Kasa-obake (Japanese:傘おばけ)[2][3] are a mythical ghost oryōkai in Japanese folklore. They are sometimes, but not always, considered atsukumogami that old umbrellas turn into. They are also called "karakasa-obake" (から傘おばけ),[2][4] "kasa-bake" (傘化け),[5] and "karakasa kozō" (唐傘小僧).
They are generallyumbrellas with one eye and jump around with one leg, but sometimes they have two arms or two eyes among other features,[2][6] and they also sometimes are depicted to have a long tongue.[3] Sometimes, but rarely, they even have two feet, as depicted in theyōkai emaki such the "Hyakki Yagyo Zumaki".[1]
In theHyakki Yagyō Emaki from theMuromachi period,yōkai that appeared as umbrellas could be seen, but in this emaki, it was a humanoidyōkai that merely had an umbrella on its head and thus had a different appearance than that resembling akasa-obake.[7] Thekasa-obake that took on an appearance with one eye and one foot was seen from the Edo period and onwards, and in theObake karuta made from the Edo period to theTaishō period,kasa-obake with one foot could often be seen.[7] In theyōkaisugoroku "Mukashi-banashi Yōkai Sugoroku (百種怪談妖物双六)" theAnsei era, akasa-obake was depicted under the name "One-footed from Sagizaka (鷺坂の一本足,Sagazaka no Ippon Ashi)."[8] Among the many non-living or still objectyōkai depicted in the "Hyakki Yagyō Emaki", only the umbrellayōkai can be seen to have remain well-known even after the Edo period,[9] and it is said to be the most well-knownyōkai of an object.[7]
They frequently appear in legends andcaricatures,[7][10] and as opposed to how they are ayōkai that is unusually well-known, they do not appear in any eye-witness stories in folklore at all,[7] and it is not clear what kind ofyōkai they are.[2] Literature about them are not accompanied by folktales, and thus they are considered to be ayōkai that appear only in made-up stories[10] or exist only in pictures.[7] After the war, there was also the interpretation that their existence was on the same level asmanga characters.[7] One possibility is that whenHyakumonogatari Kaidankai became popular in the Edo period, the story-tellers were requested to tell new stories aboutyōkai that were not yet known throughout society, and thus they were ayōkai created by individuals.[11]
It is thought that everyday objects have an ability to become apparitions over time (usually at least 100 years). These are calledtsukumogami, and some literature consider thisyōkai to be one example of them,[3][12] but it has not been confirmed that there are any classical literature or classical essays that verify this.[2]
After the war, they became a representative character for depictions ofobake and haunted houses[2][4] and are frequently used as characters inanime,manga,[3] andfilms that have a theme based aroundyōkai.[5]
These are notkasa-obake, but in folktales, as an umbrellayōkai, in theHigashiuwa region,Ehime Prefecture, there is a story that a rain umbrella would appear in valleys on rainy nights, and those who see it would cower and not be able to move their feet.[7] Also, inMizokuchi,Tottori Prefecture (nowHōki,Saihaku District), there is ayōkai calledyūreigasa (幽霊傘, "ghost umbrella") that has one eye and one foot like thekasa-obake, but it is said that on days of strong wind, they would blow people up into the skies.[5]