Wanyūdō – 輪入道 –[Yokai]

Wanyūdō – JP: 輪入道 (わにゅうどう)

•About this Yokai: One of the more popularly known yokai because of its somewhat startling appearance; Wanyudo where once a tyrannical feudal lords, now In constant suffering; this fearsome daimyos head was chopped off and stuck in the wheel of a burning oxcart. - An emissary of Jigoku (Hell), it now rolls back and forth between the mortal realm and the underworld stealing the souls of most anyone that crosses its path.... its supposed to only take the corrupt, sinners, perverts and criminals to repay its outstanding debt for being wicked in life, but it often shows no mercy, rolling through villages, scaring and devouring both children and the elderly. (it seems he didnt learn his lesson.) its said that simply looking at one is enough to make it take you and your loved ones away, the faster it spins, the hotter it blazes; THATS HELL FIRE BABY!!

• History: At its earliest, the legend of wanyudo seems to stem from a collection of ghost stories (諸国百物語) dating to at least 1677 - The legend goes roughly as follows:

"Each night, a single, flaming wheel rolled through Kyoto; terrified, people refrained from going out. One night a mother, out of curiosity, peeked out of the door of her house and saw a single wheel of an oxcart rolling down the street: in the middle of the wheel was the face of a man with a terrible snarling expression, holding a small human leg. The man shouted "Instead of looking at me, why don't you go see your children?" terrified, the woman went to her childs room and found him with his legs torn from his body and covered in blood. - It was the child's leg that the creature was biting"

One of Wanyudo's best known appearances is in Toriyama Sekiens Gazu Hyakki Yagyo [1779]. - his description says that one can ward away Wanyudo by sticking a talisman that says "Kono-tokoro-shobo-no-sato" to their doors.

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!