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Trailing Boy

AH-toh-oh-ee koh-ZOHH

Trailing Boy

Trailing Boy

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

Basic Description

A type of mountain spirit from the eastern Tanzawa range. It appears as a child about four to ten—sometimes up to fifteen—wearing straw mats, homespun kasuri cloth, or animal pelts, and follows people in silence. When one turns around, it slips behind trees or rocks and vanishes, doing no harm. At times it even goes ahead to guide travelers. After dusk it is said to carry a small light like a lantern, which fades as it nears the village.

Folklore & Legends

In the mountains, people feel a presence behind them; when they turn, nothing is there, but as they walk, it pads along without a sound. Those who met it repeatedly would leave rice balls, potatoes, or dried persimmons on rocks or stumps. Elders say it appears most often in the early afternoon, and if encountered at night, it disappears when addressed. Because mountains were seen as close to the realm of the dead, some interpret it as the spirit of a deceased child seeking company.

Yokai Cards1

Trailing Boy across multiple art-style decks

Card gallery

Detailed Analysis

A version organized from folklore materials of a child-shaped mountain spirit seen in the eastern Tanzawa mountains. Generally harmless, it simply follows quietly behind travelers, yet at times steps ahead at forks to guide them onto the right path. It wears rough straw matting or homespun, sometimes pelts, blending into the forest’s shadow and vanishing when one turns back. It is said to appear most often in the afternoon, and at night to carry a small light like a lantern. Those who meet it repeatedly often think of lost children and leave rice balls, yams, sweets, or dried persimmons on rocks or stumps as offerings. Some accounts say it fades away as one nears the villages, others that it withdraws when called to at night, and none describe it as vengeful. Rooted in overlapping ideas of mountains and the dead, it stands as a symbol of the boundary nature of the mountain realm.

Character Profile

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

Rarity
Uncommon
Personality
guileless, friendly, taciturn
Compatibility
those who tread mountain paths with care, those who offer votive food
Abilities
silent following, wayfinding and leading, forest concealment, faint light like a lantern
Weaknesses
tends to vanish near human settlements, said to retreat when called to at night
Habitat
Tanzawa Mountains in Kanagawa Prefecture, animal tracks and mountain passes, rock overhangs and groves

🔮Yokai Compatibility Test

For more detailed information and diagnosis results about Trailing Boy Monk (Tradition-Faithful), please click here.

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