Everyone who has seen series like Inuyasha or Studio Ghibli animations has come across a type of Japanese monster called “youkai” (妖怪). They can be of all types, from hideous to friendly and even cute creatures, from dangerous to harmless beings.
There are those that look like dragons, snakes, ghosts and those that, for us Brazilians and Westerners, are at least extremely bizarre, like the Akaname (垢舐め), a youkai that eats the dirt people leave in the toilets, or the Tsukumogami (付喪神), objects that, after living for a long, long time, turn into animated beings.
Hoje vamos conhecer aquele que, na minha opinião, é um dos youkai mais assustadores. Ele pode não ser perigoso por devorar pessoas ou raptar crianças, mas o tipo de risco que se corre ao encontra-lo é bem mais sombrio...
Itsuki's Record (縊鬼)
In an Edo period book called “Notes on the Back of Drafts” (反故の裏書). There was a story at least curious and that goes more or less like this. A government official decided to gather his subordinates for a meeting. One of them arrived late and, with a hurried air, immediately said “Today I won't be able to participate, I'm sorry! I left someone waiting for me!”, with which he was already getting ready to leave. The man's appearance was strange. When asked why, he replied, "I promised someone I would hang me."
O oficial achou aquilo muito estranho e deteve o homem, fazendo-o beber um pouco de álcool até que se acalmasse. Quando perguntaram por que ele tinha prometido algo tão terrível, ele disse que simplesmente tinha que obedecer à ordem que recebera de alguém parado perto ao portal de entrada. Enquanto isso, chegava até a reunião a notícia de que uma pessoa se enforcara no dito lugar... Alguém com menos sorte cumprira a promessa feita ao Itsuki (縊鬼), um youkai que ordena às pessoas que se matem por enforcamento!
Itsuki, whose appearance is not described in the book, was a youkai who made people promise to kill themselves!
Do you know any youkai that are as or scarier than Itsuki? Tell us in the comments!
Source:
『 怪し く ゆ か い な 妖 怪 穴 』 村 上 健 司 2011.
MURAKAMI, Kenji. The strangely pleasant youkai hole. 2011.
