Kage-onna
The Kage-onna ( Japanese 影 女 ; to dt. "Shadow woman") is a fictional being of the Japanese folk belief . She is a yōkai and is considered "creepy", but should be harmless.
description
The Kage-onna should not have a solid body of its own; you only see their shadow. This usually has clear outlines and appears either on particularly bright full moon nights or in dark rooms into which light falls from an illuminated hallway or an adjoining room. Then the Kage-onna appears as a shadow cast on or behind paper partitions , sliding doors covered with paper or behind particularly thin silk curtains . Usually the Kage-onna has the outline of a young, petite woman with a fan in her hands. She is said to appear less often as an old woman with a bell around her neck.
Most often it is said to live in abandoned buildings and / or temples , less often in inhabited houses. It is completely silent and voiceless, and it often disappears immediately as soon as it is spotted. In addition, she seems to avoid any contact with living people.
background
Although the Kage-onna itself does not harm anyone, it is feared in many places. It can terrify the people it encounters because if you push the partition aside, no one will be visible, even though its shadow was clearly visible. In addition, their appearance is often interpreted as a bad omen : Either the residents of the house in which the Kage-onna appears, an accident happens or the house is cursed and is inhabited by ghosts or yōkai.
literature
- Richard Freeman: The Great Yokai Encyclopaedia: The AZ of Japanese Monsters . CFZ Press, Myrtle Cottage, Bideford 2010, ISBN 978-1-905723-54-6 , p. 145.
- Theresa Bane: Encyclopedia of Spirits and Ghosts in World Mythology . McFarland, Jefferson 2016, ISBN 1476623392 , p. 79.
Web links
- Description of the Kage-onna on Yokai.com . (English)