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Zashiki-warashi


Zashiki-warashi (Japanese: 座敷童子 or 座敷童, literally "guestroom child"), sometimes also called Zashiki Bokko (Japanese: 座敷ぼっこ, literally "guestroom basker"), are spirit-like beings told about mostly in the Iwate Prefecture. They are said to be gods that live in zashiki or storage rooms, and they would perform pranks, and those that see one would be visited with good fortune. There are also legends of how they would bring fortune to families. They are also known from Kunio Yanagita's Tōno Monogatari, Ishigami Mondō, and stories about them appear in the 17th and 18th chapter of the Tōno Monogatari and the 87th chapter titled "Zashiki-warashi" of the Tōno Monogatari Shūi, and in this 17th chapter it is written "families with whom this god dwells are freely able to prosper at will" (kono kami no yadoritamafu ihe ha fūki jizai nari to ifu koto nari) and "zashiki-warashi are also called 座敷童衆." In recent years, they are also known from television programs and magazines that reported about varous Iwate Prefecture ryokan where it is said to be possible to see a zashiki-warashi such as the Ryokufūsō, the Sugawara Bekkan, and the Warabe.

It is similar to the Russian folk story of the Domovoi.

Reports have mostly been in the Iwate Prefecture, but there are also some scattered across the Aomori Prefecture, the Miyagi Prefecture, the Akita Prefecture, and others in the Tōhoku region.

Generally they have a red face, hair that hangs down, and have the appearance of that of a child about 5 or 6 in age, but this age is also said to vary depending on the house that they settle in, with examples ranging from a minimum of around 3 years in age and a maximum of around 15 years in age. They have a Bob cut hair or very short cropped hair. Both male and females ones have been seen, and the male ones are said to wear blackish clothes with a kasuri or striped pattern, and the females ones are said to wear a red chanchanko, kosode, and sometimes a furisode. It is also said that there are some whose appearance is unclear, making their gender unknown. Sometimes multiple would settle in a house at once, like a boy and a girl. There are also some legends that tell ones that look like a black beast, as well as ones that look like a warrior.


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Wikipedia

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