The illustration of theamikiri in Toriyama Sekien (1712‐1788)'sGazu Hyakki Yagyō (published1776) depicts ascorpion-like creature[1] (or a cross between a serpent, bird or alobster withpincer claws similar to that of a crab or a scorpion[5]), but since Sekien supplies no explanatory text, it is not certain what kind ofyōkai it is.[1][5] It may be an off-shoot based on another similaryōkai namedkamikiri ("hair-cutter"), which Sekien does not include in his series,[1] but occurs in predecessorSawaki Sūshi [ja] (1707‐1772)'semaki painting scrollHyakkai zukan (1737), from which Sekien is known to have borrowed heavily.[5][6]
In various writings from theShōwa period and beyond,[9] or describes theamikiri to be a yōkai that cutsmosquito nets,sudare blinds,[10][11] or nets/meshes hung out to dry.[12][13]
There may be no authentic folkloric tradition aboutamikiri, and thisyōkai may merely be Sekien's invention,[3] perhaps based onplay on words or someallegory more easily recognizable to people at the time.[1] Theyōkai researcherKatsumi Tada [ja] hypothesized that Sekien perhaps seized on thepun (double entendre) between "ami" (meaningnets) and "ami" (meaningmysid shrimp) when he invented the creature.[4][a]
InNorio Yamada [ja]'sTōhoku Kaidan no Tabi [ja] ("Ghost story journey to the Tōhoku region", 1974), there is a story taking place in theShōnai region,Yamagata Prefecture about a fishing village whosefishing nets were repeatedly cut into pieces, which got blamed on theamikiri. One person preemptively brought back his nets early and hid at home to avoid the trouble, but his mosquito nets all got cut to tatters (no doubt by theamikiri) and the residents got bitten all over the body by mosquitos.[15] Theyōkai researcherKenji Murakami [ja] was unable to corroborate such a story from any other source in Yamagata Prefecture, and concluded it must have been Yamada's invention.[4]
^Fujisawa, Morihiko[in Japanese] (1929).Yōkai gadan zenshū: Nihon-hen妖怪画談全集 日本篇. Vol. 1. Chuo Bijutsusha. p. 83.ndljp:1240641.
^In the early Shōwa (1920s),Morihiko Fujisawa [ja] (1926) mentionsamikiri but only in passing, while listing a number of Sekien's monsters.[7] either passingly mentions theamikiri,[8]
