Makkaka-san - まっかっかさん - [Yokai | Urban Legend]

Makkaka-san - まっかっかさん - [Yokai | Urban Legend]

• About this Yokai: A strange child dressed entirely in vivid red rain gear from head to toe, appears with the downpour of rain. If you see him you will die, unless you’re wearing red too.

The typical Makkaka-san story goes something like this:

"One terribly rainy day a little girl was walking home from school. As she walked, she happened to notice a boy in all red rain gear. His coat, boots, pants and umbrella were all bright red. There’s nothing out of the ordinary about a person dressed in one color but, during a downpour when the world seems washed out in gray, it made him stand out. Then the girl noticed that he was staring at her- or rather, her red umbrella. The boy’s face was intense but otherwise showed no clue as to what he could be thinking. They both stood there like that for a minute- the girl staring at the boy and the boy staring at the girl’s umbrella. Eventually the girl got creeped out and hurriedly continued on her way.

The next day, the little girl shared the story with her classmates and one of her friends instantly sat up and exclaimed, “You saw Makkaka-san!” She explained that he was a phantom child who appears only on rainy days. Anyone who sees him dies unless they’re wearing red. If it hadn’t been for her umbrella she would’ve died in some horrible accident. "

• History & Early appearances: The legend about this modern yokai started to appear on various image boards around 2003, but it’s unclear exactly which one or where it began.

The earliest published book with any information on this yokai that we could find was published in June of 2004 titled “Midnight Urban Legend: Wall Woman" [真夜中の都市伝説 壁女] by Matsuyama Hiroshi. -  It’s the second in his series of urban legend collections.

The author also hosted a website and bulletin board titled "Gendai Kidan" - (Both Archived thanks to the Wayback Machine.) which listed Makkaka-san as a "Modern Yokai". It seems that he got the legend from a post by someone named "Kurotojirushi-san" (黒兎印さん) who posted it to his bulletin board a few days earlier.

[Gendai kidan News post from May 16, 2003.] - below is a machine translation of the post:

“2003/5/16 Modern Yokai

On rainy days, a modern yokai called "Makkaka-san" appears. Makkaka-san is a child dressed in "Makkaka" (red) with a red umbrella, red boots, and a red raincoat, as his name suggests, and it is said that anyone who sees Makkaka-san will die. However, if you are wearing something red yourself, you will be safe even if you see Makkaka-san.

*Thank you to Kurotojirushi-san for the information on the message board.”

Notably the news post omits the "school legend" bit to the story which was later included in Matsuyamas book. Unfortunately, the archive doesn't seem to have Kuroto's full post backed up, so further investigation is unfortunately quite difficult.

Another more recent Japanese book on urban legends "Powerful! Japanese Urban Legend Encyclopedia (大迫力! 日本の都市伝説大百科) 2019" mentions that records of this yokai go as far back as 1989, but it does not elaborate on what that means nor does it give a source. – Perhaps Kurotojirushi-san’s full post might have given an age or a date?

Makkaka-san’s striking red outfit is something he shares with many other modern yokai such as Akamanto, Akuserasera, Toire no Hannako-san, and- often but not always- Kuchesake Onna. Red is of course often used in horror because it’s the color of blood but it’s also used in Japan for good luck and was said to ward off disease. – (for several examples of this see my section on charms) – In a sense, red is used to ward off death in the Makkaka-san story because it prevents would-be victims from dying. Although it also seems like Makkaka-san could be giving his approval. Like he’s so obsessed with the color red that he won’t curse anyone wearing it. – Makkaka-san also follows the footsteps of other yokai that appear on rainy days such as Ame Onna and Amefuri Kozo. Japanese ghosts & yokai are often associated with water in general. Ponds, rain and the sea are often said to conduct spirits! 

The story of Makkaka-san is short, simple & usually without much variation. He’s a harbinger of death. If you see him, you’ll die, unless you happen to be wearing or holding onto something red. Who he is or where he came from are all a mystery. Perhaps there’s more information on him on some obscure corner of the Japanese internet? but then again, maybe the mystery is the point. Perhaps the reason the story doesn't have many details or variations is because it doesn't need them. Regardless, the story has become quite prolific and he appears quite widely in modern books on Japanese Urban legends.

• Pop Culture Appearances: The "Forsaken" enemy from the game Tokyo Ghost Wire [2022] who wears red and is said to be "born from the inexhaustible rage of young children" appears to be inspired by Makkaka-san. (nearly all of the ghosts in the game are inspired by urban legends in someway.) This yokai’s legend also recently appeared in the Urban legend anthology/Nintendo switch game: "ゾッとする怖い都市伝説" [2023]

[Art sticker by Samkalensky part of my yokai/urban legends series of stickers, follow and support my work for more! - Huge thanks goes to @Cattype for helping me with Writing & Research, please consider supporting her on patreon/kofi as well! ]