Akadenchu – 赤殿中 – [Yokai|Tanuki]

• About this yokai: An adorable baby mame–tanuki which disguises itself as a young child wearing a red denchu (a type of sleeveless Haori.) – At twilight, it asks adult passerbys for uppies and to carry them on their backs, when it is picked up, it cheers in delight, enthusiastically flapping its legs like a child, softly kicking the piggybacker on the back. – it feels nice to carry, and it doesn’t cause any harm. – When the ride is finished, it turns back into a Tanuki: “Surprise~! I was a tanuki the whole time~!! wahaha!!!“ laughs mischievously, then scutters away, vanishing into the night. – One theory states that perhaps a tanuki got jealous seeing little kids being carried around all day, so it decided to trick someone into giving it some attention. – Not all Tanuki pranks are mean, not all Yokai are scary…

• History: Akadenchu was one of several tanuki stories, recorded in Awa no Tanuki no hanashi 阿波の狸の話 [“Tanuki Tales of Awa” 1927] – its a legend from an area in what is today Naruto city, Tokushima prefecture.

According to my yokai inclined japanese friends, There is (…or was?) a small shrine venerating “Akadenchu” somewhere near somewhere near “Oasa Town” (or in the area of where that used to be.) – However, when we searched for it online, it there was curiously not any photographs or evidence of this place!! 

I will note here that: Tokushima is in-fact also home to one of Japans ‘big 3’ tanuki legends, Yashima no hage-tanuki who is enshrined at Yashima-ji. – (so it wouldnt be odd for a tanuki to be venerated in the area.) …but that tanuki is also described quite differently with its own lore and backstory. So: I suppose the shrine in question could either be a case of a mistaken identity, a rumour, or perhaps the shrine might be the victim of industrialization… [As my priest friend mentioned, Small shrines getting paved for condos, tragically does happen quite frequently these days.] Though, admittedly, it being a shrine to tanuki… (The more I think about it, the more the situation reminds me of a Certain Ghibli Film… hmm.) ––I digress! I hope someone visiting the area might be able to track down some record of the shrine!! –/edit/– [another friend on twitter let me know that the shrine does in fact exist & even gave me coordinates to find it on google maps! you can find photos of it by searching: “赤でんちゅう大明神” mystery solved!!! 🙂 ]

Similar yokai: Obariyon, Tanuki.