Page 236 - FULL PLAYER EBOOK

is also common. It may also fly about as a ball of and run away.
C lightning (in fact, the creature may be an attempt to Shikigami- is thought to be some sort of kami, repre-
h explain the phenomenon of lightning). Its cry sounds
a sented by a small ghost. The belief of Shikigami
p like thunder. Raiju is the companion of Raijin, the
t originates from Onmyodo.
e Shinto god of lightning. While the beast is generally
r Shinigami "Grim Reaper"- are gods that invite hu-
calm and harmless, during thunderstorms, it becomes
agitated and leaps about in trees, fields, and even mans towards death, or induce feelings of wanting to
buildings. Another of Raiju's peculiar behaviors is die in humans.
sleeping in human navels. This prompts Raiden to Shojo "heavy drinker"- is a sea spirit with red face
shoot lightning arrows at Raiju to wake the creature and hair and a fondness for alcohol. The legend is
up, and thus harms the person in whose belly the de- the subject of a Noh play of the same name.
mon is resting. Other legends say that Raiju will only
hide in the navels of people who sleep outdoors. Sojobo- is the mythical ancient yamabushi (mountain
hermit) and king of the Tengu. He carries a fan
Rokurokubi- look like normal human beings by day, made from seven feathers as a sign of his position at
but at night they gain the ability to stretch their necks the top of Tengu society. He is extremely powerful,
to great lengths. They can also change their faces to and one legend says he has the strength of 1,000 nor-
those of terrifying Oni to better scare mortals. In mal Tengu. Perhaps best known for teaching the
their daytime human forms, Rokurokubi often live warrior Minamoto no Yoshitsune the arts of swords-
undetected and may even take mortal spouses. Many manship, tactics, and magic in the 12th century. In
Rokurokubi become so accustomed to such a life that fact, the name "Sojobo" originates from Sojogatani,
they take great pains to keep their demonic forms se- the valley at Mount Kurama near Kibune Shrine lo-
cret. They are tricksters by nature, however, and the cated at Sakyo-ku in the Kyoto prefecture associated
urge to frighten and spy on human beings is hard to with the Shugenja. It is in this valley that Sojobo
resist. Some Rokurokubi thus resort to revealing trained in legends.
themselves only to drunkards, fools, the sleeping, or
the blind in order to satisfy these urges. Other Roku-
rokubi have no such compunctions and go about -T-
frightening mortals with abandon. A few, it is said,
are not even aware of their true nature and consider Teke Teke- is the ghost of a young woman, or school
themselves normal humans. This last group stretch girl, who fell on a rail way line and was cut in half by
their necks out while asleep in an involuntary action; the oncoming train. Now a vengeful spirit, she carries
upon waking up in the morning, they find they have a scythe or a saw and travels on either her hands or
weird dreams regarding seeing their surroundings in elbows, dragging her upper torso making a scratching
unnatural angles. or 'teke teke' sound. If she encounters anyone at night
and the victim is not fast enough, she will slice them
in half at the torso, mimicking her own disfigure-
-S- ment.

Tengu "heavenly dog"- are considered a type of
Satori "consciousness"- is said to live within the
mountains of Gifu Prefecture, and is able to to read Shinto god or yokai. The Tengu were originally
people's minds. Upon reading a person's mind, the thought to take the forms of birds of prey, and have
satori would say the person's thoughts aloud faster both human and avian characteristics. Buddhism
than a human could. They would appear before peo- long held that the Tengu were disruptive demons and
ple at mountain huts, and are even said to try to eat harbingers of war. Tengu are associated with the as-
and kill if they have a chance, but if something unex- cetic practice known as Shugendo, and they are usu-
pectedly strikes the Satori, they become stricken with ally depicted in the distinctive garb of its followers,
fear due to fact that something unexpected occurred, the yamabushi.

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