Yōkai Event application

So... *clearing voice

Today I’ll present to you: three Yōkai that I find really fascinating. I chose three Yōkai that are stealthy yet noticable since that fits in the ‘Ghost’ theme of the game. Just like these Yōkai, Jin moves unnoticed as a ghost. The feeling that somebody’s watching them is a feeling that terrifies all of your ‘victims’. The three Yōkai I’ll introduce are:

❁ The Nobiagari

❁ The Shikigami

❁ Betobeto-san

The Nobiagari のびあがり

The Nobiagari is a shapeshifter. He can shape himself into many different forms including humans. He is often shown as a large shadow. Nobiagari like scaring the F out of people so, what they do to achieve their fetish is sneaking behind people silently till the human feels the presence of the mighty Yōkai. As a natural reaction the human starts looking around him and once he turns around, he will often be surprised by a giant shadow that is bowing over the inferior, human victim. This will most likely cause the human to stumble and fall backwards, which gives the Nobiagari the ultimate satisfaction and they will leave the poor human alone. But, of course, It’s Japanese folklore after all so... There are obviously some Nobiagari that aren’t satisfied with only scaring the victim but some want more, a darker prank. Those Nobiagari follow the human till he turns around, then he strikes the human by the neck.

Some believe Nobiagari are just a mind trick performed by Kitsune or Tanuki but there is even local belief in the Ehime Prefecture that the Nobiagari is formed by, believe it or not, otters. Even though it sounds weird, there are more sightings of Nobiagari near water. Unfortunately there hasn’t been a sighting of a Japanese River otter since 1979.

The Shikigami 式神

Shikigami are invisible, smal ghosts that can be summoned in a complex conjuring ceremony. After they are born, they are connected to their master by spiritual force. How stronger their master’s spiritual power is, the stronger is the Shiki himself. With a strong and experienced master, the Shiki can manipulate living things like animals or even humans. Because of this and the fact that they are unseeable for most people, Shikigami are often used as spies or infiltrators. The master of the Shikigami controls the consciousness of the Shiki, so if their master is weak and careless, the Shiki can gain it’s own consciousness and will. Sometimes they want to be freed of their careless masters so they kill them in revenge. A Shikigami is invincible, as I said before they can also take over the body of a living thing, but the only way to make a Shikigami visible without it possessing something, is by binding them by small origami mannequins.

The most well known Shikigami is seen in the movie: ‘Spirited away’ and is bound to those origami mannequins like in the picture below.

I chose the Shikigami as one of my three discussed Yōkai because it also fits in the ‘ghost’ theme. A Shikigami is just like a samurai, bound to their leader, accepting their orders and executing those orders. But some of them gain their own ideals, their own reason to fight. They form their own idea of good and bad and fight for what is worth fighting for, in their own life. This is exactly like Jin through ‘Ghost of Tsushima’, first he fights for the approval of his master, his father-figure, his uncle but (I won’t give any direct spoilers) eventually he will fight by his own sense of justice. This connection between Jin and the Shiki is why I chose the Shikigami as one of my three Yōkai.

Betobeto-san べとべとさん

Of course, last but not least, I will introduce you to the one and only Betobeto-san. Betobeto-san is a Yōkai that appears in the night and follows lonely travelers. He doesn’t do any harm to the traveler but scares the shit out of them. You will be haunted by the sole sound of the wooden clogs behind you, beto beto. With every step, Betobeto-san comes closer, but every time you look over your shoulder to see who is following you, you will only see the lonely, dark road behind you. This paranoia appeals to me personally because, when I was younger, I could hear footsteps closing in in my room, but every time I found the courage to open my eyes, there was ‘nobody’ and the cracking footsteps on the parquet stopped. After that, with every blink I could hear the steps. Maybe, maybe this is what people call Betobeto-san. If I would know this when I was younger I would’ve tried it: If you get followed by Betobeto-san, there’s one way to get rid of the Yōkai, simply by being polite and say: “After you, Betobeto-san.” Betobeto-san will then leave you alone, and you can hear the footsteps fading away. I like Betobeto-san a lot, and I want Jin to be like him. He is like an invincible warrior that haunts his victim, slowly making him crazy. My OC‘s alias will be Betobeto because he will move invincibly and will play with his victims minds by making them go crazy of fear. He will also spare the people that show courage and respect towards him, just like Betobeto-san when someone makes the respectful gesture of letting him . In the snowy mountains of Fukui he is called Bishagatsuku because of the sound of clogs in the snow, bisha bisha.

So he has several names, but only a legend could call him this:

He is often portrayed like a giant ball with legs and a giant smile because of the unforgettable mangaka ‘Mizuki Shigeru’. Here he is:

I hope you learned something from this post, and most importantly, that you enjoyed it. Have a nice day and , Betobeto-san ish a nice demon lad! #Yokaievent

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