Amikiri – 網切 – [Yokai]

Description

 Amikiri – (JP: 網切)

 •About this Yokai: a small flying crustacean which somewhat resembles a floating lobster, sweet shrimp or crayfish, with a bird like face, it flys in through the window on a warm summer night and cuts up any mosquito nets people might be using, like its cousin, kamikiri it enjoys snipping fishing nets & other meshes.

• Origin/History: This yokai made its earliest and most notable appearance in  gazu hyakki yagyo by Toriyama Seikien (1776) who didnt actually bother to give this yokai a description! –

This yokai’s name is a pun! – There is a theory that it is a corruption of the word ‘Ami’ (a generic word for arthropods & sweet shrimp) which is also synonymous with the word for ‘Net.’ – However you’d like to slice it, It’s a play on words & conceptually its a likely call back to “Kamikiri” from earlier picture scrolls. –
modern bestiarys such as Shigeru Mizukis yokai encyclopedias often give this yokai a description along the lines of: “There’s nothing it loves to do more than cutting fishnets and mosquito nets (really anything mesh-like will do)” – Though no nets appear in the original drawing! – The 1974 book “Tohoku Kaidan no Tabi” by Novelist Yamada Norio, tells a story about a fishing village in Yamagata where mosquito nets and fishing nets were mysteriously cut overnight by a yokai! – however, its unknown if he was referring to the same “Amikiri” as mentioned in hyakki yagyo. (though he does mention a few other yokai from hyakki yagyo in their other stories however!) shigeru mizuki quoted his stories in his yokai encyclopedia by Shigeru Mizuki where he talks about how they used to need a lot of nets to repel mosquito’s (likely before repellent was mass produced or as easy to acquire.) he notes that it felt like you where underwater when you where surrounded by so many nets: he also added onto the lore saying that that this yokai would chop up your laundry if it was left out to hang! so. he felt that its likely that this yokai reflects those sorts of mystery’s. – its not a very scary yokai on its own, I’m way more afraid of the mosquitos!!

See also: Kamikiri.

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!