Futakuchi-onna is a yokai woman said to have a second mouth on the back of her head. She hides it under her hair, but when hunger strikes, her hair writhes like snakes and the rear mouth clamors for food on its own. Featured in strange-tale collections such as Ehon Hyaku Monogatari (1831), the legend often serves as a caution against extreme frugality and secretiveness. Outwardly she appears human, but at the nape a sharp-toothed mouth with a tongue is said to lurk.
Folklore & Legends
In Edo-period anecdotes, a miserly husband starves his wife, whereupon a mouth appears on the back of her head. Controlling her hair, it raids the kitchen and devours food. She keeps the mouth covered with long hair and behaves demurely in public, but at night the rear mouth growls and begs for sustenance. The tale is not tied to specific regions or temples; it spread as a moral story and was frequently illustrated in picture scrolls and woodblock books.
Yokai Cards2
Futakuchi-onna (Two-Mouthed Woman) across multiple art-style decks
Aligned with Edo-period strange tales, this type’s true hunger is amplified by a mouth on the back of the head. The front mouth feigns daintiness, while the rear mouth manipulates the hair to pull dishes close. It secretly devours nearby food, sowing domestic discord and appearing in stories about household budgets and shame. In art, a fanged mouth peeks from between coiffed hair. Said to be keen to sounds and smells, it hides its nature deftly in public.
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 Futakuchi-onna. The higher the value of each item, the stronger that characteristic is expressed.
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