Japanese Mythology

Motokimura-bakemono

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Tradition / Region: Japanese Mythology
Alternative Name: –
Category: Cat

The Myth

According to the Chikuzen no Kuni Zoku Fudoki, a mysterious monster began terrorizing Motoki Village around 1680. It visited the village headman’s house almost every night, tormenting the women. Guards assigned to protect the house were overcome by an unnatural drowsiness, allowing the creature to enter unnoticed.

The monster raped and impregnated women in the village, who later gave birth to strange infants that eventually died. Believing foxes or badgers were responsible, the villagers stationed powerful hunting dogs around the village, but the dogs were so terrified that they refused to approach the creature.

The attacks continued for years. In 1685, the local lord sent two exceptionally fierce dogs to guard the village. When the monster finally returned, one of the dogs confronted it in a violent battle. Neither gained the upper hand, and the monster escaped, leaving the dog with a deep, razor-like wound across its nose. After this encounter, the creature was never seen in the village again.

Some time later, a hunter discovered a strange beast in the nearby mountains unlike any known animal—not a boar, fox, badger, or any familiar creature. It was believed to be the same monster that had terrorized Motoki Village.

Some later traditions claim the creature was finally destroyed in 1694, and that its bones were discovered beneath a floor in 1699. A copied report attributed to the village headman included a drawing of the monster’s skull. The Kaikidan Ekotoba also depicts the creature as two black, sharp-fanged beasts of unknown name, alongside an unexplained illustration of a cat wearing a towel with a forked tail.

Sources

Takahashi, Toshihiro. “元木村の化け物 (Motokimura-bakemono).” 新版TYZ 妖怪図鑑 (New TYZ Yokai Encyclopedia). Accessed July 28, 2026. https://tyz-yokai.blog.jp/archives/1045123320.html

Myōki

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Tradition / Region: Japanese Mythology
Alternative name: –
Category: Cat

The Myth

The Myōki is a cat-headed disease demon believed to bring illness. It is mentioned in medieval Japanese texts such as the Denshibyō Kanjinshō.

According to descriptions in Denshibyō Shujuji and Keiran Shūyōshū, the Myōki has the head of a cat and the body of a human, and wears red robes. It holds Hyakkō Henshō-Ō (Dainichi Nyorai / Mahāvairocana) in its left hand while striking the chest of sick people with its right hand, causing disease.

Illustrations matching this description are preserved in manuscripts of Denshibyō Shujuji, including copies kept at Kinzan-ji Temple in Okayama.

Sources

Takahashi, Toshihiro. “猫鬼 (Myōki).” 新版TYZ 妖怪図鑑 (New TYZ Yokai Encyclopedia). Accessed July 28, 2026. https://tyz-yokai.blog.jp/archives/1077741575.html

Gotoku Neko

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Tradition / Region: Japanese Mythology
Alternative names: Trivet Cat
Category: Cat

The Myth

The Gotoku Neko is a type of nekomata, a supernatural two-tailed cat. It is recognized by the upside-down iron trivet it wears on its head like a hat, while the tips of its twin tails burn with bright flames.

Like ordinary cats, Gotoku Neko are drawn to the warmth of fireplaces. They linger around the hearth, using bamboo pipes to blow air onto the fire and keep the flames burning.

According to its creator, Toriyama Sekien, the Gotoku Neko is also remarkably forgetful. This trait comes from a humorous wordplay connecting the creature’s name with a story about a nobleman who forgot two of the seven virtues during a ceremonial dance and became known for performing only the “five virtues” (gotoku).

The fiery tails of the Gotoku Neko also reflect an old Japanese superstition that allowing a cat to sleep too close to the hearth could bring disaster. Sparks might ignite the cat’s tail, causing the frightened animal to run through the house and accidentally set the entire building ablaze.

Sources

Meyer, Matthew. “Gotoku Neko.” Yokai.com: The Illustrated Database of Japanese Folklore. Accessed July 28, 2026. https://yokai.com/gotokuneko/

Arima Bake-neko

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Tradition / Region: Japanese Mythology
Alternative names: Arima Monster Cat
Category: Cat

The Myth

The Arima Bake-neko is one of Japan’s most famous monster cat legends. The story takes place at the Edo residence of the Arima clan during the rule of Lord Arima Yoriyuki.

During a banquet, a wild dog burst into the palace while chasing a kitten. As the dog lunged toward the lord, a lady-in-waiting named Otaki struck it dead with an iron ladle, saving his life. When the lord offered her a reward, she asked only that the frightened kitten be spared. Impressed by her courage and kindness, the lord took her as his concubine.

