Greetings Monster/Horror fan enthusiasts, and welcome to another entry in our ongoing blog series: Monster World Tour! Today’s entry isn’t a widely known monster, or even a popular one in its home country of Japan, yet I hope to change that by informing you of her horrifying glory. This week’s monster is the Japanese Yokai, the Yuki-onna, also known as the snow woman.
What is the Yuki-onna?
The Yuki-onna is a type of Yokai, or Japanese spirit monster. Yokai are said to form after an object or event gains a spirit after occupying a territory for a number of years, and in the Yuki-onna’s case, it is the monstrous manifestation of a blizzard or snowstorm.
There are many different versions of the Yuki-onna throughout Japan, but she’s usually depicted as a young, ageless woman with violet eyes and pale skin, who feeds on the souls of travelers lost in a snow storm, with some Sub-Zero-esque cryomancy powers to boot. Whether you believe the Yuki-onna is a Japanese groundhog for predicting the end of winter or a tale meant to keep children from wandering outside on snowy nights of the new-moon (all actual interpretations of her, btw), we can all agree a snowy grave awaits anyone getting on the bad side of this icy femme-fatale.
(The Yuki-onna from the 1968 film, The Snow Woman)
Are Yuki-onna Real/Where Are They?
And now we find ourselves at the goal post: Are the Yuki-onna real, and if they are, where are they? Unfortunately, the existence of Yuki-onna is attributed more to Japanese Folklore than eyewitness sightings. However, a Yokai street exists in Kyoto where one can see sculptures of similar Japanese monsters. Also, if walking this street isn’t enough to get your Yokai fix, you can visit Shodoshima’s Yokai Art Museum, where the museum boasts over 800 Yokai are gathered (link to website below).
Fascinated by the legend of the Yuki-onna and her Yokai brethren? You can show your love for the mysterious, sometimes benevolent monster by purchasing one of our Yuki-onna T-shirts or hoodies! Don’t forget to bundle-up this winter, don’t get lost in blizzards, don’t let your buddy fall in love with a beautiful woman wearing only a kimono during a snowstorm, and happy hunting this Halloween, my fellow Monsters.
(The Yokai Art Musuem in Shodoshima. Source: http://takamatsulife.com/blog/2019/12/13/yokaimuseum_e/)
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