Yukinba – 雪婆 – [Yokai]

•About this Yokai•

Yukinba - 雪婆 - Snow hag.

Her story is pretty similar to the more aggressive stories of Yukionna or Yukifuriba in that its said she eats/kidnaps children who get lost in a blizzard..The Yukinba is unique in that she only appears in a single scroll, from Hirano in Ehime prefecture - Bakemono Emaki by an unknown artist. The story attached to the scroll goes like this: 

 "Once in the dead of winter, a man was walking through a snowy wheat field when he heard a woman's voice calling out to him. As he looked, a one-legged crone with wild hair appeared and tried to attack him. He fled desperately, when the snow cleared, Yukiba disappeared..."

Interestingly the Japan's Wikipedia article also mentions that in some places Yukiba was also affiliated with "small fuzzy winged insects" called "yuki-mushi" or "snowbugs" [last slide] - its been said, if they appear during the autumn, a yukinba would attack occur soon for sure. - They're cute and harmless alone but if a lot of them appear at once it might look like a small blizzard: so the connection makes sense!! - Unfortunately, they're also an invasive species & because of global warming they tend to appear a lot more frequently in the autumn...  I wonder if that means the Yukinba appears more frequently too? 

As an additional "snowy yokai" fact.. I've read that if you're alone and you hear a knock on your door, offer any of these snowy Yokai tea, they will be forced to accept it (it would be rude not to.) they will drink it and start to melt!! - So, if its snowing, whatever you do, don't open the door to strangers without a cup of hot tea in hand!!!

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!