Yuki-onna - WikiHQ

thumb|Yuki-onna (ゆき女) from the [[Hyakkai-Zukan by Sawaki Suushi]]

is a yūrei or yōkai in Japanese folklore that is often depicted in Japanese literature, films, or animation.

She may also go by such names as yuki-musume (雪娘, "snow daughter"), yukihime (雪姫, "snow princess"), yuki-onago (雪女子, "snow girl"), yukijorō (雪婆, "snow hag") in Ehime, yukifuri-baba

Stories

thumb|Yuki-onna (雪女) from the [[Gazu Hyakki Yakō by Toriyama Sekien]]

In legends from the Ojiya region of Niigata Prefecture, a beautiful woman came to visit a man and became his wife from the woman's own desire. This woman was reluctant to go into the bath and when she was made to go in anyway, she disappeared, leaving only thin, fragmented, floating icicles (see also tsurara-onna).

In the Aomori and Yamagata prefectures, there is a similar story about one called the "shigama-onna." It has also been told that if one refuses, one would be shoved down into a snowy valley.

In Hirosaki in Aomori is a legend that there was a warrior (bushi) who was asked by a yuki-onna to hug a child similarly, but the warrior held a short sword (tantō) by the mouth and hugged the child while making the blade go close to the child's head, which allowed the warrior to avoid the aforementioned phenomenon. When the warrior handed the child back to the yuki-onna, the ghoul gave many treasures as thanks for hugging the child. It is also said that those who are able to withstand the ever-increasing weight of the yukinko and last all the way through would acquire great physical strength.

In Ibigawa, Ibi District, Gifu Prefecture, an invisible monster called the "yukinobō" is said to change its appearance and appear as a yuki-onna. It is said that this monster would appear at mountain huts and ask for water, but if one grants the request, one would be killed, so one should give hot tea instead. It is said that in order to make the yukinbō go away, one should chant "Saki kuromoji ni ato bōshi, shimetsuke haitara, ikanaru mono mo, kanō mai" (meaning "A kurujo in front and a bōshi behind, by wearing these tight, nothing is possible").

Yuki-onna often appear while taking along children. This is in common with another yōkai that takes along children, the ubume. In the Mogami District, Yamagata Prefecture, ubume are said to be yuki-onna.

Among Japan's traditional culture, yuki-onna can be seen in kōwaka such as the Fushimi Tokiwa (伏見常磐), which can also be checked in modern times. In Chikamatsu Monzaemon's Yuki-onna Gomai Hagoita, the story is about how a woman who was deceived and murdered became a yuki-onna and took revenge as a vengeful ghost. The bewitching and frightening aspects of a yuki-onna are often used in such depictions. Old tales and legends like these have been confirmed in Aomori, Yamagata, Iwate, Fukushima, Niigata, Nagano, Wakayama, Ehime, among other places. but other legends describe her as nude, with only her face and hair standing out against the snow. Despite her inhuman beauty, her eyes can strike terror into mortals. She floats across the snow, leaving no footprints (in fact, some tales say she has no feet, a feature of many Japanese ghosts), and she can transform into a cloud of mist or snow if threatened.

Variations

There are several variations of Yuki-onna throughout Japan, through which one can fill a whole book only about this yokai. Some notable of them are described below:

Water Beggars: This variation hails from Tottori Prefecture, where it is said that Yuki-onna travels on wind and appears on the days with a light snowfall. She walks swinging a white Gohei wand and shouts whoever she meets saying, "Please give me water-hot or cold." If anyone gives cold water, she swells in size but if anyone gives hot water she melts and disappears.
The Moon Princess: This variations hails from Yamagata Prefecture where it is said that Yuki-onna is the princess of lunar world, living on the moon. Her life was filled with luxury, but it was extremely boring for her. She was fascinated to see the planet Earth below. So, she snuck out one night and fell down to Earth, travelling on snow. However, coming to Earth was easier for her than going back, and she got stuck on Earth. She used to appear on full moon snowy night, pining for her old home.
The Snow Vampire: This version of Yuki-onna hails from four Japanese provinces; Aomori, Gunma, Niigata, and Miyagi. Here it is said that Yuki-onna is a dreadful snow vampire, haunting the snowy forests, looking to feed. She lives by sucking the vital energy of human body, which is mentioned as seiki. She is said to extract the seiki first by freezing victims to death and then sucking the seiki through the dead victim's mouth. Especially in Niigata prefecture, it is said that Yuki-onna likes the seiki of children, so the mothers are warned over there not to let their children play on snowy nights near a forest.
The Talking Snow Women: This version hails from Ibaraki, Fukushima, Akita & Fukui prefectures. Here, the Yuki-onna engages her victims in conversation in order to attack. When she meets someone on a dark and snowy night, she calls out to them. If the person answers her greeting, she attacks. But in Fukushima and Ibaraki, it is said that Yuki-onna attacks those who ignore her, whom she grabs and throws into a nearby ravine.

