A yokai that washes red beans at streams late at night, echoing with shoki-shoki or zaku-zaku sounds. It appears near human settlements, blending into the sound of running water. Descriptions vary: a small, wizened elder or, at times, a child. Rather than direct attacks, it deceives with its presence, luring people into slipping. It appears in Edo-period strange tales and picture scrolls, with some accounts noting its habit of counting beans with exactness.
Folklore & Legends
At dusk or night, the sound of bean-washing comes from a mountain brook. Approach, and the noise stops dead; peek in, and you lose your footing and fall—tales warn people to keep away. Depending on the locale, it may look like an old man, a child, or even a monkey-like figure. In Ehon Hyaku Monogatari it appears as a harmful child spirit that can name the exact quantity of beans—from a gō to a shō—showing an obsessive bent for precise counting.
Yokai Cards1
Azuki-arai (Bean Washer) across multiple art-style decks
Rooted in the classic image of the Azukiarai, it blends with the sounds of ravines and flumes, washing red beans through the midnight hours. It lures with sound and tests the curious who peer in. Drawing on early modern notes that it excels at counting and judges vessel measure and bean quantity at a glance, it is not wantonly harmful, but serves as a keeper of taboos along the water’s edge.
Character Profile
This section is our own creative profile for storytelling. It is not historical fact or scholarship.
The diagram below is a diagnostic evaluation chart for Azukiarai of the Mountain Stream. The higher the value of each item, the stronger that characteristic is expressed.
Love Yokai Type Test
The diagram below is a diagnostic evaluation chart for Azukiarai of the Mountain Stream. The higher the value of each item, the stronger that characteristic is expressed.
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