Gashadokuro
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Gashadokuro (がしゃどくろ, literally "rattling skeleton", also known as Odokuro) are mythical creatures in modern Japanese mythology.[1]
Description
The Gashadokuro is a spirit that takes the form of a giant skeleton made of the skulls of people who died in the battlefield, and is 10 or more meters tall. Only the eyes protrude, and some sources describe them as burning yellow or green. Gashadokuro wanders around at 2:00 a.m. and attacks and eats humans when it sees them. When a Gashadokuro approaches, it is said to make a clattering sound with its teeth "Gachi Gachi"[1] However they are also known to be stealthy when approaching humans they wish to eat.[1] The following characteristics are not confirmed by Japanese data. The Gashadokuro are said to possess the powers of invisibility and indestructibility since it is composed of the bones of people who are already deceased, though Shinto charms are said to ward them off.[2][better source needed] Otherwise, a Gashadokuro will continue hunting its prey until its pent up anger is released,[1] causing the bones to crumple and the Gashadokuro to collapse.[3]
Bye BYE
In modern culture
The Gashadokuro is a yōkai that first appeared in print in the middle of the 20th century. In 1966, it first appeared in an article by Morihiro Saito (unnamed) published in the magazine "Bessatsu Shoujyo Friend" , titled "A Special Feature on Japanese Yokai Beside You". The following year, Shigeru Mizuki appeared in the magazine "Nakayoshi 9/1967" (At this time, Kuniyoshi's painting was used as a reference), and then appeared again in Saito's article published in "Bessatsu Shonen King", and the same article was Shigeaki Yamauchi. It was also published in "World's Bizarre Thriller Complete Works 2 Monsters of the World" (Akita Shoten, 1968). Also published in Arifumi Sato's "Nihon Yokai Encyclopedia" (1972).
Both the illustrations in Sato's writings and Mizuki's are both based on the appearance of the Gashadokuro on the giant skeleton in Utagawa Kuniyoshi's ukiyo-e print, Takiyasha the Witch and the Skeleton Spectre. It has no direct connection to the Gashadokuro, but is said to have influenced modern depictions. Kuniyoshi's print was commissioned in the Edo period by Santō Kyōden for a yomihon, depicting a scene in which Taira no Masakado's daughter, Takiyasha-hime, summons a skeleton yōkai to attack the samurai Ooya Tarou Mitsukuni. Although originally described as many life-sized skeletons, Kuniyoshi depicted it as a single giant skeleton, as is characteristic of his work.
In the entry for Gashadokuro in Mizuki's book, a related tale from the Nihon Ryōiki is introduced. It tells of a man in Bingo Province (Hiroshima Prefecture) who is in a field at night and, hearing an eerie voice moaning, "My eye hurts," finds a skeleton there with a bamboo shoot growing from its eye socket. He removes the bamboo shoot and offers the skeleton dried boiled rice, upon which the skeleton tells him the story of its murder and its personal history, and rewards him for his kindness. Though this tale has been conflated with that of the Gashadokuro, the two are in fact unrelated, the Gashadokuro having originated in the later half of the 20th century.[citation needed]
References
- ^ a b c d The Night Parade Of One Hundred Demons A Field Guide To Japanese Yokai.
- ^ Jonathan Maberry (2006). Vampire Universe: The Dark World of Supernatural Beings That Haunt Us, Hunt Us, and Hunger for Us. Citadel. ISBN 9780806528137.
- ^ Judith A. Markowitz (2019). Robots That Kill: Deadly Machines and Their Precursors in Myth, Folklore, Literature, Popular Culture and Reality. McFarland. ISBN 9781476668130.
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