Tradition / Region: Japanse Mythology
Alternate Names: Hiroshima Tenmacho Kaibutsu
Category: Horse
The Myth
In Tenmacho, Hiroshima, it is said that a strange monster was born to the wife of a horseman named Yukimatsu. The birth took place in February, in an area associated with the land of the dead.
The creature was described as about eighteen inches tall, with very short limbs measuring only three to four inches. It possessed three legs instead of two. Its body was entirely red and horse-like in form. One of its most disturbing features was an enormous scrotum, said to be as wide around as the creature was tall.
The being did not resemble any known animal or human. It was regarded as an unnatural birth and was spoken of simply as a monster, remembered for its unusual shape and disturbing appearance rather than for any actions it took.
The story survives as an account of a bizarre and unsettling creature that briefly entered the human world and became part of local memory.
Sources
TYZ-Yokai Blog contributors. (n.d.). 広島伝馬町の怪物 (Hiroshima Tenmachō no Kaibutsu). In TYZ-Yokai Blog, from https://tyz-yokai.blog.jp/archives/1062856281.html