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, yamamba, and yamanba are variations on the name of a ''
yōkai are a class of supernatural entities and Spirit (supernatural entity) , spirits in Japanese folklore. The kanji representation of the word comprises two characters that both mean "suspicious, doubtful", and while the Japanese name is simply ...
'' found in
Japanese folklore Japanese folklore encompasses the informally learned folk traditions of Japan and the Japanese people as expressed in its oral traditions, Tradition, customs, and material culture. In Japanese, the term is used to describe folklore. The Folklor ...
. Mostly said to resemble women, yamauba may be depicted as predatory monsters or benevolent beings.


Appearance

Depending on the text and translator, the yamauba often appears as a monstrous
crone In folklore, a crone is an old woman who may be characterized as disagreeable, malicious, or sinister in manner, often with magical or supernatural associations that can make her either helpful or obsolete. The Crone is also an archetypical figur ...
, "her unkempt hair long and golden white ... her kimono filthy and tattered",Hearn, 267. with
cannibalistic Cannibalism is the act of consuming another individual of the same species as food. Cannibalism is a common ecological interaction in the animal kingdom and has been recorded in more than 1,500 species. Human cannibalism is also well documente ...
tendencies. The yamauba is said to have a mouth at the top of her head, hidden under her hair. In one story, it is revealed that her only weakness is a certain flower containing her soul.


Folklore

The people attacked by yamauba in folklore are typically travelers and merchants (such as ox drivers, horse drivers, coopers, and notions keepers) who often travel along mountain paths and encounter people in the mountains, so they are also thought to be the ones who had spread such tales. In one tale, a mother traveling to her village is forced to give birth in a mountain hut assisted by a seemingly kind old woman, only to discover too late that the stranger is a yamauba, with plans to eat her helpless son
Kintarō is a folk hero from Japanese folklore. A child of superhuman strength, he was raised by a yama-uba ("mountain witch") on Mount Ashigara. He became friendly with the animals of the mountain, and later, after catching Shuten-dōji, the terror o ...
. In another story, the
yōkai are a class of supernatural entities and Spirit (supernatural entity) , spirits in Japanese folklore. The kanji representation of the word comprises two characters that both mean "suspicious, doubtful", and while the Japanese name is simply ...
raises the orphan hero Kintarō, who goes on to become the famous warrior Sakata no Kintoki. Yamauba have been portrayed in two different ways. There were tales where men stocking oxen with fish for delivery encountered yamauba at
capes A cape is a clothing accessory or a sleeveless outer garment of any length that hangs loosely and connects either at the neck or shoulders. They usually cover the back, shoulders, and arms. They come in a variety of styles and have been used thr ...
and were chased by them, such as the ''Ushikata Yamauba'' and the ''Kuwazu Jobo'', as well as a tale where someone who was chased by a yamauba would climb a chain appearing from the skies in order to flee, and when the yamauba tried to make chase by climbing the chain too, she fell to her death into a field of buckwheat, called the "Tendo-san no Kin no Kusari". In these tales, the yamauba is a fearsome monster trying to eat humans. On the other hand, there are tales such as the ''Nukafuku Komefuku'' (also called "Nukafuku Kurifuku"), where two sisters out gathering fruit meet a yamauba who gives treasure to the kind older sister (who was tormented by her stepmother) and curses the ill-mannered younger sister with misfortune. There is also the "Ubakawa" tale, where a yamauba gives a human good fortune.


