Kerakera-onna

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Kerakera-onna in Toriyama Sekiens Gazu Hyakki Yakō ( 画 図 百 鬼 夜行 ) from 1776.

The Kerakera-onna ( Japanese. 倩 兮 女 ; lit. "giggling woman") is a fictional creature of Japanese folk belief . She is a yōkai and is considered vicious.

description

The Kerakera-onna is described as a gigantic woman covering almost the entire sky. She doesn't show up at first, but her sardonic giggle can be clearly heard. She climbs after her victim and giggles until he turns around, disturbed and annoyed, then she shows herself to him and laughs scornfully. The victim usually runs away in panic and is chased by the kerakera-onna to the point of exhaustion. She herself does not cause any physical harm to the victim, she lives only on people's fear of being persecuted.

literature

  • Michaela Haustein: Mythologies of the World: Japan, Ainu, Korea. ePubli, Berlin 2011, ISBN 3844214070 , p. 26.
  • Stephen Addis, Helen Foresman: Japanese Ghosts and Demons: Art of the Supernatural . George Braziller, 2001.

Web links