A classic image of gaki possession said to occur on mountain passes and in the hills. It is understood to stem from the spirits of those starved to death in battles or as wayfarers, so travelers carried a little food and offered it to the pass before crossing to avert harm. Onset is sudden, marked by fierce hunger, weakness in the limbs, and feet that refuse to move, often leaving one unable to rise in shade or where wind passes through. The remedy is simple: even a single grain of rice, a pinch from a salty rice ball, or a scrap of dried fish in the mouth is said to loosen the grip. As prevention, people scattered a bite of their lunch to the mountain deity or the spirits of the unburied dead, or made offerings at roadside Jizo. One should avoid heavy meals at once, easing the stomach with rice porridge or zosui. Though names vary—Iso-gaki on the coast, Hidarugami in basins and farm villages, Jikitori in Shikoku—the symptoms and remedies are nearly identical and closely tied to local practices of memorial and roadside offerings for the dead.
Character Profile
This section is our own creative profile for storytelling. It is not historical fact or scholarship.
Yokai Type - Traditional Yokai
Category - Demons & Giants
Rarity - Uncommon
Personality - obsessed with hunger, indiscriminate, retreats before offerings
Compatibility - bad with those who neglect alms or memorial rites
Abilities - induces intense hunger, hampers the host’s ability to walk, retreats when given offerings or a small bite of food
Weaknesses - food offerings such as a grain of rice or a piece of rice ball, sharing a bite with those nearby, calming with light foods like rice porridge or miso soup
Habitat - mountain passes, former battlefield sites in the mountains, roadsides and around Jizo statues, seashores (Iso-gaki variants)
🔮Yokai Compatibility Test
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