Mujina

This article is about the Japanese mythological creature. See raccoon dog for the animal also known as a tanuki.

The mujina, in a scene from the anime Inu Yasha.)

The mujina (貉) is a Japanese mythological creature. Sometimes also known as a noreppa-bō, mujina are known primarily for shapeshifting and are thought considered to be harmless aside from pranks, preferably on wicked and unrighteous people. However, the mythology implies that they also have a propensity to protect the weak and innocent or sacred places as well.

For the most part, mujina appear to be human and can walk around freely with no restrictions or encumberances. However, they are known to transform into different things, or most notably, to smooth their faces to become a featureless, blank oval.

Tanuki are also known to shapeshift as well as play tricks on people, and it is for this reason that in some parts of Japan they are known as mujina as well.

1 Mujina in Folklore
- 1.1 The Mujina & the Koi Pond
- 1.2 The Mujina of the Akasaka Road
2 Recent Reports
3 See Also
4 External links

Mujina in Folklore

There are two primary stories about the mujina.

The Mujina & the Koi Pond

This tale recounts a lazy fisherman who decided to fish in the imperial koi ponds near the Heiankyo palace. Despite being warned by his wife about the pond being sacred ground and near a graveyard, the fisherman went anyway. He is met along the way by another fisherman who warns him about the same, which the initial fisherman decides to ignore. Once at the spot, he is met by a beautiful young woman who pleads with him to not fish in the pond. He ignores her, and to his horror, she wipes her face off, revealing herself to be a mujina. Rushing home to hide, he is confronted by his wife, who chastises him for his wickedness before wiping off her face, revealing herself to be a mujina as well.

The Mujina of the Akasaka Road

The most famous story recollection of the mujina comes from Lafcadio Hearn's book Kwaidan: Stories and Studies of Strange Things. The story of a man who travelled along the Akasaka road to Edo, he came across a young woman in a remote location near Kunizaka hill, crying and forlorn. After attempting to console the young woman and offer assistance, she turned to face him, revealing herself to be a faceless mujina. Frightened, the man down the road for some time, until he came across a soba vendor. Stopping to relax, the man told the vendor of his tale, only to recoil in horror as the soba vendor stroked his face, revealing himself to be a mujina as well.

There are other tales as well of mujina, from a young woman rescued from bandits by a samurai on horseback who reveals himself to be a mujina; to stories of nobles heading out for a tryst with another, only to discover the courtesan is a mujina.

Recent Reports

Though most sightings of mujina tend to be historical, reports within the 20th century have not been uncommon, both in Japan itself as well as locations where Japanese have emigrated, most notably the U.S. state of Hawaii. Among the most recent reports:

On May 19, 1959, Honolulu Advertiser reporter Bob Krauss reported a sighting of a mujina at the Waialae Drive-In Theatre in Kahala. Krauss reported that the witness watched a woman combing her hair in the women's restroom, and when the witness came close enough, the mujina turned, revealing her featureless face. The witness was reported to have been admitted to the hospital for a nervous breakdown. Noted Hawaiian historian, folklorist and author Glen Grant, in a 1981 radio interview dismissed the story as rumor, only to be called by the witness herself, who gave more details on the event, including the previously unreported detail that the mujina in question had red hair.[1]
Grant has also reported on a number of other mujina sightings in Hawaii, from Ewa Beach to Hilo.

External links

Categories: Japanese folklore | Japanese mythology | Legendary creatures