Nyūdō-bōzu ( ja, 入道坊主) are
yōkai first known in
Tsukude,
Minamishitara District,
Aichi Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshū. Aichi Prefecture has a population of 7,552,873 () and a geographic area of with a population density of . Aichi Prefecture borders Mie Prefecture to the west, Gifu Prefecture ...
(now
Shinshiro),
and then also in
Fukushima Prefecture;
,
Kurihara District,
Miyagi Prefecture (now
Kurihara); Hirano,
Suwa District,
Nagano Prefecture
is a landlocked prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshū. Nagano Prefecture has a population of 2,052,493 () and has a geographic area of . Nagano Prefecture borders Niigata Prefecture to the north, Gunma Prefecture to the ...
(now
Okaya), among other places.
Legend
It is a yōkai that becomes larger the further one looks up, and is thus considered a type of ''
mikoshi-nyūdō'', which has the same characteristics. In Aichi Prefecture, it appears as a small ''bōzu'' that has a height that is not even 3 shaku (about 1 meter), but when people who meet them get close to it, it would then increase in height and become a large man about 7 or 8 ''shaku'' to 1 ''to'' (about 2 to 3 meters). It is said that by saying to it "," it is possible to make it disappear, but in reverse if it says something instead, it results in death.
In Fukushima Prefecture, it is said to be a
weasel
Weasels are mammals of the genus ''Mustela'' of the family Mustelidae. The genus ''Mustela'' includes the least weasels, polecats, stoats, ferrets and European mink. Members of this genus are small, active predators, with long and slend ...
. When one looks up at a nyūdō-bōzu, it would gnaw at people's windpipes and kill them. It is said that since the weasel stomps on the shoulder of the person it is trying to fool, if one does not get startled and grasps that leg and stomps it on the ground, it would be possible to exterminate the nyūdō-bōzu.
In Nagano Prefecture, it is said that their true form is considered to be a
tanuki or
mujina,
and in Miyagi Prefecture, a mujina.
See also
*
List of legendary creatures from Japan
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nyudo-bozu
Yōkai