Akaname

The akaname (垢 (あか)嘗 (なめ)) is a Japanese yōkai depicted in Toriyama Sekien's 1776 book Gazu Hyakki Yagyō.[3] Meaning "filth licker", they are stated to lick the filth that collects in bathtubs and bathrooms.[4]

"Sokokuradani no Akaname" (Akaname of the Deep Dark Valley) from the Hyakushu Kaibutsu Yōkai Sugoroku by Utagawa Yoshikazu
"Akaname" from the Gazu Hyakki Yagyō by Toriyama Sekien[1][2]

Classics

In classical yōkai depictions, children with clawed feet and cropped heads are depicted by the bath place sticking out a long tongue.[5] These depictions do not feature any kind of explanation, so anything related to them can only be inferred, but in the Edo period kaidan book Kokon Hyakumonogatari Hyōban, there are writings about a yōkai called akaneburi (neburi meaning "to lick") and it is inferred that the akaname is a depiction of this akaneburi.[2][3]

According to Kokon Hyakumonogatari Hyōban, the akaneburi is a monster that lives in old bathhouses and are said to lurk in dilapidated estates. In those times, it was believed that fish were born from water and lice were born from dirt, and seeing how fish intake water and lice eat dirt, all things were thus believed to eat the material that spawns them, the akaneburi being the ones that transform from the air of the places that gather dust and filth and therefore live by eating filth.[6]

Shōwa, Heisei, and beyond

In literature about yōkai from the periods of Shōwa, Heisei, and beyond, akaname and akaneburi were interpreted the same way as above. These interpretations state that the akaname is a yōkai that lives in old bathhouses and dilapidated buildings[7] that would sneak into places at night when people are asleep[7] using its long tongue to lick the filth and grime sticking to bath places and bathtubs.[4][8][9] It does not do anything other than lick filth, but since yōkai were considered unsettling to encounter, it is said that people worked hard to ensure that the bath places and bathtubs are washed clean so that the akaname wouldn't come.[4][8][10] There were none who saw what the akaname truly were, but since aka can remind people of the color red (aka in Japanese), they are said to have red faces[8] or be entirely red.[9] Also, aka (meaning "filth") also has connotations to the idea of "impurities" such as "depravities", "sins", or "worldly desires" and other things that are not necessary, which leads to the theory that it wasn't simply a lesson to keep bath places clean, but also to keep such impurities from lurking in one's own self.[11]

The akaname has been depicted in various media, including in the anime and video game franchise Yo-kai Watch.[12]

Lush recently released a bubble bar named for and modeled after the creatures. [13] [14]

See also
  • Aka Manto ("Red Cape"), a Japanese urban legend about a spirit which appears in bathrooms
  • Bannik, a spirit which appears in bathhouses in Slavic mythology
  • Hanako-san, a Japanese urban legend about the spirit of a young girl who haunts school bathrooms
  • Madam Koi Koi, an African urban legend about the ghost of a woman who haunts school
  • Teke Teke, a Japanese urban legend about the spirit of a girl with no legs

Notes
  1. Toriyama, Sekien (July 2005). Toriyama Sekien Gazu Hyakki Yagyō Zen Gashū (in Japanese). Tokyo: Kadokawa Shoten Publishing Co., Ltd. pp. 10–65. ISBN 978-4-04-405101-3.
  2. Reider, Noriko (2010). Japanese Demon Lore. U.S.A: Utah State University.
  3. 村上 2000, p. 7
  4. Yoka, Hiroko (2008). Yokai Attack! The Japanese Monster Survival Guide. Tokyo: Kodansha International Ltd. pp. 82–85. ISBN 978-4-77-003070-2.
  5. 草野巧 (1997). 幻想動物事典. 新紀元社. p. 7. ISBN 978-4-88317-283-2.
  6. 山岡元隣 (1989) [1686]. "古今百物語評判". In 高田衛編・校中 (ed.). 江戸怪談集. 岩波文庫. 下. 岩波書店. pp. 344–345. ISBN 978-4-00-302573-4.
  7. 中村他 1999, p. 114
  8. 岩井 1986, p. 139
  9. 多田 1990, p. 270
  10. 水木しげる (2004). 妖鬼化. 2. Softgarage. p. 6. ISBN 978-4-86133-005-6.
  11. 宮本幸江・熊谷あづさ (2007). 日本の妖怪の謎と不思議. 学習研究社. p. 25. ISBN 978-4-056-04760-8.
  12. Yarwood, Jack (27 April 2016). "8 Videogame Characters Based On Japanese Folklore". Paste. Retrieved 7 August 2019.
  13. https://www.lushusa.com/bath/bubble-bars/akaname/9999901898.html
  14. http://www.ohmylush.com/review-lush-akaname-bubble-bar/

References
  • 岩井宏實 (2000) [1986]. 暮しの中の妖怪たち. 河出文庫. 河出書房新社. ISBN 978-4-309-47396-3.
  • 少年社・中村友紀夫・武田えり子編 (1999). 妖怪の本 異界の闇に蠢く百鬼夜行の伝説. New sight mook. 学習研究社. ISBN 978-4-05-602048-9.
  • 多田克己 (1990). 幻想世界の住人たち. Truth In Fantasy. IV. 新紀元社. ISBN 978-4-915146-44-2.
  • 村上健司編著 (2000). 妖怪事典. 毎日新聞社. ISBN 978-4-620-31428-0.
  • Gould, Robert Jay (2003). Japan Culture Research Project.
  • Stevens, Ben (2009). A Gaijin's Guide to Japan: an Alternative Look at Japanese Life, History and Culture. HarperCollins UK.
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