Female ghosts/spirits from folklore?

[yasahime]

I'd appreciate any advice you can give me, I'm creating an artwork/illustration of a Yūrei/ghost from Japanese folklore for a book, I've found a few good options but I'm struggling to find any more. I want a female subject, preferably not deformed, gruesome, long necked etc... Here's what I've found so far: Yuki-Onna, the snow woman. O-Tsuyu and O-Yone from the Botan Dourou/Peony Lantern story. Okiku from The Dish Mansion at Banchō (the well ghost). And finally the spirit of the Komachi Cherry Tree.
My questions are 1) Are they any more suitable female ghosts I should know about?
and 2) Are there any things I should include/exclude to help tell the story/stay true to the culture?
I was thinking of adding Hitodama. Apparently they come in a range in colors, but I don't know if the color is relevant.
One idea I had was to draw the well ghost, who counts 1-9 before shrieking, with a decorative wheel of japanese numbers (1-9) behind her, but I want to make sure this doesn't clash with any other meaning/symbolism that I'm not aware of.

Sorry I know this an odd sort of query, but if anyone has a good knowledge of Japanese folklore and can help, I'd really appreciate it, not just for the picture but because I'm genuinely very interested in learning more about it.

Thanks! : )



*P.S: With regards to the well ghost, I read someone pointing out a certain painting of her was odd because she was not in traditional yurei form, white robes and long hair. Am I right in assuming that's because she wasn't given a burial? (because she died in a well) she wasn't put in white robes and had her hair taken down...?

 

[Kirie_Maiden]

I don't actually know much about Japanese Ghost legends, but I would love to learn!

I did some quick googling for you and came up with this. It's a Wikipedia article, so you can probably find some more reliable sources, but it's apparently one of the most famous Ghost Legends in Japan.

Yotsuya Kaidan - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

There's a few on this site. It seems childish, but it might help.

Japanese Legends | Urban Myths | Scary For Kids

(It does have the Well ghost you were talking about in that list.)

I found this quite interesting. Says the Pale Man from Pan's Labyrinth was based on a Japanese legend.

Pale Man | Scary For Kids

I do find it sad that on that website they site Sadako (from the movie and book Ringu) and Kayako (from the movie Ju-on) as Japanese Legends. Sigh.

 

[zackdavisson]

I can help you if you have any questions. I know quite a bit about Japanese ghosts. I actually have a Master's Degree in Japanese ghosts!

I have a website all about Japanese ghosts and monsters:

ﾃｧ邃｢ﾂｾﾃｧ窶ｰﾂｩﾃｨﾂｪﾅｾﾃｦ竄ｬﾂｪﾃｨﾂｫ窶｡ﾃ､ﾂｼﾅ｡ Hyakumonogatari Kaidankai

Here are some posts you might find interesting:

How Do You Say Ghost in Japanese?
How Do You Say Ghost in Japanese? ﾂｫ ﾃｧ邃｢ﾂｾﾃｧ窶ｰﾂｩﾃｨﾂｪﾅｾﾃｦ竄ｬﾂｪﾃｨﾂｫ窶｡ﾃ､ﾂｼﾅ｡ Hyakumonogatari Kaidankai

What is the Triangle Headband Japanese Ghosts Wear?
What is the Triangle Headband Japanese Ghosts Wear? ﾂｫ ﾃｧ邃｢ﾂｾﾃｧ窶ｰﾂｩﾃｨﾂｪﾅｾﾃｦ竄ｬﾂｪﾃｨﾂｫ窶｡ﾃ､ﾂｼﾅ｡ Hyakumonogatari Kaidankai

More Hokusai Manga Yurei
More Hokusai Manga Yurei ﾂｫ ﾃｧ邃｢ﾂｾﾃｧ窶ｰﾂｩﾃｨﾂｪﾅｾﾃｦ竄ｬﾂｪﾃｨﾂｫ窶｡ﾃ､ﾂｼﾅ｡ Hyakumonogatari Kaidankai

 

[Kirie_Maiden]

A Masters Degree in Japanese Ghosts sounds like one of the most fun things to study. That's a really interesting website. Thank you for sharing.

 

[zackdavisson]

It was fun to study! Not the most useful degree in the world though ... but fun!

Thanks for checking out the site!

 

[OsakaMarie]

Brilliant blog!!

Adding it to my feeds right now!

Any good books you'd recommend on Japanese ghosts and monsters?

Or should I start a new thread for that?

 

[Kirie_Maiden]

I guess this would be the right thread for that kind of thing, since any information we find would be helpful to the OP.

 

[zackdavisson]

Thanks! Glad you like the blog!

Any good books? Hmmm ... if you mean "Any good books in English" then that is a difficult question. There really aren't too many, and most of what is available is scholarly and expensive, rather than popular and cheap.

I like Noriko Reider's books.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Japanese Demon Lore: Oni from Ancient Times to the Present
The Importance of Being Oni

Tales of the Supernatural in Early Modern Japan
Amazon.com: Zack Davisson "japanreviewed"'s review of Tales of the Supernatural in Early Modern ...
------------------------------------------------------------------------

This is good as well:
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Japanese Ghosts and Demons: Art of the Supernatural
Amazon.com: Zack Davisson "japanreviewed"'s review of Japanese Ghosts and Demons: Art of the Sup...
------------------------------------------------------------------------

---------- Post added at 15:45 ---------- Previous post was at 15:42 ----------

Oh, and to the original poster, the Yuki Onna is not a ghost, not a yurei. She is a type of yokai, a monster more like a mermaid or something than a ghost.

And my question to the OP. Are you just drawing a picture, or writing a story?

 

[OsakaMarie]

Great, Zack! Thanks a lot!

Would you recommend anything in Japanese? (might be a good motivation to bring my reading skills to the next level )

I know there's a kind of manga/children's book on Japanese Oni but I couldn't remember the name of it for the life of me...

 

[zackdavisson]

Anything by Mizuki Shigeru is worth getting. Go to the Kinokunia in Umeda, and they have a big selection. That is where I bought most of the books that I translate for my site.

And there are 100s of manga/children's books on Japanese Oni. Probably thousands. But the most famous one--and the one you are probably thinking of--is Naita Akaoni (The Red Oni Who Cried). That is a very popular Japanese kids book.

 

[OsakaMarie]

Cool! Once again, many thanks