Winter Ghouls in Japan
Hello, dear readers, and welcome back to our witchy corner of this webzine. We hope you have been keeping cozy this winter. You may have even noticed people beginning to prepare for the spring. Plum blossoms and all manner of treats are available but winter is still hanging on with more than just chilly winds. Speaking of, did you know Winter is the time of the crone. The crone is often represented by an elderly woman and indicates the winter or an ending. Death must settle on the land if there is to be new life in spring, and it is at this time that all manner of creepy ghouls come out to play.
It is pertinent to remember, dear readers, that we share this place we call home with all manner of spirits and ghosts who have been here far longer than we have, with legends of them spanning through most of Japanese history. So let us take a look at some of these icy yokai and their roles in Japanese myth. It may get a bit frigid, so grab your warm tea of choice, snacks and let us begin.
For most societies of the past winter was a time of scarcity, famine, danger and hunger. People had to work hard year-round in order to secure what they needed to survive, and by wintertime they were surrounded by the imagery and iconography of death. Trees would be bare with skeletal-like branches, hidden animals made forests eerily silent and of course snow and frost coated the ground, giving the plants their own sort of rigor mortis. Is it any wonder dear readers that those societies invented tales of ghosts and woe during times like these? Japan, however, has a knack for the strange, dark, and scary that makes their creatures far more terrifying than most.
While many of you may not believe in these creatures and most likely dismiss them as myth or legend, we caution you to be respectful — most people say “ghosts aren’t real” until one is standing right in front of them. You are also on their turf so it can’t hurt to be cautious. Here are the creatures to keep a vigilant eye out for as you trudge home in the dark after work or that late night combini run.
Many of you dear readers may already be familiar with the first ghoul on our list, the yuki-onna. With many legends about her seductive powers, the yuki-onna is renowned for luring men to their icy deaths. What a charming tinder match, no? She appears as a beautiful pale woman with dark hair and while the stories about her differ on whether or not simply talking to her or ignoring her causes your doom, the result is the same. Your frozen icicle-like corpse will be found the next day, provided that she didn’t eat you. Now mind you she usually isn’t looking for people-meat via uber eats most days, rather she is looking for love and often her victims are killed after receiving an icy kiss from her. Although she has been known to get creative and outright eat all of her victims. No body, no crime.
This may have been past peoples’ attempt at dealing with loss by attempting to explain frostbite and those who often didn’t make it after venturing outside in the winter, but in our opinion it’s better to be safe than sorry. The yuki-onna isn’t known for leaving survivors.
What should you do if you see this icy ghoul? Often yokai and ghouls have weaknesses and ways that you can catch them before they catch you. Yuki-onna doesn’t have feet, so if you can look past her Maybelline perfect face and manage to look down, it may just save your life. We suggest running like hell and not stopping until you reach a warm safe place. Many of the frigid ghouls we will look at today, loathe the heat, as it is the opposite of their natures — so keep some hand-warmers handy as you head home, and be quick about it too.
Our next icy ghoul is often mistaken for yuki-onna, but we caution you dear readers not to make this mistake as the Tsurara-onna is far more terrifying. If you grew up somewhere with snowy strong winters, you are no doubt aware of the dangers posed by nature’s icy daggers, icicles. Depending on the size, they can be deadly and Tsurara-onna is essentially the icicle ghost.
The Tsurara-onna is not too different from the yuki-onna in that she too is a lovely pale skinned lady with a face meant for Vogue. However, she is far less gentle or subtle than her ghoulish counterpart, since her preferred method of murder is a bit gruesome. She is best known for the tale where a man wished for the perfect wife and Tsurara-onna appeared. Be careful who you swipe right on. He should have known better, since usually people who appear out of literally nowhere are not human. This point is proven true since he ended up dead the next day with an icicle-impaled throat. Ouch.
Tsurara-onna prefers to impale or stab her victims with icicles, hence her name, but fear not dear readers! Tsurara-onna, like yuki-onna, does not like warm things, particularly warm water or liquids. So again, check for the no-feet situation and get your money’s worth out of that Starbucks latte. We suggest dousing Tsurara-onna in hot liquid and again running like hell or chilling out in your hot bath if you happen to feel an eerie chill creep up your spine.
Our next lovely little ghouligan is a version of yuki-onna found in Aomori, Gunma, Niigata, and Miyagi prefectures. This lovely lady is also said to have skin that makes dermatologists cry tears of joy- wish these wraiths would share their retinol secrets but dear readers we digress. The difference between regional and traditional yuki-onna is that rather than the usual kiss and kill, our regional lady prefers to suck out your life force after with a little vampire style make out sesh. Again, dear readers, be careful out there on those dating apps because tis’ the season. People are often warned not to go out into the snowy night out of fear of this ghoulish lady.
She, like the ghoul squad ladies before her, abhors hot things so it’s always worth it to treat yourself to that cup of tea or coffee on the way home. That, and again, running like hell if you don’t see feet.
The last of the winter ghoul squad we will look at today calls Niigata prefecture his home. This particular yokai has a penchant for pushing unsuspecting travelers down snowy cliffs or burying them alive under snow. Quaint! At least it’s not stabbing?
Sorry, anyways, yuki-jiji takes the monochromatic fashion look to the extreme with white clothes, white hair and white skin. He was once believed to be a god at one point but the cults that worshiped him are no longer around today and he has joined the yokai ranks. He loves to surf around on snow and looks for victims to lure off course, so be careful dear inaka readers, as you have a far greater chance of meeting him than the city readers do. Unlike the other winter ghouls, he does have feet, but again hot stuff isn’t his thing. Toss some hand warmers at him or offer him your tea and of course run like hell.
While you can get away from these ghouls most of these cautionary tales advise us to do things to stay warm. In order to ward off these creatures, take hot baths, enjoy hot foods like nabe, and stay warm inside of your home. There is no need to go out in bad weather. If you’re looking for more witchy tips on how to keep your home ghoul free, we suggest salt near your door and black tourmaline near entrances to keep unwanted things out of your space. If you like using incense, dragon’s blood or pine incense are excellent at repelling unwanted spirits and smell oh-so-lovely in winter. If you find your home is on the dry side and you want a humidifier, stay tuned for our simmer pots where we will include a few protective recipes. If you’d like recommendations on where to buy incense in Japan, comment down below.
That’s all for today’s look, dear readers. Remember to be safe, guard against the cold since we aren’t fully out of the winter woods and respect that this place we call home is also home to things that we’d rather not see… so stay vigilant.
Until next time,
The Witches of Wide Island
