Kosamebō – [yokai]

Description

Kosamebō – [Yokai] – 小雨坊 (こさめぼう) – aka “Drizzle monk.”

• About this yokai: Just as twilight covers the mountain side & rain begins to fall on the old trails known for Shugendō pilgrimages; As it begins to drizzle, a drenched ghostly monk appears, prowling, it accosts passerby’s begging for food and alms, spare change, grains, or millet. – this yokai is said to have once frequented the mountain paths in Omine and Katsuragi, the sacred mountains known for Shugendō in Nara Prefecture.

• Origin: This yokai made its earliest illustrated appearance in Toriyama Sekien’s “Konjaku Hyakki Shui” (1781) Kosamebo appears as a monk standing next to a large stone lantern in the rain with one hand over his head as though he’s trying to shield himself. He looks miserable overall. Toriyama’s included description goes as follows:

“On nights of gentle rain, Kosamebō prowls Mt. Omine and Mt. Katsuragi begging for alms” [Translation: Japandemonium Illustrated 2017]

[Toriyamas illustration Konjaku Hyakki Shūi 1781]

As said, most notably, this yokai was said to frequent the mountain paths in Omine and Katsuragi; the sacred mountains in Nara Prefecture which are known as the birthplace of Shugendō, whose Yamabushi monks have become deeply associated & intertwined with Tengu related folklore. The area is famously known as the “Tengu’s Training grounds!” Both of the peaks have several pilgrimage trails which the Yamabushi monks would frequent for their ascetic training. – Sekien didn’t write much about Kosamebo, aside from where/when it appears; perhaps it was a better known legend at the time and some facts have been lost? Or maybe there just wasn’t much to say in the first place!

In the mid-late 1990’s, folklorist Shigeru Mizuki elaborated on this yokai a bit in his yokai encyclopedias. He claimed that Kosamebō is probably “The spirit of an ascetic monk who died somewhere along the mountain trails.” & that ”Kosamebō’s story is a lesson to travellers and a reminder to always carry emergency rations while journeying into the mountains.” It seems like a pretty apt description for a phantom monk who appears alone on rainy days, and so it stuck.

The six ringed hand staff Kosamebō holds is called a Shakujo (錫杖) the rings represent Samsara; the six realms of existence, a Buddhist concept stemming from Hindu philosophies. Traditionally these were used by Hindu-buddhist monks in prayer. In Japan, these rings are often attached to the walking staffs of yamabushi monks, The jingling noise of these staffs is useful for scaring off animals as they walk through the mountains on pilgrimages. – Aside from that, you may also see these sorts of staffs are often held by roadside Jizo Statues! (Come to think of it, that stone lantern behind Kosamebo in the illustration looks pretty large compared to the yokai standing in front of it. Is Kosamebo actually Jizo-sized? Or is that lantern just unusually large?) 

Overall Kosamebo seems to be a fairly standard ‘ghost’, There are many spirits which are said to only appear during rain or storms. In Japanese folklore especially; water in general is often said to attract spirits, rainy days are no exception. 

The yokai’s name also uses “bō” short for “ōbōzu” meaning “Monk” There are many yokai which are named like this. (see also my Ōnyūdō section for several similar yokai.) In Kosamebo’s case; back in the olden times it was probably done with a mix of respect & fear. – But, I digress, with all of that said; the eerie phenomena of some “ghost”, appearing as a human and begging like a human monk does, is pretty creepy in its own right, isn’t it? – This yokai gives me the ick.

[Art sticker & Writing by @SamKalensky (yo, thats me!) Editing by @Cattype. Part of my Hyakki Yagyo Night Parade of 100 yokai sticker series. Follow & check my shop out for many more!]