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Mikoshi-nyūdō

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Also known as goblin

thumb|"" from the Hyakkai Zukan by Sawaki Suushi thumb|"" from the Gazu Hyakki Yagyō by [[Sekien Toriyama]] Mikoshi-nyūdō (見越し入道 or 見越入道) is a type of bald-headed yōkai "goblin" with an ever-extending neck. In Japanese folklore and Edo period (1603–1868) kaidan "ghost story" texts, mikoshi-nyūdō will frighten people who look over the top of things such as byōbu folding screens. The name combines mikoshi 見越し (lit. "see over") "looking over the top (of a fence); anticipation; expectation" and nyūdō 入道 (lit. "enter the Way") "a (Buddhist) priest; a bonze; a tonsured monster".

Wikidata facts

Subclass of
yōkai

via Wikidata · CC0

~8 min read

Encyclopedic overview

6 sections
Contents
  • Summary
  • True identity of ''mikoshi''
  • Similar tales
  • ''Yōkai'' depictions
  • See also
  • Notes

thumb|"" from the Hyakkai Zukan by Sawaki Suushi thumb|"" from the Gazu Hyakki Yagyō by [[Sekien Toriyama]] Mikoshi-nyūdō (見越し入道 or 見越入道) is a type of bald-headed yōkai "goblin" with an ever-extending neck. In Japanese folklore and Edo period (1603–1868) kaidan "ghost story" texts, mikoshi-nyūdō will frighten people who look over the top of things such as byōbu folding screens. The name combines mikoshi 見越し (lit. "see over") "looking over the top (of a fence); anticipation; expectation" and nyūdō 入道 (lit. "enter the Way") "a (Buddhist) priest; a bonze; a tonsured monster".

==Summary== When walking to the end of a road at night or a hill road, something the shape of a monk would suddenly appear, and if one looks up, it becomes taller the further one looks up. They are so big that one would look up at them, and thus are given the name "." Sometimes, if one just looks at them like that, one might die, but they can be made to disappear by saying "." They most frequently appear when walking alone on night paths, but they are also said to appear at intersections, stone bridges, and above trees.

Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Mikoshi-nyūdō” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.

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