Otaki’s rise provoked the jealousy of the other women in the household, especially the head lady-in-waiting, Iwanami, who relentlessly tormented her. Unable to endure the abuse any longer, Otaki took her own life.

The kitten she had rescued, now named Tama, licked Otaki’s spilled blood and transformed into a monstrous cat. Seeking revenge, it burst into the palace and killed Iwanami by tearing out her throat. Afterward, the women responsible for tormenting Otaki died one after another under mysterious circumstances.

The monster’s vengeance grew ever more savage. It murdered the pregnant concubine Otoyo, ripping open her body and killing both her unborn child and her maid. It even attacked Lord Yoriyuki himself while he walked in the garden, but the guard Yamamura Tenzen struck the creature between the eyes with his sword, forcing it to flee.

When Tenzen returned home, he discovered that his elderly mother bore the same wound. He realized the monster cat had already killed and devoured her, assuming her appearance to hide among the living.

Joining forces with the former sumo wrestler Onogawa Kisaburō, Tenzen hunted the creature to the Arima residence’s great fire watchtower, where it had made its lair. There the monster revealed its true form, but together the two men defeated and killed it, finally ending the cat’s bloody revenge.

Sources

Takahashi, Toshihiro. “有馬の化け猫 (Arima-ba-neko).” 新版TYZ 妖怪図鑑 (New TYZ Yokai Encyclopedia). February 11, 2018. Accessed July 27, 2026. https://tyz-yokai.blog.jp/archives/1069687960.html.

Huri

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Tradition / Region: Japanese Mythology
Alternative names: Furi, Huryū, Hurin, Hiwri
Category: Bird

The Myth

The Huri is a gigantic bird of Ainu tradition, so immense that a single wing is said to measure seven ri (about 28 kilometers). When it spread its wings, they darkened the sky, and the beating of its wings created violent winds and storms.

Ancient stories tell that the ancestors of the Huri were driven into caves after being defeated by the gods who protected humankind. Seeking revenge, the bird rode upon dark clouds and brought fierce storms that destroyed fish, livestock, and human settlements.

The Huri appears in many legends across Hokkaido. In some places it was feared as a man-eating monster that carried away people, ravaged villages, and hunted both humans and wild animals. Heroes armed with sacred swords, great spears, or clever decoys eventually slew the monstrous bird after fierce struggles.

Other traditions remember the Huri more peacefully. It hunted deer, fish, whales, and other large prey but left people unharmed. This changed when a young woman defiled the bird’s sacred drinking place. Enraged, the Huri seized her, carried her away, and cast her into a distant stream before abandoning the region forever.

One tale tells of the bird capturing two children who later became the ancestors of the Sumunkur Ainu, only for a goddess to drive the giant bird away and rescue them. Another story recounts how the Huri’s pride was humbled when it mistook the tentacle of an enormous sea monster for a tree and one of the creature’s nostrils for a cave, teaching the mighty bird that there were beings even greater than itself.

Sources

“Huri (Ainu Legendary Bird).” Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Accessed July 27, 2026. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Huri_(Ainu_legendary_bird)

Hato Ningen

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Tradition / Region: Japanese Mythology
Alternative names: Pigeon Human, Hatojin
Category: Bird

The Myth

The Hato Ningen is a monstrous being said to be born when a human’s brain is exchanged with that of a pigeon. Regarded as a messenger of the demon world, it possesses both human awareness and the savage instincts of a beast.

It is described as an enormous creature about 50 meters long. A single beat of its wings can blow away wooden houses, while a strange beam fired from its mouth causes anything it strikes to explode or melt.

According to the tradition, pigeons captured by monsters grow to gigantic size and cry out, “Koredamona.” Although immensely destructive when enraged, the Hato Ningen is said not to harm children or people who love animals. Because of its overwhelming strength, however, it was often blamed for disasters and persecuted.

One story claims that during the Edo period, a samurai named Ikuma Umenosuke was kidnapped by a Dutch doctor and subjected to an operation in which his brain was replaced with that of a pigeon. After awakening, he transformed into a Hato Ningen, rampaged through Fukuoka, and destroyed the city before the tale was carried back to Yamagata by a traveling merchant.

Sources

Takahashi, Toshihiro. “ハトニンゲン (Hato Ningen).” 新版TYZ 妖怪図鑑 (New TYZ Yokai Encyclopedia). TYZ Yokai Blog. Accessed July 27, 2026. https://tyz-yokai.blog.jp/archives/1020704023.html

Suzaku

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Tradition / Region: Chinese Mythology, Japanese Mythology
Alternative names: Vermilion Bird, Shujaku
Category: Bird

The Myth

Suzaku is the sacred red bird that rules the southern quarter of the heavens. As one of the Four Divine Beasts, it governs the direction of the south and is associated with the element of fire. It is regarded as a divine bird that flies before the heavenly powers, leading the way.

