I am going to be honest here; I have always been very interested in Mythology, especially Greek and I have always wanted for at least some of it to be real. When we talk of supernatural, I am sure you can do an adequate job in picturing certain creatures. But that’s not exactly the case when it comes to Japanese folklore or mythology. The sort of creatures their stories talk about are way too different from the rest of the world’s. I am sure you have no idea what I am talking about. This article discusses ten extremely weird creatures from the folklore of Japan. Read on to know more about this ‘Bizarreness’.
KAPPA
There isn’t anything really weird about this creature. It looks pretty much like a goblin. They are usually referred to as a water monkey. They have a dent on their head and it has water in it from their native spring. If the water spills out, they lose their magical powers. They drink blood and can be good and evil. They love cucumbers, they are polite and they keep their promises. There are many different Kappas in Japanese folklore for example, one-eyed Kappas, cowardly Kappas, Party Animal kappas and hairy kappas etc.
HEIKEGANI
Well, you should be pleased to know that these guys actually exist. They are a species of anthropod and they are native to Japan. It is said that these crabs had faces similar to Samurais who lost their lives in battle Dan-no-ura. The bodies of these crabs do resemble human faces actually. It is said that Japanese people would only eat crabs that didn’t resemble human faces so the ones that resembled human faces could mate and have offspring ensuring the existence of Heikegani crabs with human-face-like appearance.
KONAK JIJI
This guy turns itself into an infant and hides in the mountains where it waits for travelers. When it sees one, the Konak Jii begins to cry and since humans usually tend to help the crying infant, they end up dead. As soon as the ‘infant’ is picked up, it becomes unbearably heavy. Some tales say that it can weigh around 350 kg and that I believe is enough to do some serious damage to a normal human. If you are able to survive the weight of the Konak Jii, it might give you magical powers.
AKANAME
This is one disgusting creature. If you translate this name into English, the exact words would be ‘filth licker’. So, it doesn’t take a lot of brains to figure out that you should be able to find this guy in your bathrooms and other dirty places. Although, it is said that Akaname will lick your dirty bathroom clean with the help of its tongue. It is said to have poisonous saliva.
