Fern Flower
Published on November 10, 2018

Ao-bodzu

  • Aobodzu

Regions of expansion

Japan 1
Japan

Description

According to Japanese mythology, a bizarre big blue-skinned and one-eyed monk with strong magic. A super-strong creature capable of killing people by strangulation.

Aobodzu (я 青, "Blue Buddhist monk", "blue Buddhist monk" or "immature Buddhist monk", arch. a man with a shaved head). Appears in the artist's book Toriyama Sekien's "Illustrated Night Parade of 100 Demons".

In Okayama, they are described as two-eyed giants who settle in abandoned or uninhabited houses. In other stories, they appear in wheat fields, or on dark, lonely roads.

In Kagawa, Aobozu appear late at night in front of young women and ask them: "Would you like to hang on your own neck?" If a woman says no, Aobozu disappears without a word. However, if she does not pay attention to him or does not say anything, he attacks her with lightning speed, beats her and hangs her by the neck.

They could be driven away with a wicker basket or other object with a large number of holes, which the monsters took for eyes and therefore avoided them out of fear or envy.

Ao-bodzu in popular culture