Wani (Creature)
This page refers to the creature known as the Wani, for the person see: Wan’i
Wani
The Wani is a supernatural creature mentioned a few times in Japanese texts.
One reference can be found in the Nihongi where it says the kami Kotoshironushi turned into a Wani before coming together with Mizokuhi to have their child Himetatara Isuzuhime.1
Another mentioning of the Wani can be found in the Izumo Fudoki in the tale ‘Imaro and the Wani.’ Here we see a woman killed by a Wani whilst walking on a beach. Her father enraged asks the kami for help, and going to the beach he sees 100 Wani encircle the one which killed his daughter allowing him to get his revenge.2
Footnotes
1. Aston. W.G. (1896) “Nihongi Volume 1: Chronicles of Japan from the Earliest Times to AD697”. Tuttle Publishing.
2. Carlqvist, A. (2010) “The Land Pulling Myth and Some Aspects of Historical Reality”. Japanese Journal of Religious Studies, Vol. 37, No.2, pp.185-222.
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