Kanedama
Kanedama
Kanedama (金霊 – Gold Spirit) is a type of Yōkai depicted in the Konjaku Gazu Zoku Hyakki by Toriyama Sekien.
Sekien notes it is the essence of the metal element and that “[austere people] can sense gold and silver in the night.”
He depicts the creature as gold koban coins funneling into the house of a person who is worthy of them.
The lore behind the creature is expanded upon in the Kaidan Momonjii from 1805 which says it “can’t be controlled… it loves those pure of heart and despises even the hint of deciet.”1
External Links
- View the Konjaku Gazu Zoku Hyakki online here: Konjaku Online.
Footnotes
1. Yoda, H. and Alt, M. (2016) “Japandemonium: Illustrated: The Yokai Encyclopaedia of Toriyama Sekien.”. New York: Dover Publications, Inc.
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