Japanese Horror Stories
Yamauba

Yamauba (i, a mountain grandmother) or Yamamba is an old lady of the yokai class who lives in the middle of a forest on a mountain in Japanese legends and folklore. He is depicted as tall, with his hair all long gray, the outer corners of the eyes drawn upwards, and his mouth wide to the ears.[1] Other names for her are onibaba ( ⁇ , granny oni) and kijo ( ⁇ ).

Incarnated as a beautiful woman, Yamauba will offer a place to stay for tourists or a night in the middle of the mountain. The person will also be offered food and drink. After falling asleep, the person will be eaten by the yamauba. The legend of yamauba is thought to have originated from the tradition of throwing grandmothers in the mountains and the folklore of Ubasuteyama.

Legends of various regions

Yamauba, painting by Toriyama Sekien (1712-1788), from Gazu Hyakki Yagyo.

In the city of Masaki (now Ebino), Nishimorokata District, Miyazaki Prefecture is known for its legend of yamahime (mountain princess). She is a yokai in the form of a long-haired unraveling woman who sings melodious.

Yamahime in Okayama Prefecture is a beautiful girl with a black shoulder, in her twenties. The outfit is a kosode-type kimono whose pattern is not common.[2] Hunters who got lost and stayed in the mountains shot him. The bullet captured Yamahime with his hand and he then smiled.

Residents in the mountainous regions of Tokaido, Shikoku, and southern Kyushu also know yamajijii (mountain grandfather). Yamajijii lives with yamamba and yokai in the form of children called yamawaro or yamawarawa. In Iwata, Shizuoka Prefecture, Yamababa is described as a gentle woman wearing leather clothing. He borrowed a pot from the people's house to cook rice. Only two doses of rice were raised, but after cooking the pot was full of rice.

The inhabitants of Haruno, Shuchi District, Shizuoka Prefecture (now Hamamatsu) knew a yamamba called hocchobaa ( ⁇ ). At night, he appeared on the path to the mountain. If you hear mysterious sounds from the mountain like the sound of people partying, then it is yamamba.

Yamamba victims are said to be artisans who peddle merchandise around, such as merchants who use cows or horses to transport merchandise, wood bucket traders, or furniture traders.[1] They often had to walk on lonely roads in the middle of the mountain, and meet with the inhabitants in the middle of the mountain. The story of the Yamamba is thought to have originated from them. The main character in Ushikata Yamamba's ( ⁇ ) folklore is a traveling merchant who transports merchandise using cows.[4] The merchandise can be salted mackerel fish or salted salem. The merchant was chased after by the yamamba after meeting him on the mountain pass road. Yamamba asked for a fish, and threatened to eat the merchant with his cow if it was not given. After being given a fish, the yamamba directly devoured it raw. Merchandise fish eventually one by one eaten by yamamba until exhausted, including the cows used to transport it.

A miserly man in the story Kuwazu Nyobo ( ⁇ , Wife Never Eats Anything) yearns for a wife who is diligent at work and does not eat food.[5] A woman who fulfilled her expectations appeared, and immediately married her. Although his wife never ate, the rice in his house was constantly reduced. When her husband peeked, it turned out that the woman he married was a futakuchi-onna incarnate yamauba who had a mouth hidden behind her hair, behind her head.

Yamauba eats a widow and mother of three boys in the Tendo-san no Kane no Kusari story ( ⁇ , the Golden Chain of Gods). After becoming their mother, the youngest child was eaten by the yamauba.[6] His two brothers were chased by a yamauba until they both climbed into a tree. Knowing they could not escape again, they begged the gods for help. The god helped by holding out a golden chain from the sky which the two children then climbed. Yamauba also asked the gods for help. But not a god-derived gold chain, but an old mine. Yamauba climbed up the mine, which broke up in the middle. Yamauba fell in the wheat field and died.

In the story of Komebuki Awabuki ( ⁇ ) or Nukafuku Komefuku ( ⁇ ), two unborn sisters named Komebuki and Awabuki meet the yamamba while they are away picking up chestnuts.[[7] To the good-hearted girl who was mistreated by her stepmother, Yamamba gave her a treasure. On the contrary to the bad girl, the yamamba gives misfortune.

In Ubakawa legend, yamamba is depicted as a character who brings good luck to humans. In Kochi Prefecture, some residents venerate the yamamba as the protective goddess of the home. According to legend, the house passed by the yamamba will instantly become rich.

Yamamba of Mount Ashigara in Sagami Province is said to be the mother of Sakata Kintoki in Kintaro folklore. According to the Konjaku Monogatarishu, Minamoto no Yorimitsu discovered Kintoki while on his way to move from Kazusa Province to the capital in 976. While passing through Mount Ashigara, Yorimitsu saw a red cloud over the mountain. According to Watanabe no Tsuna, under the red cloud was hiding a magical person. When they got under the red clouds, they found a grass-roofed hut. In it lived an old woman living with a young twenty-something who looked like a child. When asked, the old woman told me that one night, she met a red dragon in a dream. The boy who was born was named Kintoki. Yorimitsu had a hunch that the boy would become a great knight. The boy was named Sakata Kintoki, and was named one of his four strongest bodyguards.