Oni Codexery

Yama-uba

A yōkai of the mountains, both feared and revered.

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Yama-uba is a yōkai from Japanese folklore, also known as yamamba or yamanba.[1] She often appears as a monstrous crone with cannibalistic tendencies and a hidden mouth atop her head.[2][3]

Quick Facts

Field
Japanese folklore
Nationality
Japanese
Also called
  • Yamamba
  • yamanba
  • yamahime
  • yamahaha
  • yamababa
  • kawajorō
  • hocchopā
  • uba
  • dejji
  • decchi

Facts from the source article.

Key facts and history

In one tale, a yamauba assists a woman giving birth in a mountain hut, planning to eat the baby Kintarō.[4] In Kagawa Prefecture, yamauba living in rivers cry out when a levee fails.[5] Legends in Shizuoka Prefecture describe a yamauba called hocchopā that appears on mountain roads in the evening.[6] Mysterious mountain sounds in that area were attributed to this hocchopā.[6]

In Nagano Prefecture, a one-eyed, long-haired yokai called uba is considered a kind of yamauba.[7] The Noh drama "Yamauba" features the real Yamauba appearing to a traveling dancer.[8]

What the cited sources add

The 2000 book "Yōkai jiten" documents the Kagawa Prefecture river yamauba legend.[5][9] The "Animal specter Tan" source records the Nagano Prefecture uba legend.[7][10]

References

  1. Wikipedia, "Yama-uba" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Joly, 396. (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  2. Wikipedia, "Yama-uba" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Hearn, 267.; Ashkenazi, 294. (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  3. Wikipedia, "Yama-uba" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Shirane, 558.; Monaghan, 238. (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  4. Wikipedia, "Yama-uba" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Ozaki, 70.; Ozaki, 67. (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  5. Wikipedia, "Yama-uba" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: 武田明, "四国民俗 通巻10号 仲多度郡琴南町美合の聞書", 怪異・妖怪伝承データベース; 村上健司編著, "妖怪事典", 毎日新聞社, 2000, p. 124頁 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  6. Wikipedia, "Yama-uba" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: 加藤恵, "歴史読本 臨時増刊 特集 異界の日本史 鬼・天狗・妖怪の謎", 新人物往来社, 1989, p. 319頁 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  7. Wikipedia, "Yama-uba" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: 日野巌, "動物妖怪譚", 中央公論新社, 2006, p. 236頁; "妖怪事典", p. 55頁 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  8. Wikipedia, "Yama-uba" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Waley, 247. (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  9. Open Library record, ISBN 9784620314280 ("Yōkai jiten"). CC0 (metadata); book content not read. openlibrary.org
  10. Open Library record, ISBN 9784122047921 ("Animal specter Tan <under> ISBN"). CC0 (metadata); book content not read. openlibrary.org

Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Yama-uba (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.

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Sources

Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.

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