Behavior

Some legends say the Yuki-onna, being associated with winter and snowstorms, is the spirit of someone who perished in the snow. She is at the same time beautiful and serene, yet ruthless in killing unsuspecting mortals. Until the 18th century, she was almost uniformly portrayed as evil. Today, however, stories often color her as mere human, emphasizing her ghost-like nature and ephemeral beauty.

In many stories, Yuki-onna appears to travelers trapped in snowstorms and uses her icy breath to leave them as frost-coated corpses. Other legends say she leads them astray so they simply die of exposure. Other times, she manifests holding a child. When a well-intentioned soul takes the "child" from her, they are frozen in place. Parents searching for lost children are particularly susceptible to this tactic. Other legends make Yuki-onna much more aggressive. In these stories, she often invades homes, blowing in the door with a gust of wind to kill residents in their sleep (some legends require her to be invited inside first).

What Yuki-onna is after varies from tale to tale. Sometimes she is simply satisfied to see a victim die. Other times, she is more vampiric, draining her victims' blood or "life force." She occasionally takes on a succubus-like manner, preying on weak-willed men to drain or freeze them through sex or a kiss. In some versions, Yuki-onna doesn't leave and that she actually stays with her husband and their children, since it doesn't count as telling anyone else.

Lafcadio Hearn's version

A long time ago, there lived two woodcutters, Minokichi and Mosaku. Minokichi was young and Mosaku was very old.

One winter day, they could not come back home because of a snowstorm. They found a hut in the mountain and decided to sleep there. On this particular evening, Minokichi woke up and found a beautiful lady with white clothes. She breathed on old Mosaku and he was frozen to death.

She then approached Minokichi to breathe on him, but stared at him for a while and said, "I thought I was going to kill you, the same as that old man, but I will not because you are young and beautiful. You must not tell anyone about this incident. If you tell anyone about me, I will kill you."

Several years later, Minokichi met a beautiful young lady, named O-yuki (Yuki = "snow") and married her. She was a good wife. Minokichi and O-yuki had several children and lived happily for many years. Mysteriously, she did not age.

One night, after the children were asleep, Minokichi said to O-yuki: "Whenever I see you, I am reminded of a mysterious incident that happened to me. When I was young, I met a beautiful young lady like you. I do not know if it was a dream or if she was a Yuki-onna..."

After finishing his story, O-yuki suddenly stood up and said "That woman you met was me! I told you that I would kill you if you ever told anyone about that incident. However, I can't kill you because of our children. Take care of our children..." Then she melted and disappeared. No one saw her again. and the novels Heretic: Betrayers of Kamigawa and Guardian: Saviors of Kamigawa by Scott McGough feature an unnamed yuki-onna character.

"Yuki-Onna, the Ice Mayakashi" from Yu-Gi-Oh! Trading Card Game and her evolved forms are based on the Yuki-onna.
Singer Yoshiko Sai wrote and recorded a song about the Yukionna.
The Yuki-Onna appears in the manga/anime series In/Spectre season 2 episodes 2 and 3, where a Yuki-onna saves a man from death on a mountain.
The character Noel Izumi from Studio Apartment, Good Lighting, Angel Included is a Yuki-onna.
Yuki-onna appears in the novel The Causal Angel as a representation of the character the pelligrini when the Zoku put her servant Mieli into a realm designed to emulate a ronin's battle to defeat Yuki-onna.
In the manga Monster Musume, the character Yukio is a Yuki-onna and the proprietess of the Sno Ball Hot Springs Resort.

References

External links

Yuki Onna – The Snow Woman at hyakumonogatari.com (English).
An article that references Yuki Onna in the movies Japanzine by Jon Wilks