Mokumokuren: Difference between revisions

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[[Image:SekienMokumokuren.jpg|thumb|180px|right|The ''mokumokuren'' as illustrated by [[Toriyama Sekien]].]]
[[Image:SekienMokumokuren.jpg|thumb|180px|right|The ''mokumokuren'' as illustrated by [[Toriyama Sekien]]]]
{{Nihongo|'''''Mokumokuren'''''|目目連}} are spirits ({{Nihongo|'''''[[Yōkai]]'''''|妖怪||''ghost'', ''phantom'', ''strange apparition''}}) in [[Japanese mythology]].
{{Nihongo|'''''Mokumokuren'''''|目目連}} are ''[[yōkai]]'' in [[Japanese mythology]].


==Mythology==
==Mythology==
The Mokumokuren usually live in torn [[shōji]] (Japanese paper sliding walls), although they can also be found in [[tatami]] floor mats and in walls.<ref name="Yokai Attack!">{{cite book|last=Yoda|first=Hiroko|title=Yokai Attack! The Japanese Monster Survival Guide|year=2008|publisher=Tuttle Publishing|location=Tokyo|isbn=978-4-8053-1219-3|page=100}}</ref> The name Mokumokuren literally means "many eyes" or "continuous eyes". The Mokumokuren is considered by the Japanese to be one of the traditional inhabitants of haunted houses.
The ''Mokumokuren'' usually live in torn [[shoji]] (Japanese paper sliding walls), although they can also be found in [[tatami]] floor mats and in walls.<ref name="Yokai Attack!">{{cite book|last=Yoda|first=Hiroko|title=Yokai Attack! The Japanese Monster Survival Guide|year=2008|publisher=Tuttle Publishing|location=Tokyo|isbn=978-4-8053-1219-3|page=100}}</ref> The name "Mokumokuren" literally means "many eyes" or "continuous eyes". The ''Mokumokuren'' is considered by the Japanese to be one of the traditional inhabitants of haunted houses.


The only way to remove the spirit from the wall is to patch up the holes in it.
The only way to remove the spirit from the wall is to patch up the holes in it.


Mokumokuren are said to be an invention of [[Toriyama Sekien]].
''Mokumokuren'' are said to be an invention of [[Toriyama Sekien]].


==Legends Surrounding Mokumokuren==
==Legends==
* ''A stingy traveling merchant once tried to save money by sleeping in an abandoned house rather than sleeping in an inn. Waking in the middle of the night, he was confronted by an (almost) entire shoji screen staring down at him. Instead of becoming scared, he removed the eyeballs from the screen and sold them to a local eye surgeon.''
A stingy traveling merchant once tried to save money by sleeping in an abandoned house rather than sleeping in an inn. Waking in the middle of the night, he was confronted by an (almost) entire shoji screen staring down at him. Instead of becoming scared, he removed the eyeballs from the screen and sold them to a local eye surgeon.

* ''In another story, a traveler was determined to remain in the same house as a Mokumokuren, attempting to ignore it by wrapping tightly around his head the blanket he had been sleeping beneath. When he awoke, he discovered that his eyeballs had been removed, and were nowhere to be found. Perhaps his eyes had joined those already entombed in the Mokumokuren....''
In another story, a traveler was determined to remain in the same house as a ''Mokumokuren'', attempting to ignore it by wrapping the blanket he had been sleeping beneath tightly around his head. When he awoke, he discovered that his eyeballs had been removed, and were nowhere to be found.


==See also==
==See also==

Revision as of 11:25, 9 May 2019

The mokumokuren as illustrated by Toriyama Sekien

Mokumokuren (目目連) are yōkai in Japanese mythology.

Mythology

The Mokumokuren usually live in torn shoji (Japanese paper sliding walls), although they can also be found in tatami floor mats and in walls.[1] The name "Mokumokuren" literally means "many eyes" or "continuous eyes". The Mokumokuren is considered by the Japanese to be one of the traditional inhabitants of haunted houses.

The only way to remove the spirit from the wall is to patch up the holes in it.

Mokumokuren are said to be an invention of Toriyama Sekien.

Legends

A stingy traveling merchant once tried to save money by sleeping in an abandoned house rather than sleeping in an inn. Waking in the middle of the night, he was confronted by an (almost) entire shoji screen staring down at him. Instead of becoming scared, he removed the eyeballs from the screen and sold them to a local eye surgeon.

In another story, a traveler was determined to remain in the same house as a Mokumokuren, attempting to ignore it by wrapping the blanket he had been sleeping beneath tightly around his head. When he awoke, he discovered that his eyeballs had been removed, and were nowhere to be found.

See also

References

  1. ^ Yoda, Hiroko (2008). Yokai Attack! The Japanese Monster Survival Guide. Tokyo: Tuttle Publishing. p. 100. ISBN 978-4-8053-1219-3.
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