Ushirogami
Ushirogami
Ushirogami (後神 – The Kami Behind You) is a type of yōkai depicted in the Konjaku Hyakki Shūi by Toriyama Sekien.
It is said that this kami accompanies the kami of cowardice. Whenever you think it is infront of you it will disappear behind you and pull your hair.
The creature is depicted as arched over, with reversed hands, long hair and eye atop its head.
The Ushirogami can be a play on words as changing a kanji but not the sound makes ‘the hair on the back of your head.’1
External Links
- View the book online here: Konjaku Hyakki Shūi 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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