Furutsubaki no rei

Furutsubaki no rei (古山茶の霊) is a type of Yōkai depicted in the Konjaku Gazu Zoku Hyakki by Toriyama Sekien. This particular Yōkai is composed of the spirits of old camelia trees, with these spirits being said to sometimes take on a more human form as well as trick other humans.

The author, Lafcadio Hearn called these creatures ‘Goblin Trees’ and wrote about their flowers stating:

the falling of heavy red flowers was like the falling head of a person under the sword, the dull sound it makes when hitting the floor is the sound of the severed head hitting the ground.

Additionally the camelia is also seen in the folk tale Yaobikuni (Eight Hundred Years Nun), but here the flower is seen as a sign of longevity and not the head of a severed person.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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Here follows a list of Japanese Folktales (昔話) currently on our website. There will be more over time, so please bear with us for the time being.

Festivals

• Ōtoshi no Kyaku. The New Years Eve Visitor. A collection of tales around mysterious New Years visitors who will give great gifts.

Grateful Creature Motif

• The Bewitched Tea-Kettle (分福茶釜 or 文福茶釜) A grateful Tanuki performs for the man who saved him, making him very wealthy.
• My Lord Bag of Rice (俵藤太) The story or Fujiwara Hidesato and the killing of the Giant Centipede Seta at the behest of The Dragon King.
• The Tongue Cut Sparrow (舌切り雀) The story of an old man and his cruel wife who cuts the tongue out of a Sparrow as she grows jealous of how her husband feels about the bird.
• Urashima Taro the Fisher Lad (浦島 太郎) The story of Urashima Tarō who saves a turtle and marries the Daughter of the The Dragon King.

Hero/Heroine Motif

• The Clever Boar and Monkey. An old monkey who was going to be killed saves his life by saving a kidnapped baby.
• Momotarō. Folktale about a man with the same name, as well as a Dog, Monkey and Pheasant and their journey to the island of Onigashima to stop the Oni.
• Princess Glory. A lonely old couple find a baby in a Bamboo Grove and raise her. She later is revealed as The Immortal Lady of Mount Fuji.

Longlife

• Longevity. Story of an old man who wished to live forever.

Mourning

• The Mirror of Matsuyama. A girl missing her mum, thinks she can find her by looking in a mirror.

Punishment Motif

• Kachi-Kachi Yama (かちかち山) Also known as The Farmer and the Badger. The story of a Rabbit seeking revenge on a Badger for killing an old woman.
• The Monkey and the Crab. The son of a crab who was killed by his apparent friend the Monkey gets revenge on his fathers murderer.

Sacrifice Motif

• Shippeitaro – Story of the Dog Shippeitaro and the Warrior who save a maiden from being sacrificed.

Unfinished Business Motif

• Banchō Sarayashiki – Okiku is killed after breaking one of ten heirloom plates, and thrown down a well. Her ghost returns each night trying to count and find the tenth plate she broke.

Yōkai Motif

• Hagoromo (羽衣) Story of a celestial nymph who is forced to marry a fisherman.
• How an Old Man Lost is Wen – Story of a man who dances for some Oni and tricks them into taking the wen growing on his face.
• Rashōmon no oni. Story of an Oni  who is fought by Watanabe no Tsuna.
• The Melon Princess (瓜子姫) Story of a childless couple, who find a melon floating down river. Upon cutting it open a baby girl is found inside.
• The Nightingale’s Coin. A man is gifted with a ‘never ending’ coin after looking after a woman house for one year, without open a ‘forbidden door.’ Later, another man comes hoping for the same reward, but opens this forbidden door.
• The Oni of Adachigahara. A monk seeks shelter in an old womans home only to find out she is an Oni.
• Shōjōji no Tanuki Bayashi. The story of a group of Tanuki and their wild drum parties.

Tales of China

• The Elixir of Life. Story of a Chinese Emperor who believes the Elixir of Life is on Mount Fuji.
• The Shinansha. The story of Emperor Kotei killing the rebel Shiyu after inventing The Shinansha (Artefact).
• The Stone of the Five Colours and the Empress Jokwa. Empress Jokwa saves her country.

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