An is a Japanese

yōkai are a class of supernatural entities and spirits in Japanese folklore. The word is composed of the kanji for "attractive; calamity" and "apparition; mystery; suspicious." are also referred to as , or . Despite often being translated as su ...

depicted in Edo Period pictures such as the ''

Hyakkai Zukan is a picture scroll by Edo period Japanese artist Sawaki Suushi. Completed in 1737, this scroll is a supernatural bestiary, a collections of ghosts, spirits and monsters (Yōkai), which Suushi based on literature, folklore, other artwork. These ...

'' by Sawaki Suushi and the ''

Gazu Hyakki Yagyō is the first book of Japanese artist Toriyama Sekien's famous ''Gazu Hyakki Yagyō'' e-hon tetralogy, published in 1776. A version of the tetralogy translated and annotated in English was published in 2016. Although the title translates to "The ...

'' by

Sekien Toriyama 200px, A Miage-nyūdō.html" ;"title="Mikoshi-nyūdō, specifically a Miage-nyūdō">Mikoshi-nyūdō, specifically a Miage-nyūdō, as portrayed by Toriyama , real name Sano Toyofusa, was an 18th-century scholar, ''kyōka'' poet, and ''ukiyo-e'' a ...

Concept

They were depicted to be a teeth-blackened yōkai with grotesque features who were waving both hands, and appeared to be looking threatening by raising their voice, but there was no explanatory text, so their true identity is unknown. Teeth blackening was performed in medieval Japan among males of the nobility (

kuge The was a Japanese aristocratic class that dominated the Japanese Imperial Court in Kyoto. The ''kuge'' were important from the establishment of Kyoto as the capital during the Heian period in the late 8th century until the rise of the Kamak ...

) and warrior class ( buke), so it is inferred that they may be a yōkai of someone from this class, or alternatively they may come from how monsters in Omine,

Aso District is a district located in Kumamoto Prefecture, Japan. As of the Aso and Yamato mergers (but with 2003 population data), the district has an estimated population of 40,841 and a density of 58.1 persons per square kilometer. The total area is ...

Kumamoto Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located on the island of Kyūshū. Kumamoto Prefecture has a population of 1,748,134 () and has a geographic area of . Kumamoto Prefecture borders Fukuoka Prefecture to the north, Ōita Prefecture to the northeast, Miyaza ...

are called "wanwan" and how monsters in Taniyama, Kagoshima Prefecture (now

Kagoshima , abbreviated to , is the capital city of Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan. Located at the southwestern tip of the island of Kyushu, Kagoshima is the largest city in the prefecture by some margin. It has been nicknamed the "Naples of the Eastern wor ...

) are called "wan". In the background of the picture in the ''

'', there is the interpretation that they are a paranormal phenomenon that appears from the walls of a deserted residence. Also, in yōkai depictions, the uwan only has three fingers on its hands, so it is theorized that this refers to how

oni An is a kind of '' yōkai'', demon, orc, ogre, or troll in Japanese folklore. Oni are mostly known for their fierce and evil nature manifested in their propensity for murder and cannibalism. Notwithstanding their evil reputation, oni posses ...

have three fingers.

Other theories

In the essay ''Tōhoku Kaidan no Tabi'' by Norio Yamada, there is the following strange tale (kaidan) in

Aomori Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan in the Tōhoku region. The prefecture's capital, largest city, and namesake is the city of Aomori. Aomori is the northernmost prefecture on Japan's main island, Honshu, and is bordered by the Pacific Ocean to the ea ...

from the end of the Edo Period. A man named Kasuke was saving money, so he bought some old residence and move in with a woman, but at night, there continuously echoed a loud voice shouting "uwan!" that he was unable to sleep. The next morning, the two of them, eyes all red, complained about this voice saying uwan preventing them from sleep, but not one of their neighbors could hear such a voice, and it was rumored that they were not able to sleep simply because Kasuke was together with that woman all night. However, an elder who heard this tale said that it was because in this old residence lived a monster called "uwan." There are no primary sources provided for this mysterious tale, so it has been suggested that this was simply made up by Yamada. There is also the theory that they would appear near old temples and let out a strange voice saying as their name suggest, "uwan!" and startle passer-bys and take their lives as they are distracted, but if one repeats back everything that was said to them, the uwan would flee. This comes from a children's book of strange tales, the ''Ichiban Kuwashii Nihon Yōkai Zukan'' (いちばんくわしい日本妖怪図鑑, "The Most Informed Japanese Yōkai Illustrated Reference") by Arifumi Satō, and the book ''Obake Zukan'' (お化け図絵, Illustrated Reference Book of Monsters) by Sanpei Kasu quotes this theory, but the primary source here is also unknown, and again, it has been suggested that this is simply made up by Satō.

Notes

External links

Images of uwan

* http://www.pinktentacle.com/2008/02/edo-period-monster-paintings-by-sawaki-suushi/ * https://publicdomainreview.org/collections/the-bakemono-zukushi-monster-scroll-18th-19th-century/ {{Japanese folklore long Mythological monsters Yōkai