Mamedanuki (豆狸) - [Yokai]

Mamedanuki - (豆狸) - "small/bean tanuki."

Mame-danuki are small, (sometimes literally bean-sized) tanuki that play tricks on people, they're great at mimicking noises, possession, as well as transforming: they're particularly strong at stretching out their "sack." (said to stretch wide as 8 tatami mats) often using it as a raincoat & other useful tools. – it's sometimes said that Brewery's cannot make decent sake without a mame-danuki or two living close by. – Stories about them where once particularly popular in western japan.

When Tanuki (Kitsune too) possess a person (see also: Tanuki-Tsuki.) it's also said that they'll appear as a bean-sized bump that moves around under the skin, often appearing on the person's back.

•History and Early appearances•

"Mamedanuki" appears in the 2nd Volume of Ehon Hyakku Monogatari (1841) labelled as – "豆狸 " (bean-tanuki) – The attatched text describes an intelligent tanuki who "On nights when it rains lightly, goes out to buy snacks while carrying his scrotum like an umbrella." - Along side the picture the book also describes a short story from the Genroku era (1688-1704) about a poet named Rozan who was bewitched by a tanuki, The story goes a little something like this...

...Rozan stayed at the house of someone that he met on a trip. That night, while he was writing haiku, he accidentally dropped a cigarette butt on the tatami mats. -As soon as he did, the whole tatami (The entire floor.) rolled up all at once, then the entire house then vanished! -To his surprise, the tatami & the entire house was a tanuki's scrotum!! The owner was nowhere to be seen...

• Mamedanuki as Azuki-Bean Washers:Though its unrelated to the picture & story in question, i feel its relevant to mention since it /is/ labelled "bean-tanuki" The yokai/phenomina known as Azuki Arai ("Bean-Washer/Grinder") is also often attributed to Mame-Danuki... One old story from Hiroshima (小豆とりの狸) goes as such:

"Near a famous Kamaboko (Fishcakes) Shop in Tsuchido-cho, Hiroshima Prefecture. - it was said that every night in the area you could hear something making a mysterious "shoki-shoki" noise coming from behind the store near the warehouses, this strange noise made people feel very uneasy...

...One particularly rainy evening; a young man passed by the shop & could hear the mysterious sound! – he was scared, but determined to figure out what the noise was!! – So, he yelled "WOW!" into the warehouse. – Something "large and round" dashed out towards him, nearly knocking him over!!! ...it ran towards the mountains.

Soon rumors spread that a tanuki was stealing Azuki beans...

...but even after the truth was realized, people still heard the mysterious "shoki-shoki" coming from inside..."

(Reference: "Onomichi Folktales and Legends")

The "Azuki Bean" audio phenomenon is a trope shared between many yokai: "shoki-shoki" is an onomatopoeia which is supposed to sound like something washing or crunching beans –  it was also used as a boogey man: basically as a way to tell young kids not to go over there or to come home early. According to Shigeru Mizuki, there was a time where one could yell "AZUKI IS COMING" and everyone would run away.https://twitter.com/samkalensky/status/1514635362995359745?s=20&t=KSyKzakGKYvfSnvmxR8DPQ

See also: Tanuki, Azuki Arai, Azuki baba, Audio Phenomena

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