Tenasobi

Tenasobi
The Tenasobi, also known as a Marten is a type of Yōkai depicted in the Gazu Hyakki Yagyō. In Toriyama Sekien’s depiction of the creature, he provides the reading of ‘Marten’ though it is written with the Kanji Character for Itachi.
The creature is known to have been a trickster and shape-shifter, with Sekien also depicting them in a pillar of fire. This is noted as something they are capable of creating to damage human dwellings, from the 1712 publication Wakan Sansai Zue.1
External Links
- View the Gazu Hyakki Yagyō online here: Gazu Hyakki Yagyō 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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