A yokai resembling a large monkey said to appear in the mountains, often described as an aged monkey that has transformed. It possesses formidable strength and is known in many tales to attack people, especially abducting women. Across regions it is said to burst into loud laughter at the sight of humans; its long lips curl upward until they cover its eyes. Edo-period picture scrolls and encyclopedias depict it as big-bodied with black fur. Some explain the name as imitating its laugh, and it is sometimes confused with other mountain beings like yamawaro.
Folklore & Legends
Folklorist Yanagita Kunio noted a tale type in which, when the hihi laughs and its lips rise to cover its eyes, one can capture it by piercing its forehead with an awl. Records claim captures in Echigo Province (Tenna 3, 1683) and Izu (Shōtoku 4, 1714), including measurements of the creature’s length. In Kurobe Valley of the Northern Alps, it is told as a terror that whips up wind and storm, trying to tear people apart in midair. It appears in Toriyama Sekien’s Konjaku Gazu Zoku Hyakki and in the Wakan Sansai Zue, where confusion with monkey deities and yamawaro is also noted.
A depiction of the hihi based on Edo-period images and folklore. Said to dwell in mountains, it is an aged monkey transformed into a giant, powerfully built being. Many regions tell that it bursts into loud laughter, and when its long upturned lips roll back to cover its eyes, it leaves an opening to strike. Tales include the abduction of women, bouts with woodcutters, and raising wind and storm to hurl people. Natural history compendia such as Wakan Sansai Zue report black hair, large size, and hearsay of human speech, though exact locales and physical evidence remain uncertain. Its name is commonly linked to its laugh. It is sometimes conflated with yama-warawa or monkey deities, but is often distinguished as an ape-shaped mountain monster.
Character Profile
This section is our own creative profile for storytelling. It is not historical fact or scholarship.
at odds with woodcutters and travelers of the mountains and fields
Abilities
immense strengthgreat leaps from high placesprovoking openings through mocking laughterraising wind and storm per regional lorealleged comprehension of human speech per natural histories
Weaknesses
when laughing its lips cover its eyes creating an opening, stabbing the forehead, said to retreat from fire and loud noise
Habitat
montane forests, ravines, cave mouths
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