Tengu literally means heavenly dog. They are considered as a Kami. There are two types of Tengus: The Daitengu and the Karasu Tengu. The Daitengu is humanoid with a red face, a long nose and a pair of wings while the Karasu Tengu either has a crow’s head and a human body, has a pair… Continue reading Tengu
Kodama is a tree spirit. They inhabit trees deep in the forests of Japan. They look like bluish light orbs. They can live inside the trees or around it. The life of the Kodama is connected with the trees. They protect the trees it inhabits and its surroundings. If someone tries or cuts these trees… Continue reading Kodama
Inugami literally means dog god. Inugamis are dogs that has been starved to death, decapitated and then buried on crossroads. They come back as an onryo (vengeful spirit.) This kind of ritual is made by their masters for them to become an Inugami, to be obedient again despite of being deprived of food. The preserved… Continue reading Inugami
The human-faced tree. Jinmeju or the Ninmenju is a peculiar tree that bear fruits that has face. These fruits are called the Jinmenshi, although having faces, they are incapable of speaking but they can smile and laugh. They even continuously smile or laugh when the fall off the tree. These human-faced fruits are either sweet… Continue reading Jinmenju
Hitodama appears like colored glowing fire orbs, sometimes blueish, sometimes greenish or sometimes reddish, sometimes yellowish, with long glowing tails and is believed to be the souls of persons recently deceased. They can be seen on houses where people recently died, funeral homes and graveyards. They are visible to the human eyes and they are harmless.… Continue reading Hitodama
The dragon lantern. It is said that this yokai inhabits the sea or bodies of water. Ryuto is a divine light phenomenon that appears on serene nights. Although they appears to be glowing light sorbs forming into a dragon, they are not hot or does not burn.
Hainu are dogs that possesses a massive pair of wings. According to the legends, there are two types of Hainu. The evil one and the good one. The evil ones are vicious, swift and are violent and dangerous to the humans while the good ones are tamed, benevolent and exists to protect humans specially the… Continue reading Hainu
This mysterious creature inhabits deep in the sea. They are divine and only surfaces when they foretell events, to deliver warnings for pandemics, terrible disasters, etc. They appear to be young women with scales, sometimes they have scaly torso of a dragon and the rest of the half of their body is inside a massive… Continue reading Umidebito
Literally means eight span crow. Yatagarasu is a holy creature serving a deity, Amaterasu Oomikami and is a three legged crow that inhabits the sun. The legends says that the yokai Yatagarasu was sent down by the goddess Amatersu from the heaven to guide Emperor Jimmu to conquer his quest. It was also said that… Continue reading Yatagarasu
