Winter Yokai: Oshiroi babā

 

❄️Oshiroi babā❄️

The white face powder hag.

This Yokai can be traced back at least as far as 1537.

Oshiroi babā are yokai that take the form of  old woman who appear in snowy mountainous areas near the end of the year. 

Oshiroi Baba (oshiroi; white face powder) +  (baba; old woman, hag). The word oshiroi specifically refers to the white face powder used by geisha and maiko.

She wears a tattered old kimono and a massive, straw umbrella hat covered in heavy snow,she carries a bottle of sake, usually a classic ceramic tokkuri and her face is covered in oshiroi powder, usually slathered on without  care for appearance.

Some claims say you will hear the sound of a mirror dragging and clattering abut from behind her as they hobble through the streets. Though the mirror is almost never actually seen.

 Her back is disfigured, twisted and bent like an old woman’s after a lifetime hard work. 

She carries a cane in one hand, and a sake bottle in the other, and wear a broken straw hat. 

Her most defining feature is their wrinkly old face caked with thick, sloppy, white face powder.

Oshiroi babā don’t tend to interact with humans too often. For the most part, their looks alone are  enough to ward if interactions.

 Though they will occasionally bother people, demanding makeup or trying to buy sake. In this way they are somewhat similar to other old hag yōkai who wander the streets at night, such as amazake babā. However, nearly every account of oshiroi babā describes them as hideous or scary, but not dangerous. 

Other version of the myth claims she appears on cold snowy nights and offer's warm sake to those in need.

According to some local legends, oshiroi babā are a variation of yuki onna. They leave the  mountains and wonder into villages on snowy nights.

 Others say they are more similar to yama uba, who sometimes demand makeup from travelers or can be found  at the bases of mountains trying to buy alcohol.

 According to Toriyama Sekien, oshiroi babā serve as the attendants of Shifun Senjō, the goddess of cosmetics which would explain the mirror, and make up requests.

  

❄️🍺🪞🧓🏔️

Yokai Myths: The Harionago or Barbed haired woman

 

 

                                             ---Harionago---

                       -- Barbed Haired OR Hook Haired woman--

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My first post of 2021, this month's posts will mostly be Yokai :)

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Japan the Land of the rising sun, is full of fascinating  myths and legends with yokai of all shapes and sizes.

Today's post is about a long haired fem-fatal called the Harionago.

She's a Human like yokai that is considered very dangerous.

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Alternative spellings...
 

Harionago, and in some areas  Harionna ...

This long haired vixen  is as dangerous as she is beautiful, those unfortunate enough to encounter her

often meet an unfortunate and painful end..

 

The Harionago is believed to resemble  a beautiful young woman with very long hair..

However, unbeknownst to her potential victims her hair is tipped with extremely sharp thorn-like barbs.

She has full control of her hair, and she can use it to lash out like a whip, wrap around a foot
to trip you or simply use it to ensnare her target.

She is believed to wander the roads of the Ehime prefecture in Japan on the island of Shikoku.
When she finds a young man to her liking, she will laugh at him, and if the man laugh back,
she will drop her barbed hair and quickly attack. 

                    
 

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She is a fast and rather fearsome yokai, not only for the speed f her attack's but also for the
fact that at first glance she looks just like any other girl with long hair.

Her favorite haunts are the dark road of Shikoku late at night, She looks like young woman
with loose and somewhat disheveled hair.

However with a closer look, the tip of each of her hairs are  fitted with a needle-like
barbed hook , unfortunately  if you are close enough to her to to notice the hooks, it is
probably already too late for you.

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She wanders the streets always in searching of new victims, her favorite victim is usually young
single men walking home alone late at night.

If she takes an interest in a passerby, she smiles at him. (or sometimes giggle) If the smile
back or acknowledges her, she will attacks... she lets  her hair down, and the barbed ends
lash out with unimaginable speed and seemingly a will of their own though she can control them at will.
 

The barb's begin  sinking deep into her victim’s flesh.

Her hair strength is  said to be comparable to steel cables, it is so strong that even the
strongest man can be easily overpowered by her hooks.

Once her victim is ensnared and rendered helpless, she rips him into pieces with her hooks
and then eats the remains.

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If you are relatively fit, and your home is VERY close to where you encounter the Haironago, you
may have a very slime chance to escape her.

If you do manage to somehow escape her grasp, she will still chance you and continue to try and break into your home.

Like most Yokai she will vanish at  sunrise, so if you can survive her attack until then you will be safe.

However you may need to buy a new front door as the old one will have large gouges and slashes taken out of it from  her vicious attack.
 
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So the next time your out late be cautious of whom you interact with, and maybe don't try to pick up strange girls you just meet lol.