Gotaimen - 五体面 - [Yokai]

•About this yokai•

Gotaimen - 五体面

A yokai who is just a head: two arms and two legs. (five bodies) - its said to perform & dance for feudal lords, Most people would burst out laughing at the sight of his funny appearance. But because these were people of high rank, such as warriors and aristocrats, with high self-esteem, very few people would laugh. – if people dont get its humor and doesn't get its way, it throws a temper tantrum rampaging around the mansion, eventually tiring itself out, rolling into a ball and going to sleep! - its often suggested to be the same kind of yokai or another form of haradashi.

• Early appearances & History •

Haradashi along with Gotaimen & Bir~on were favourites of Arifumi Sato (1939-1999), who illustrated & produced yokai books & stories in the 1970's & 1980's (of somewhat dubious historical accuracy [For example; in one book they said that the famous painting of "Kronos eating his child" was actually a picture of a 'Portuguese cannibal god' the picture in question is actually said to be neither!]) - Nevertheless, the lore of this yokai supposedly took off from their descriptions & stories.

Originally it appeared as A Yokai without a description from "Hyakki yagyo emaki – Matsui Bunko." 百鬼夜行絵巻 (松井文庫) & others like it – A mysterious picture scroll drawn in 1832 by an anonymous artist, it introduces and names a bunch of random Yokai, but unfortunately, it does not include any lore on how they might have actually behaved.

Sticker Art by @Samkalensky (yo thats me!) - Part of my Night parade of 100 Demons - Yokai & Japanese folklore sticker collection, weather-resistant 4" Glossy sticker. Check my shop & follow @samkalensky for many more!