Akateko (folklore)

An akateko (赤手児, lit. "red handed child") is a yōkai, or Japanese monster, from the folklore of Aomori Prefecture, specifically in the city of Hachinohe.[1][2] The monster is also a legend local to Kagawa and Fukushima prefectures.[1]

Mythology

The monster is described as the red hand of a small child descending from a tree. It is accompanied by the spectre of a young woman at the base of the tree whose beauty lulls unsuspecting passersby into a trance or fever state.[1] In Kagawa and Fukushima prefectures, the spirit will travel in pairs, resembling moving feet or legs.[3]

References
  1. Kizen Sasaki (2007). Tōno no Zashiki-warashi to Oshirasama. Chūkō. Chuokoron-Shinsha. p. 71. ISBN 978-4-12-204892-8.
  2. Kenji Murakami, ed. (2000). Yōkai Jiten. Mainichi Shinbunsha. p. 7. ISBN 978-4-620-31428-0.
  3. Hencho, Konno Ensuke (1981). Nihon kaidanshū : yōkai hen (Shohan. ed.). Tōkyō: Shakai Shisōsha. ISBN 978-4-390-11055-6.


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