Fantastic Beasts

Hōō are beautiful, peaceful, phoenix-like beings honored throughout East Asia and worshiped as gods. They are described as having the beak of a rooster, the jaws of a swallow, the head of a pheasant, the neck of a snake, the back of a turtle, the legs of a crane, and the tail of a peacock. Vibrantly colored with the five colors of the Chinese elements - white, black, red, yellow and blue. They have five distinctive tail feathers. Hōō are completely peaceful beings and they never harm other living things. They only eat bamboo seeds, and only nest on paulownia trees. When a hōō flies, it is said that the wind stops, the dust settles, and the birds and insects grow quietly. Because of their purity, they appear only in lands blessed with peace, prosperity, and happiness. The appearance of a hōō is an extremely good omen, said to herald the beginning of a new era in history. The hōō is a common motif in Japanese paintings, crafts, kimonos, and on shrines and temples. As a symbol, it symboli

Yamata no Oroch (eight-headed giant snake) also known as Yamata no Orochi. This is a snake-like creature in Japanese Shinto. Yamata no Orochi is depicted with eight heads and eight tails. It has bright red eyes and a red belly. Yamata no Orochi's giant body is depicted stretching 8 valleys, 8 hills. Its body was covered with moss, cypress and cedar trees on its back so it looked like a mountain range. Born Izanagi, the male god who created ancient Japan, used the sacred spear Ame-no-nubuki to stir into the ocean, creating the eight islands that formed ancient Japan. He is married to the goddess Izanami. The one who conceived and gave birth to Hinokagu is the fire god of the earth. However, upon giving birth to Hinokagu, Hinokagu's flames flared up and caused the goddess Izanami to die. The god Izanagi got angry, cut Hinokagu into eight pieces and threw it into the sea. Each part of Hinokagu becomes different volcanoes. Hinokagu's spirit reincarnated as a human, becoming the

Futakuchi-onna (two-mouthed woman) is a type of Japanese youkai or monster. They are characterized by having two mouths - one normally located on the face and a second one on the back of the head below the hair. There, the woman's skull split open, forming large, fat lips filled with teeth and a tongue, creating a completely functional second mouth. However, that's not the worst thing, if it feels hungry its mouth starts to mutter hateful things, threaten and demand food. If not fed, it will scream obscene words and cause pain to the woman. Eventually, the hairs around the second mouth turned into tentacles and snatched all the food from the woman. In Japanese mythology and folklore, Futakuchi-onna belong to the same story class as rokurokubi, kuchisake-onna, and yama-uba, women who suffer from a curse or supernatural illness that causes them to turn into youkai. The supernatural nature of the women in these stories is often hidden until the very last moment, when the real pers

Dorotabou is a mud spirit that emerges from the black mud of a rice field and, although not entirely dangerous, is terrifying in appearance. Dorotabou are actually shapeshifting ghosts of old men toiling in their rice fields. They appear as one-eyed, three-toed humanoid figures that emerge from the mud at night. It is said that the five fingers of the human hand represent three vices and two virtues: anger, greed, delusion, wisdom, and compassion. The ghostly Dorotabou that appears with only three fingers represents evil. It was a spirit of vengeance and rage — angry at the ignorance and greed that it was now ashamed of with its life's work. Dorotabou often appears and wanders through the overgrown grasslands, calling out in a mournful voice, "Give me back the rice fields!" They haunt their fields after nightfall, disturbing the new inhabitants of their land and preventing their sleep. Dorotabou continued to haunt until the wasteful landowners changed their ways or gave u

Azuki arai are mysterious youkai that only can be found in remote forests found all over Japan. They have many nicknames in different regions, a common nickname is azukitogi. These youkai live deep in the mountains where humans rarely go, and spend their time near streams. Very few actual sightings have been recorded, but they are said to be short and squat, with large round eyes and an overall look like Buddhist monks. They appeared cheerful with a silly grin with a goofy grin and big three-fingered hands. In fact, Azuki arai is more often heard than seen. Their main activity seems to be washing red beans by the river while singing a scary song mixed with the “shoki shoki” sound of beans being washed in a basket: Azuki araou ka? Hito totte kuou ka? (shoki shoki) Will I wash my red beans, or will I catch a human to eat? (shoki shoki) Despite singing such scary, terrifying songs, the Azuki arai are in fact a very timid, timid creature that does no harm to humans. Passers-by who hear the

Ame onna  is depicted as a woman standing in the rain and licking her hands. Ame onna  is a class of youkai that appear on rainy days and nights. They summon rain wherever they go, and are blamed for kidnapping and killing children. They appear as depraved, revealing women, drenched in rainwater. They lick the rainwater off their hands and arms like wild animals. Ame onna  is said to be related to a Chinese mountain goddess that is a cloud in the morning, rains in the afternoon and becomes a woman in the evening. This goddess can be seen walking around the human world on wet, rainy nights. However, unlike the gods, Ame onna  is not benevolent. While the rains they bring can save a drought-stricken village or bring good luck to farmers, they have a more sinister purpose — under the cover of the rain, Ame onna  roam the mountains. village in search of newborn girls. If they found a child born that night, they would grab it and carry it into the dark, sending it off to another world. Moth

Nue is a legendary youkai aka a mononoke. It is described as having the head of a monkey, the limbs of a tiger, the body of a tanuki and the front half of a snake for a tail. It is sometimes depicted with the body of a tiger or the back of a tiger, the limbs of a tanuki, the tail of a fox, the head of a cat and the body of a chicken. Due to its appearance, it is sometimes called the Japanese chimera. But by any means, its name is synonymous with gloom, elusiveness, and cunning. It is said to make terribly eerie bird cry "hyoo hyoo" noises that resemble that of the scaly thrush. Nue is also said to have the ability to shapeshift, often taking the form of a dark cloud that can fly. There is a theory that Nue is a thunder beast because the monster appears every time there is a lightning strike. Yokai is also said to be nocturnal as most sightings of it occur at night. Nue is one of the oldest recorded yokai, first appearing in the Kojiki (712 AD), a record of Japan's early h