Kodama Nezumi - [yokai] - 小玉鼠

Kodama Nezumi - [yokai] - 小玉鼠 - "Little Ball Rat." or "Small Ball Mouse."

• About this yokai: A spherical white dormouse, which was feared by Matagi Hunters & met deep in the remote snowy mountains of North Eastern Akita prefecture. - Best Known for inflating like a balloon until it reaches the point where its back splits open & it explodes with a violent "pop!!" - Hunters believed that hearing the sound was an ominous sign of misfortune & a warning from the mountain kami; a sure sign to stop hunting and return home, lest the worst happen. 

• History: This yokai can be found described among various Interviews with Matagi hunters, most notably in Tetsushiro Muto's "秋田マタギ聞書" - The book includes stories & interviews with the hunters, hunting folklore & other bizarre tales collected from the mid 1890-1950s. - Stories of Kodama Nezumi where passed down orally & shared between these hunters. At one point, it was considered especially taboo to discuss this yokai, especially if you where planning a hunting trip: It's said, that If the Kodama Nezumi hears the sound of a gun, it will rush to the spot and interfere with the hunt; When it spots a human, it stops what it's doing, begins to expand, inflating like a balloon, exploding and splatting the hunter with its own blood and guts; those who are targeted begin to have the worst luck of their lives, everything from missed shots, to dangerous avalanches. - If you hear a 'POP!!' sound 'louder than a gunshot' while in the mountains, its the sound of a Kodama Nezumi exploding. If the hunters become aware of one, they would retreat from the mountain as fast as they could.

• A popular legend which is often shared today goes a bit like this:  

"On a cold winter night, a group of seven young hunters were resting in a cabin, when, to their surprise, a woman came knocking to the door. She begged them to shelter her from the snow for the night. – However, these mountains were considered a sacred place, it was law that Women were forbidden from entering them. – And so, the hunters decided to turn her away.

She wandered until she came upon another cabin and once again begged the hunters inside to give her shelter. – These men also knew the law, but they took pity on the woman. – Realizing that It was too dangerous to allow a lady to roam the mountains at night, they allowed her to stay. - When morning came, the woman had vanished.

Paying little mind to that, The hunters who allowed her to stay, had a wonderful, bountiful hunt! Nobody was injured, and they all returned to their village with plenty of game. 

The woman was actually a Mountain Goddess, and she had blessed their hunt...

However, the other group of hunters who had turned her away, met with the goddesses wrath. Instead of a blessing, they where cursed, she transformed every single one of them into kodama nezumi, and they were never seen again...

• Pop culture: Kodama Nezumi have appeared in few anime. - Explosive creatures certainly fill what feel like an 'enemy archetype.' - (Mouses wielding bombs seem to be a gaming trope in general (especially prevalent in Nintendo games, Bombchu especially comes to mind as well (though I'd doubt there's any solid connection to Kodama Nezumi, aside from being 'explosive rats'.) - Actual Folkloric Parallels are  pretty slim for this one; however, as they are also related to 'huntering lore' they do remind me of the dive-bombing squirrels & explosive bears which where allegedly met in the canadian wilderness. - (Though such fearsome critters are the result of tall tales & not anything religious in the slightestl, let's not conflate the ideas.) - I'd suppose its a relief that the only creature capable of self immolation irl is man. 

[Art sticker by Samkalensky part of my Hyakki yagyo night parade of 100 yokai sticker collection check my shop for many more! - This sticker was brought to life thanks to support from readers like you, thank you!]