Tradition / Region: Japanese folklore (Haibara County, Shizuoka Prefecture)
Alternate Names: —
Category: Yōkai
The Kind of Person This Spirit Draws Near To
A person who believes their inner world is unobservable.
Someone who relies heavily on silent thought as a place of safety. They may be careful with words, polite in action, and restrained in expression — but internally restless, calculating, or anxious. They assume that what is unspoken remains protected.
This spirit draws near where thinking is used as hiding.
How This Person Thinks
Mental habits
- Constant inner commentary
- Silent rehearsal of fears and contingencies
- Strong distinction between “what I think” and “what I show”
How they approach ideas
- Ideas are tested privately before being expressed
- Thinking is treated as a shield
How they relate to uncertainty
- Uncertainty triggers internal narration
- Thoughts multiply under pressure
What they obsess over / ignore
- Obsess over being found out
- Ignore how much inner tension leaks outward
How This Person Deals With Problems
- Thinks rather than acts
- Delays outward movement
- Attempts to resolve situations internally
Response to obstacles
- Mental strategizing
- Silent planning
- Avoidance of visible reaction
They trust thought more than behavior.
How This Person Responds to Stress
Stress behavior
- Intensified internal monologue
- Racing thoughts
- Mental catastrophizing
Collapse or sharpening
- Stress overwhelms cognition rather than clarifying it
What they cling to
- The belief that silence equals safety
- The idea that concealment prevents consequence
Emotional Landscape
When Calm
- Alert
- Contained
- Slightly guarded
When Angry
- Anger stays internal
- Expressed as rumination
When Afraid
- Fear spirals inward
- Thoughts become louder, not actions
When Joyful
- Joy is restrained
- Quickly monitored and moderated
Relationship to Time
- Immediate
- Moment-to-moment vigilance
- Little long-term grounding
Time feels like waiting for exposure.
Relationship to Pleasure and Comfort
- Comfort comes from control
- Pleasure is moderated
- Relaxation feels unsafe
The mind never fully rests.
Living Space
- Small
- Enclosed
- Minimal exposure
The space mirrors a desire to contain.
Relationship Patterns
- Reserved
- Polite
- Guarded
Others see calm; inside is noise.
How This Person Works
- Thoughtful
- Careful
- Over-prepared
Action follows thinking too slowly.
What Makes the Spirit Stay
- Silent fear
- Heavy inner narration
- Treating thought as concealment
- Belief that privacy exists without action
Zarazarazattara remains where thinking replaces presence.
What Makes the Spirit Leave
- Unexpected physical action
- Embodied interruption
- Noise, movement, or chance
- Acting without thinking first
When the body acts before the mind, the spirit loses access.
The Cost of Keeping This Spirit Close
- Loss of inner privacy
- Heightened anxiety
- Feeling watched even when alone
What is lost is mental refuge.
What remains is exposure without witness.
Final Human–Spirit Portrait
“A life lived entirely inside the head, until even thought itself begins to answer back.”