Tradition: Japanese Mythology
Alternative Names: Yatsuzura no Tanuki, Eight-Headed Tanuki
Category: Marten
The Myth
Yatsuzura Tanuki is a monstrous raccoon dog said to have lived near Hazzuma Falls in what is now Ikegawa, Kochi Prefecture, Japan. Unlike an ordinary tanuki, this creature possessed eight heads and preyed upon the beautiful young women of Inotani, coming to their homes every night to devour them. Its attacks caused the local population to decline, and the villagers lived in fear of the creature.
One day, a hunter arrived in the area and asked a local household for lodging. The owner refused, explaining that a dangerous tanuki haunted the region. Determined to hunt the monster, the hunter devised a trap. He concealed seven dogs inside a steaming apparatus used for preparing mitsumata and had a large cauldron of boiling water prepared. He then hid in the attic and waited for the tanuki to appear.
When the monster arrived and began pulling at the okuji, the hunter attacked and struck it down. The seven dogs were released from their hiding place and set upon the tanuki’s underlings, while the fallen monster was immersed in the boiling water. After the creature was defeated, the people of Inotani were no longer lost to its nightly attacks, and the village population ceased to decline.
Sources
“Yatsuzura-Tanuki.” 新版TYZ 妖怪図鑑 (New TYZ Yokai Encyclopedia). https://tyz-yokai.blog.jp/archives/1021807441.html