Study Abroad in Japan

With KCP International, you can earn more Japanese credit than you would in an entire year at your university. Plus, you can pick your start date!

Find out more

Learn Japanese Online

Immerse yourself in the heart of Tokyo with a wide variety of courses, flexible schedules and convenient packages you keep your experience easy!

Apply Now

Join Our Newsletter

Read all about Japanese immersion learning and studying abroad. Check out our eZasshi archives for more articles!

Namazu-e - Kashima controls Namazu with his sword.

Creatures of Japanese Folklore

Folklore is a rich resource to understand a particular culture. It tells us the legends, popular beliefs, and traditions of a people. It also gives us an idea why certain cultures observe different customs.

Japanese folklore  (minkan denshō (民間伝承) meaning “transmissions among the folk”)  and Japanese folktales have many stories of legendary creatures that date all the way back to the Middle Ages and the Muromachi period (14th-16th centuries). Minkan denshō were part of oral tradition and passed on from one generation to the next.  Mbanashi (tales of “long ago”) are traditional Japanese stories told by common folk, and many of these have popular mythological creatures.

Some examples of Japanese legendary creatures include:

Kamaitachi (the slashing sickle-weasel that haunts the mountains) from Kyōka Hyaku Monogatari

Kamaitachi (鎌鼬) is a Japanese phantom or yōkai that looks like a weasel with sickle like nails. They are depicted as creatures enveloped in a whirlwind as they fly through the air with wings, crying like a dog.The kamaitachi would leave footprints on their victim’s back, and wounds from their sharp claws.

Kamaitachi (the slashing sickle-weasel that haunts the mountains) from Kyōka Hyaku Monogatari

 

 

Namazu-e - Kashima controls Namazu with his sword.

Namazu (鯰) is a giant catfish that lives in mud around the islands of Japan. It is believed that the Thunder-God, Kashima, is responsible for restraining the giant fish that causes earthquakes when it thrashes about.

Namazu-e – Kashima controls Namazu with his sword.

The Namazu was worshipped as a yonaoshi daimyojin (god of world rectification) after an earthquake in an area close to Edo. This story was thought to have been derived from the belief that catfish are sensitive to the small tremors that occur before a major earthquake.

Sazae-oni (栄螺鬼) from the Gazu Hyakki Tsurezure Bukuro (百器徒然袋)

Sazae-oni (栄螺鬼), also known as the shellfish ogre in Japanese literature and mythology, resembles a large crustacean.  As the story goes, long ago, a group of pirates rescued a woman who was drowning from the sea and brought her back to their ship. The men were seduced by her alluring ways and lost their testicles in the process. Naturally , the pirates were angered with the outcome of their predicament and they threw the woman overboard.

Sazae-oni (栄螺鬼) from the Gazu Hyakki Tsurezure Bukuro (百器徒然袋)

The Sazae-oni, to the horror of the men, revealed her true form and negotiated with the pirates, saying she would return their testicles to them in exchange for their gold. In the end, the Sazae-oni got away with a lot of the pirates’ gold.  In Japanese, testicles are also known as kin-tama or “golden balls” in reference to the old story where gold was bought with gold.

 

Sign-up for our newsletter

Read all about Japanese immersion learning and studying abroad. Check out our eZasshi archives for more articles!