Anatomy of Japanese Folk Monsters

Date: January 13th, 2010  Category: Things  Tags: Japan, Monsters  [ Comments ]

I ran across this blog post today about the Anatomy of Japanese Folk Monsters. The illustrations and stories were so crazy/weird I had to post my personal favorite here.

I give you The Kuro-kamikiri (black hair cutter). It’s a large, black-haired creature that sneaks up on women in the street at night and surreptitiously cuts off their hair. Anatomical features include a brain wired for stealth and trickery, razor-sharp claws, a long, coiling tongue covered in tiny hair-grabbing spines, and a sac for storing sleeping powder used to knock out victims. The digestive system includes an organ that produces a hair-dissolving fluid, as well as an organ with finger-like projections that thump the sides of the intestines to aid digestion.