Konaki-jiji explained

Konaki-jiji (子泣き爺, Konaki-Jijī, translated into Old man crying) is a kind of Japanese yōkai, a supernatural spirit in Japanese folklore. It is similar to the Scandinavian myling and the Slavic poroniec.

Description

The Konaki-jiji is said to be able to take the appearance of an old man or a baby.[1] [2] In either case, the spirit lures an unwary passerby towards it and allows him or her to pick it up. After the spirit is picked up, it suddenly becomes a heavy stone that crushes the victim to death.[1] [2] In some versions of Konaki-jiji stories, the spirit is that of a baby left to die in the wilderness.[3]

The Konaki-jiji can be traced back to family records in Shikoku where the term was used to describe an old man who sounded like a child when he cried.[4] The term was eventually used in a national encyclopedia of yōkai and became a nationally known phenomenon.[4]

Notes and References

  1. News: Baker . Tom . A procession of countless demons; From animated trash to sharp-toothed education mamas, there's a yokai for everything . The Daily Yomiuri . 9 . December 24, 2010 .
  2. News: Kan . Saori . TV's 'Kitaro' turns 40 . The Daily Yomiuri . 12 . January 18, 2008 .
  3. Encyclopedia: Konakijiji . Element Encyclopedia of the Psychic World . 369 . Harper Collins . 2006 .
  4. Book: Frenchy Lunning. Mechademia 3: Limits of the Human. 28 October 2011. 5 November 2008. U of Minnesota Press. 978-0-8166-5482-6. 27–.