Oshiroi-baba - 白粉婆 - "face powder hag."
•About this yokai: A Yama-Uba (Mountain crone.) who takes on the appearance of a hunched-back old hag, wearing a large, tattered umbrella hat and dressed in all white often coming to town on winter evenings to buy some sake. - As the name suggests, her face is absolutely caked in the finest quality Oshiroi & rouge makeup: However, her application is sloppy, it's been smeared, giving her a terrifying "appearance which would even make the mountain gods tremble..."
• History: Another yokai which was drawn & included in Toriyama Sekeins: Gazu Hyakki Yagyō. [1776] According to them, Oshiroi babā serve as the handmaidens of "Shifun Senjō" 脂粉仙娘 (a seemingly fictional) Goddess of rogue and makeup.
[Toriyamas Oshiroi Baba.] - In the area along the Totsukawa River in Yoshino County, Nara Prefecture, this yokai is said to come dragging a mirror along with it. (allegedly the same river which is featured in the above picture) A tell tale sound, "jara-jara" can be heard as though she's lugging a large mirror behind her through the snow...(curiously not pictured)
There are several old "Oshiroi-baba" stories, however its impossible to say if they're they're all referencing the same hag or not. (The main connection is that her face is white as if powdered.)
More often than not, shes said to be a relative a type of "Yuki-onna" - [on that note: this yokai should not be confused with "Yukin-ba".] - However, Unlike the "Yuki-onna" Oshiroi-baba are said to help people who are frozen or in distress, providing them with warm sake & rice. - [Apparently pouring it down the frozen victims throats like a saint bernard.]
Other modern tales (which I've read on various sites online.) say that she coats the victims face in the white powder and it tears off their skin, eating it. (Terrifying! But... i think they might have confused it with kokuri baba the previous entry in Toriyamas bestiary, more on her another time.)
Also worth note is that there's always the sad chance that older accounts of this yokai where of an actual senile &/or insane old lady... if it was based on an actual person (As Yama-uba legends are often (exaggerated) true accounts.) - in which case, it takes on a sadder, pitiful meaning, I'd suppose.
As in a few cases of make-up-related yokai ["Ohaguro bettari" & "taka onna" for instance] perhaps it was intended as a way to 'poke fun' towards the upper class? who can say with 100% certainty. -- Either way, I'd certainly be quite concerned if I saw an elderly woman with her face caked in makeup running around barefoot in the snow on a December night!!
~ Sticker Art by @Samkalensky part of my yokai night parade of 100 demons, yokai sticker collection! check my shop and follow for many more! (Note to self: come back and get photos when its actually snowing.)