YOKAI.JP

Net-Cutter

AH-mee-kee-ree

Net-Cutter

Net-Cutter

Their soul is listening — speak, and they will answer.

Basic Description

A yokai depicted only as an image in Toriyama Sekien’s Edo-period Gazu Hyakki Yagyō. It appears with scissor-like claws resembling those of a crab or scorpion, but the book gives no explanation, and its nature remains unknown. Some link it to the hair-cutting yokai “Kamikiri” seen in earlier picture scrolls, or read it as a visual pun connecting fishing nets and small crustaceans. Later writers often describe it as snipping mosquito nets or fishing nets, though historical evidence for this is limited.

Folklore & Legends

Later interpretations based on early-modern picture scrolls describe it as a nocturnal pest that slashes household mosquito nets or drying fishing nets. Fishing villages sometimes attributed damaged nets to a yokai, but firmly local traditions naming “Amikiri” are scarce. It is occasionally folded into the lineage of hair-cutting spirits or told as a cautionary tale about caring for tools—warning people not to leave nets out carelessly.

Yokai Cards1

Net-Cutter across multiple art-style decks

Card gallery

Related Yokai

Yokai deeply tied to this one in legend.

Related1

Maya Calendar Guardian KINs

Displaying the Maya calendar KINs that Net-Cutter protects.

Detailed Analysis

An interpretation grounded in Sekien’s depiction, tempered by later commentaries that popularized the trait of cutting nets and mosquito screens. Concrete behaviors are sparsely recorded in local sources, and it is often understood as a personification of wear, tear, and fraying. It appears with a carapace-like body and large pincers, shows up at night, and quietly severs its target, with no clear evidence of direct harm to people.

Character Profile

This section is our own creative profile for storytelling. It is not historical fact or scholarship.

Rarity
Rare
Personality
near-emotionless persistence
Compatibility
said to favor targeting fine-mesh nets and finely woven cloth
Abilities
quietly severing fibers and mesh, slipping into tight spaces
Weaknesses
tightly twisted ropes, heavy canvas, putting nets away indoors with care
Habitat
coastal villages, drying yards, storehouses and barns

🔮Yokai Compatibility Test

For more detailed information and diagnosis results about Iconographic Standard, Traditional Interpretation, please click here.

Interested in this type of yokai?

Discover the yokai most similar to your personality with our yokai diagnosis

Start Yokai Diagnosis

Meet your guardian yokai at the shrine

Draw an omikuji fortune and discover the yokai watching over you today.