately returned to darkness.

Munetsuna then turned around and discovered that his attendant, Riemon, had seen the light and had fainted from terror. Munetsuna gave him medicine and cared for him until he regained consciousness, after which the two continued back to their residence.

The strange events were connected to the household of Motoki Shichirō, whose property the Ushi-oni had appeared beside. Motoki had recently become deeply interested in a form of magic known as the Izuna technique. He had attempted to learn and practice the art himself, but had failed to complete it and eventually abandoned his efforts.

Afterward, strange supernatural events were said to occur continually within the Motoki household. On one occasion, a light appeared to walk through the air. On another, a severed human arm fell into the middle of a gathering. Strange noises caused the house to shake, while objects were mysteriously hurled through the air in phenomena associated with tengu.

These supernatural disturbances frightened the women and children of the household.

After Munetsuna defeated the Ushi-oni, however, the strange phenomena gradually ceased. The disturbances that had plagued the Motoki household fell silent, and before long the supernatural activity disappeared altogether.

Sources

Takahashi, Toshihiro. “闇夜の牛鬼 [やみのよ‐うしおに] (Yami no Yo Ushi-oni).” 新版TYZ 妖怪図鑑 (New TYZ Yokai Encyclopedia). June 30, 2018.
https://tyz-yokai.blog.jp/archives/1071487382.html

Waira

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Tradition: Japanese mythology
Alternative Names: Waira
Category: Cow

The Myth

The Waira is a rare and reclusive yōkai, few of which have ever been encountered. It is an ugly beast with a large body resembling that of a cow, but with four long limbs, each ending in a single sharp claw. Male Waira are mottled in earthy brown colors, while females are red.

Waira live deep in the mountains, particularly around heavily wooded temples and shrines. They are associated with Otoroshi and are believed to guard temples and shrines against wicked people.

Their powerful claws also serve another purpose. Waira use them to dig through the earth and uncover small animals hidden beneath the ground. Moles, mice, rabbits, and other small creatures make up their diet.

The Waira is said to have a strange origin. Because of its coloring and the mountainous, wooded environments in which it is found, it is believed that the creature may be a transformed yōkai born from an ordinary toad after reaching an advanced age.

The Waira is also speculated to have some connection with the Otoroshi. The two creatures share the same kind of habitat and are often encountered together, leading to the belief that they may be related in some way.

The origin of the name Waira is uncertain. Since the name is not written using kanji, there are few clues to its original meaning. The most commonly accepted explanation is that Waira is a regional corruption of kowai, meaning scary. This interpretation has also been taken as further support for a possible connection between the Waira and the Otoroshi.

Sources

“Waira.” Yokai.com. Accessed August 30, 2026. https://yokai.com/waira/?srsltid=AfmBOorxkYQbS-rokMmMloUPhpiJKdZaztDthwaYnRMY1FNsUxVqjJNG

Ushi-onna

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Tradition: Japanese mythology
Alternative Names: Cow Woman
Category: Cow

The Myth

The Ushi-onna is a frightening yokai said to have appeared around Mount Rokko in Hyogo Prefecture. It is described as a woman with the head of a cow and the body of a human, usually wearing a red kimono. Encountering her was believed to bring misfortune or cause an accident.

One version of the legend tells of a girl born before the Second World War with the head of a cow and the body of a human. She was supposedly born in a certain mansion or at a place connected with the slaughtering of cattle. Because of her strange appearance, she was imprisoned inside a room and kept hidden from the outside world.

When the air raids devastated the Ashiya and Nishinomiya areas, the buildings where she had been confined were destroyed. According to the rumor, the cow-woman escaped from the ruins and disappeared into the surrounding area.

Other stories placed her around Mount Kabuto in Nishinomiya. In one account, a person encountered what appeared to be a cow wearing a red kimono, with blood dripping from its mouth. Another rumor claimed that after the Great Kobe Air Raid, a woman wearing a kimono and possessing the face of a cow was seen eating animal carcasses among the ruins of a shrine on Mount Kabuto.

Further rumors connected the creature to a house that had dealt in beef cattle before the war. According to this version, a calf was born with part of its body possessing an abnormal human-like form. The creature was locked inside a room, but after the air raids destroyed the surrounding area, it escaped.