Ancient traditions describe the Vermilion Bird as the guardian of the southern regions. During military campaigns, banners bearing its image were raised at the front of encampments as a sign of its protection. It was also believed to represent the southern heavens, where it watched over the world alongside the other three Divine Beasts.

Some traditions identify Suzaku with the sacred phoenix, describing it as a heavenly bird of mysterious nature whose true form is unknown.

The worship of Suzaku spread from China to Japan, where it became one of the country’s most revered guardian spirits. The great southern gate of the Imperial Palace was named the Suzaku Gate, and the broad avenue leading to it was called Suzaku Avenue, honoring the divine bird that protected the southern direction.

Sources

Takahashi, Toshihiro. “朱雀 (Suzaku).” 新版TYZ 妖怪図鑑 (New TYZ Yokai Encyclopedia). August 20, 2025. Accessed July 27, 2026. https://tyz-yokai.blog.jp/archives/1085334027.html

Enba

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Tradition / Region: Japanese Mythology
Alternative names: Yanba
Category: Bird

The Myth

Enba is a gigantic bird that dwells in the Yama Refuge, one of the sixteen places attached to the lowest level of the Eight Great Hells, the Avīci Hell. It is described as being as large as an elephant, with a sharp beak that burns with flames.

The Yama Refuge is the place of punishment for those who blocked the flow of rivers and caused others to die of thirst.

When Enba seizes a sinner, it flies high into the sky, carrying its victim across the heavens before dropping them from a great height. The sinner’s body shatters upon the ground, only to be restored so the punishment can begin again.

The refuge is also filled with paths covered in sharp blades that slice the feet of the damned, while dogs with flaming teeth continually bite and torment them. Together, the blazing birds, burning dogs, and fields of blades inflict endless suffering upon the condemned.

Sources

Takahashi, Toshihiro. “エンバ (Enba).” 新版TYZ 妖怪図鑑 (New TYZ Yokai Encyclopedia). TYZ Yokai Blog. Accessed July 27, 2026. https://tyz-yokai.blog.jp/archives/1010655136.html

Itsumade

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Tradition / Region: Japanese Mythology
Alternative names: Itsumaden
Category: Bird

The Myth

The Itsumade is a monstrous bird yokai that appears during times of great suffering, such as plagues, famines, and battlefields filled with the unburied dead. It has the face of a human, a long pointed beak lined with saw-like teeth, the body of a serpent, enormous wings spanning nearly five meters, and talons as sharp as swords. Throughout the night it circles overhead, crying, “Itsumade? Itsumade?” (“Until when?”), as if demanding to know how long the suffering will continue.

According to the Taiheiki, during a devastating plague in 1334, the eerie bird appeared every night above the Imperial Palace, terrifying the capital with its dreadful cries. Unable to endure the nightly hauntings, the imperial court summoned the master archer Oki no Jirōzaemon Hiroari, recalling the famous slaying of the nue by Minamoto no Yorimasa.

Hiroari faced the creature with a whistling signal arrow and shot the monstrous bird from the sky, ending its nightly appearances. Later traditions identified the creature as the Itsumade, believing it to be born from the restless spirits of those who died in misery and whose bodies or souls had not yet been properly laid to rest.

Sources

Wikipedia contributors. (n.d.). Itsumade. In Wikipedia. Retrieved June 29, 2026, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Itsumade.

Meyer, M. (n.d.). Itsumade. Yokai.com: The Illustrated Database of Japanese Folklore. Retrieved June 29, 2026, from https://yokai.com/itsumade/.

Anshōtei

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Tradition / Region: Japanese Mythology
Alternative names: Anshōtei
Category: Bird

The Myth

Anshōtei is a bird-headed disease demon associated with the Kishuku constellation in the system of Shukuyōdō, a form of esoteric Buddhist astrology. It is depicted with the head and feet of a bird, a ring-like object held in its hands, and an arrow embedded in its forehead, like many other disease demons.

On the day governed by the Kishuku constellation, Anshōtei is said to appear in people’s dreams disguised as a beautiful woman, seeking to uncover their innermost thoughts. Those it afflicts are struck with a wasting disease of the lungs, such as tuberculosis, which is believed to bring death within three years.

To avert its curse, anyone who dreams of Anshōtei on a Kishuku day should make offerings of incense, paper money, and tea. These offerings are said to appease the demon and drive it away before the illness takes hold.

Sources

TYZ. (2020, August 8). 暗鐘亭 (Anshōtei). In 新版TYZ 妖怪図鑑. Retrieved June 29, 2026, from https://tyz-yokai.blog.jp/archives/1077741574.html