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Anakateko (赤手児; lit. "red child's hand") is ayōkai, or Japanese monster, from thefolklore ofAomori Prefecture, specifically in the city ofHachinohe.[1][2] The monster is also alegend local toKagawa andFukushima prefectures.[1]
Themonster is described as the red, disembodied hand of a small child descending from aJapanese honey locust tree. It is accompanied by the specter of a young woman (around the age of 17 or 18) at the base of the tree whose beauty lulls unsuspecting passersby into a trance or fever state.
According to the some legends, the hand will then grab thetraveler by the neck and rip them apart, limb by limb, but in moststories thehand is harmless.[1] In Kagawa and Fukushima prefectures, the spirit will travel in pairs, resembling moving feet or legs.[3] Some even suggest that those two creatures are, in fact, two parts of the sameyōkai.[4]
According to most sources, this creature is harmless, and only frighten passers-by.[4]
A theory pointed that Akateko may be an illusion created by otheryōkai such askitsune ortanuki, who have shape-shifting abilities.[5]
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