By area

In the town of Masaeki (now
Ebino is a city located in Miyazaki Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 16,397 in 7775 households, and a population density of 58 persons per km2. The total area of the city is . Geography Ebino is in far southwestern Mi ...
) in Nishimorokata District,
Miyazaki Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located on the island of Kyūshū. Miyazaki Prefecture has a population of 1,028,215 as of 1 January 2025 and has a geographic area of 7,735 Square kilometre, km2 (2,986 sq mi). Miyazaki Prefectur ...
, a would wash her hair and sing in a lovely voice. Deep in the mountains of
Shizuoka Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshu. Shizuoka Prefecture has a population of 3,555,818 and has a geographic area of . Shizuoka Prefecture borders Kanagawa Prefecture to the east, Yamanashi Pref ...
, there is a tale that the yamahime would appear as a beautiful woman around twenty years of age, with black hair and an unusually coloured ''kosode''. When an armed hunter found her and shot at her, she would catch the bullet with her hands. In
Hokkaido is the list of islands of Japan by area, second-largest island of Japan and comprises the largest and northernmost prefectures of Japan, prefecture, making up its own list of regions of Japan, region. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaidō fr ...
,
Shikoku is the smallest of the List of islands of Japan#Main islands, four main islands of Japan. It is long and between at its widest. It has a population of 3.8 million, the least populated of Japan's four main islands. It is south of Honshu ...
, and southern
Kyushu is the third-largest island of Japan's Japanese archipelago, four main islands and the most southerly of the four largest islands (i.e. excluding Okinawa Island, Okinawa and the other Ryukyu Islands, Ryukyu (''Nansei'') Ryukyu Islands, Islands ...
, the yamauba is accompanied by a ''yamajijii'' (mountain old man) and a ''yamawaro'' (mountain child), and here the yamauba would be called a and the yamajijii a . In Iwata District, Shizuoka Prefecture, there is a tale of a ''yamababa'' that would come and rest at a certain house. She was a gentle woman that wore clothes made of a tree's bark. She borrowed a cauldron to boil rice, but it could only fit two ''gō'' (361
milliliters The litre ( Commonwealth spelling) or liter (American spelling) (SI symbols L and l, other symbol used: ℓ) is a metric unit of volume. It is equal to 1 cubic decimetre (dm3), 1000 cubic centimetres (cm3) or 0.001 cubic metres (m3). A cubic ...
) of rice. There wasn't anything else unusual about it, but it is said that when she sat to the side of it, the floor would creak. In
Hachijō-jima is a volcano, volcanic Islands of Japan, Japanese island in the Philippine Sea. It is about south of the special wards of Tokyo. It is part of the Izu Islands, Izu archipelago and within the Fuji-Hakone-Izu National Park. Its only municipalit ...
, a ''dejji'' or ''decchi'' would spirit people away by sending them to supposedly nonexistent places for an entire night, but if one were to become friendly with her, she would give them
forage Forage is a plant material (mainly plant leaves and stems) eaten by grazing livestock. Historically, the term ''forage'' has meant only plants eaten by the animals directly as pasture, crop residue, or immature cereal crops, but it is also used m ...
, among other things. She is also said to have nursed a child who went missing for three days. It is said that there are sores on her body, and her breasts are attached to her shoulders with ''tasuki''. In
Kagawa Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located on the island of Shikoku. Kagawa Prefecture has a population of 949,358 (as of 2020) and is the List of Japanese prefectures by area, smallest prefecture by geographic area at . Kagawa Pr ...
, yamauba within rivers are called , and whenever a
levee A levee ( or ), dike (American English), dyke (British English; see American and British English spelling differences#Miscellaneous spelling differences, spelling differences), embankment, floodbank, or stop bank is an elevated ridge, natural ...
would fail, one would cry out, "My house is going to be washed away." In Kumakiri, Haruno, Shūchi District, Shizuoka Prefecture (now
Hamamatsu is a Cities of Japan, city located in western Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan. In September 2023, the city had an estimated population of 780,128 in 340,591 households, making it the prefecture's largest city, with a population density of over the t ...
), there are legends of a yamauba called a ''hocchopā'' that would appear on mountain roads in the evening. Mysterious phenomena, such as the sounds of
festivals A festival is an event celebrated by a community and centering on some characteristic aspect or aspects of that community and its religion or cultures. It is often marked as a local or national holiday, Melā, mela, or Muslim holidays, eid. A ...
and curses coming from the mountains, were considered to be because of this hocchopā. Legends in Higashichikuma District,
Nagano Prefecture is a Landlocked country, landlocked Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshu. Nagano Prefecture has a population of 2,007,682 () and has a geographic area of . Nagano Prefecture borders Niigata Prefecture ...
tell of a yokai called an ''uba'' with long hair and one eye; from its name, it is thought to be a kind of yamauba. In
Kōchi Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located on the island of Shikoku. Kōchi Prefecture has a population of 669,516 (1 April 2023) and has a geographic area of 7,103 km2 (2,742 sq mi). Kōchi Prefecture borders Ehime Prefecture to the northwest and Tok ...
, there is a legend that a house possessed by a yamauba would quickly gain wealth and fortune, and some families have deified them as protective gods.


Noh drama

In one
Noh is a major form of classical Japanese dance-drama that has been performed since the 14th century. It is Japan's oldest major theater art that is still regularly performed today. Noh is often based on tales from traditional literature featuri ...
drama Drama is the specific Mode (literature), mode of fiction Mimesis, represented in performance: a Play (theatre), play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on Radio drama, radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a g ...
, translated as ''Yamauba, Dame of the Mountain,''
Konparu Zenchiku Konparu Zenchiku (; b. Shichirō UjinobuKomparu Zenchiku. (2007). In Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved November 11, 2007, from Encyclopædia Britannica Online: http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9045984 () 1405–1468, 1470 or 1471) was a skil ...
states the following: :Yamauba is the fairy of the mountains, which have been under her care since the world began. She decks them with snow in winter, with blossoms in spring ... She has grown very old. Wild white hair hangs down her shoulders; her face is very thin. There was a courtesan of the Capital who made a dance representing the wanderings of Yamauba. It had such success that people called this courtesan Yamauba though her real name was Hyakuma.Waley, 247. The play takes place one evening as Hyakuma is traveling to visit the Zenko Temple in Shinano, when she accepts the hospitality of a woman who turns out to be none other than the real Yamauba herself.


