Shumoku Musume - 撞木娘 - [Yokai]

Shumoku Musume - 撞木娘 - [Yokai | Tsukumogami?] - "Hammer daughter of Usui-pass"

•About this Yokai: Shumoku musume is a Yokai with a T-shaped head, her face has eyes on both ends, which makes her look a bit like a hammerhead shark or a slug. - Her namesake is said to be a Shumoku: a long hammer often used in Taiko & for ringing temple gongs & bells, so It's possible that shes a type of tsukumogami [however because shes only appeared a few times in edo prints, its never been stated explicitly what she might be.] - Her name could just be a pun because her head is shaped like the item.

The only other thing to say about her is that her matching obake karuta card mentions that she might appear in the Usui Pass: an area between Nagano and Gunma prefectures - which today has a long, incredibly curvy road and is probably most famous for cars speeding & DRIFTING thanks to being featured in INITIAL D!

The Usui pass is 13km long and it has over 180+ turns!!! - There's also a pretty old railway bridge in the area called "Meganebashi" because the arches of the bridge resemble spectacles... it's a popular area for mountain hikes and such. – lots of trails and curves which eerily enough kind of remind me of a snails face... [though it is surely just a coincidence.] yokai like this one seem to appear in a lot of early scrolls and picture books.

[a shumoku hammer]

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!