Super weird ghosts in Japanese folklore

In folk culture In Japan, “Yokai” is a term used to refer to a group of demons, monsters, beings with supernatural powers. When it comes to ghosts, we often immediately imagine disasters and fears, but there are also several types of ghosts. In the land of the rising sun, there are not only ghosts that bring good luck to those who meet them, but also strange and ridiculous ghosts.

Kappa
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Kappa is a sea monster that has the shape of a human but has reptile-like scaly skin, webbed feet, and a small hole on its head to store water. It is said to live in all rivers and streams in Japan. Clumsy on land, Kappa’s home is in the water, where they thrive during the warm months. Sometimes they will jump out of their lair to tease, even drown others, but the odd thing here is that this ghost seems to be obsessed with politeness and politeness. According to Japanese folklore, if you ever come across this ghost, the only thing you need to do is bow your head. Out of courtesy, Kappa will also bow in return. Once the head is bowed, the water in the hole on the top of the head will be drained, and it will lose its strength. It is forced to remain in this bowed position until the water hole on the top of its head is refilled with water from the river in which it lives.

Betobeto-San
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Betobeto-San is an invisible phantom, its presence can only be recognized by the sound it deliberately makes – the “betobeto” (creaking sound) of wooden sandals walking on the ground. People who walk the streets alone at night sometimes encounter this harmless but annoying type of yokai. It mimics the sound of people walking, following them for as long, as close as possible. The haunting sound of slippers follows us every step of the way, but every time we turn around to see what’s following us, we can’t see anyone. It sounds pretty scary, but Betobeto-San is not dangerous. When someone finds themselves being watched by Betobeto-San, just step aside and say: “You go first, Betobeto-San”, and that’s it!

Ashiarai Yashiki
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The story goes that a classy, ​​elegant lady invited her friends over for tea. In the middle of the fun, a giant, dirty foot suddenly stomped down from the ceiling. The lady still calmly sipped her tea while the maids rushed in with water and towels to… clean those feet. When all is clean, the foot disappears back to the ceiling as if nothing had happened. The guest was horrified while the owner calmly explained: “The first time it appeared, it knocked over the tea table and destroyed the whole house. We realized very quickly that if we cleaned its paws, it would go away without messing things up again.” Although Ashiarai Yashiki is harmless, she has to wash the feet of a ghost, sounds really bad, right?!
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(To be continued)​