Western literature

Steve Berman's short story, ''"A Troll on a Mountain with a Girl"''Wallace, 184. features a yamauba.
Lafcadio Hearn was a Greek-born Irish and Japanese writer, translator, and teacher who introduced the culture and literature of Japan to the Western world. His writings offered unprecedented insight into Japanese culture, especially his collections of legend ...
, writing primarily for a Western audience, tells a tale like this: :Then
hey Hey, HEY, or Hey! may refer to: Music * Hey (band), a Polish rock band Albums * ''Hey'' (Andreas Bourani album) or the title song (see below), 2014 * ''Hey!'' (Julio Iglesias album) or the title song, 1980 * ''Hey!'' (Jullie album) or the ...
saw the Yama-Uba,—the ''"Mountain Nurse."'' Legend says she catches little children and nurses them for awhile, and then devours them. The Yama-Uba did not clutch at us, because her hands were occupied with a nice little boy, whom she was just going to eat. The child had been made wonderfully pretty to heighten the effect. The spectre, hovering in the air above a tomb at some distance ... had no eyes; its long hair hung loose; its white robe floated light as smoke. I thought of a statement in a composition by one of my pupils about ghosts: ''"Their greatest peculiarity is that they have no feet."'' Then I jumped again, for the thing, quite soundlessly, but very swiftly, made through the air at me.


See also

*
Baba Yaga Baba Yaga is a female character (or one of a trio of sisters of the same name) from Slavic folklore who has two contrasting roles. In some narratives, she is described as a repulsive or ferocious-looking old woman who fries and eats children, ...
, a similar character from
Slavic folklore Slavic folklore encompasses the folklore of the Slavic peoples The Slavs or Slavic people are groups of people who speak Slavic languages. Slavs are geographically distributed throughout the northern parts of Eurasia; they predominantly inh ...
*
Jynx Jynx (), known in Japan as , is a Pokémon species in Nintendo and Game Freak's ''Pokémon'' franchise. Jynx first appeared in the video games ''Pokémon Red'' and ''Blue'' and sequels, later appearing in various merchandise, spinoff titles, o ...
, a ''
Pokémon is a Japanese media franchise consisting of List of Pokémon video games, video games, Pokémon (TV series), animated series and List of Pokémon films, films, Pokémon Trading Card Game, a trading card game, and other related media. The fran ...
'' species inspired by Yama-uba *
Kurozuka Kurozuka (, "black mound") is the grave of an Onibaba (folklore), onibaba in Nihonmatsu, Fukushima, Nihonmatsu, Fukushima Prefecture (previously Oodaira, Fukushima, Oodaira), Adachi District, Fukushima, Adachi District, or the legend of that onib ...
, a similar onibaba, also known for cannibalism and
infanticide Infanticide (or infant homicide) is the intentional killing of infants or offspring. Infanticide was a widespread practice throughout human history that was mainly used to dispose of unwanted children, its main purpose being the prevention of re ...
* ''Onibaba'' (film)


Notes


References

*Ashkenazi, Michael. ''Handbook of Japanese mythology''. ABC-CLIO (2003) *Hearn, Lafcadio. ''Glimpses of Unfamiliar Japan''. Houghton, Mifflin and company. (1894) *Joly, Henri. ''Legend in Japanese art: a description of historical episodes, legendary characters, folk-lore, myths, religious symbolism, illustrated in the arts of old Japan''. New York: J. Lane. (1908) *Monaghan, Patricia. ''Encyclopedia of goddesses and heroines''. ABC-CLIO. (2010) *Ozaki, Yei Theodora. ''The Japanese fairy book''. Archibald Constable & Co. (1903) *Shirane, Haruo. ''Early Modern Japanese Literature: An Anthology, 1600-1900''. Columbia University Press. (2004) *Waley, Arthur. ''The Nō plays of Japan''. New York: A. A. Knopf (1922) *Wallace, Sean. ''Japanese Dreams''.
Lethe Press Lethe Press is an American book publishing company based in Western Massachusetts.
. (2009) {{Authority control Yōkai Mythic humanoids Japanese folklore Female legendary creatures Oni Forest spirits Mythological cannibals Crones and hags Witchcraft in folklore and mythology