Futakuchi-Onna – 二口女 – [Yokai]

Description

Futakuchi-onna. – 二口女 – “Two Mouth Woman.”

• About this yokai: Futakuchi-onna is an example of  a “Strange-Illness” or a curse which only manifests in women, in particular it is said to appear on those who do not eat much at all, where pressured to change their eating habits drastically and so, an unnatural, gaping, maw with an insatiable appetite forms on the back of her head. – In most old legends, this second mouth is said to be a curse, left by the spirit of a neglected family member who had starved to death, In other legends the mouth is actually an axe wound that came to life. – In either case, This second mouth is constantly starving, it mumbles abuse towards its owner & causes terrible headaches it is never satisfied unless its eating something. The hair becomes like snakes which it uses to shovel whatever food it can steal into its mouth. If your sweets & food supplies are mysteriously dwindling then this yokai could very well be the culprit. Ultimately, This yokai seems to be an example of the results of extremely suppressed emotions which cause someone to transform into a Yokai.

• History & Early Appearances: The most famous illustration of this yokai appears in “Ehon Hyaku Monogatari.” 絵本百物語 [Takehara Shunsen 1841.] – The included story goes something a bit like this –

“In Shimōsa Province (present-day Chiba Prefecture), a man took a second wife after his first wife passed away; he had a daughter with his late wife. After the second wife gave birth to a daughter of her own, she began to abuse the daughter from the first marriage, refusing to feed her, and eventually the girl starved to death. Forty-nine days later (after the 49-day mourning period), while chopping wood, the man accidentally struck his wife’s skull. Though she bled profusely, the injury was not life-threatening. However, once the wound healed, it took the shape of human lips; a protruding part of the skull became teeth, and some of the flesh on his head transformed into a tongue. The wound ached constantly, and the pain could only be alleviated by feeding the mouth. Later, faint voices began to emerge from the wound. When the man pressed his ear close, he could hear a child’s voice repeating, “Repent, repent! This is the retribution for the murder of my stepmother’s daughter.”

• Pop culture: Felia from Skullgirls is a Futakuchi Onna & The pokemon known as mawile is also based on this creature!

• Similar yokai: Nebutori & Rokurokubi, Jinmensou.

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!