The stories were later associated with the motif of Sakyo Komatsu’s 1968 short story Kudan no Haha, which was set in Ashiya. The exact relationship between the story and the earlier rumors is uncertain, but the two traditions share the disturbing image of a human-cow hybrid appearing in the Ashiya and Nishinomiya region.

The legend eventually became particularly associated with Washirinji Temple in Nishinomiya. From around the late 1970s onward, young people began visiting the temple at night as a test of courage, hoping to encounter the cow-woman.

A rumor spread that the Ushi-onna would appear if someone walked around the shrine on the temple grounds three times. As more people began visiting at night and causing disturbances, the temple attempted to stop them by putting up a sign claiming that, unfortunately, the cow-woman had moved away.

Thus the Ushi-onna became a modern Japanese urban legend: a cow-headed woman in a red kimono, associated with wartime destruction, abandoned ruins, blood, and nighttime encounters around the mountains of Hyogo.

Sources

Takahashi, Toshihiro. “牛女 [うしおんな] (Ushi-onna).” 新版TYZ 妖怪図鑑 (New TYZ Yokai Encyclopedia). July 25, 2021. https://tyz-yokai.blog.jp/archives/1078437909.html

Ushi-Momo

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Tradition: Japanese mythology
Alternative Names: Ushi-Momo
Category: Cow

The Myth

Ushi-Momo is the name of a monster said to exist in the Inshu Tottori region of Japan.

The available source only states that a monster with the name Ushi-Momo is known in the region. No further description of its appearance, behavior, origin, or story is provided.

Sources

Takahashi, Toshihiro. “牛モーモー [うし-] (Ushi-Mōmō).” 新版TYZ 妖怪図鑑 (New TYZ Yokai Encyclopedia). December 29, 2009.
https://tyz-yokai.blog.jp/archives/1010652677.html

Ushi-Kubi

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Tradition: Japanese mythology
Alternative Names: The Cow’s Head
Category: Cow

The Myth

Ushi-Kubi, meaning “Cow’s Head,” is a terrifying Japanese ghost story or urban legend concerning a tale that is said to be so frightening that it must never be told.

According to the legend, anyone who hears the story of the Cow’s Head will be overcome by terror, lose their mind, or even die. Because of this, the story itself is never supposed to be told. Only its title has supposedly survived, while the actual contents remain unknown.

The story is sometimes said to have been passed down since the Edo period. It is also said that the tale was simply too terrifying to be written down, and therefore survived only through oral transmission.

The mystery surrounding Ushi-Kubi is part of the horror. The frightening idea is not necessarily that there is a particular monster or event within the story, but that somewhere in the world there is supposedly a ghost story so horrifying that merely hearing it can kill the listener. The actual existence of such a story, however, is itself uncertain.

Because the contents are unknown, people have repeatedly invented their own explanations of what the Cow’s Head story might contain. On Japanese internet message boards, various theories and fabricated versions have circulated, including stories connecting it with cannibalism during the Tenpō famine.

In 1960, the writer Sakyo Komatsu published a novel titled The Cow’s Head. The story concerns a protagonist who attempts to discover the contents of the terrifying ghost story known as “The Cow’s Head.” Komatsu later stated that his story was based on a rumor that had already circulated within the mystery community. If this account is accurate, stories about the famous but unsubstantiated Cow’s Head legend were already circulating before 1960.

Later collections of Japanese supernatural folklore have treated Ushi-Kubi as an example of a “monster that must not be spoken of.” Similar legends involve supernatural stories, names, or subjects that supposedly cause death or disaster simply by being spoken about.

A literary work titled The Cow’s Head was also published by Ishizumi Haruhiro in the 1926 issue of Bungei Ichiba. Ishizumi reportedly heard the story from his father. However, whether this 1926 story is actually connected to the Cow’s Head legend known today remains unclear.

Thus, the defining feature of Ushi-Kubi is precisely that its terrifying story is never revealed. The legend survives through the claim that the story exists, while its supposed contents remain unknown.

Sources

Takahashi, Toshihiro. “牛の首 [うし‐くび] (Ushi-kubi).” 新版TYZ 妖怪図鑑 (New TYZ Yokai Encyclopedia). April 19, 2021. https://tyz-yokai.blog.jp/archives/1078437883.html