A整理 based on Edo-period picture scrolls such as Hyakkai Zukan and Bakemono-zukushi depicting the figure known as Hitotsume-bō. It takes the form of a shaven-headed child monk, appearing suddenly in parlors, on bridges, slopes, and crossroads, then vanishing once satisfied with the onlooker’s reaction. Though often associated by inference with the one-eyed, one-legged monk of Mount Hiei, direct identification is avoided. Folklore links it to food by claiming it dislikes beans, and later images show it carrying tofu, yet it rarely intends harm to people or livestock. Its appearances vary by season and weather; in some regions, its single eye is said to glow dimly on rainy nights in late autumn. Names vary by locale, including “Hitotsu-managu” in Ōshū and the widespread “Hitotsume-kozō” and “Hitotsume-bō.”
Character Profile
This section is our own creative profile for storytelling. It is not historical fact or scholarship.
Yokai Type - Traditional Yokai
Category - 山野の怪
Rarity - Epic
Personality - mischief-loving, not relentless
Compatibility - startles without pursuing, tends to avoid people
Abilities - appears suddenly to startle people, glares with one-eyed yokai aura to cause brief fainting per some regional lore, glows faintly in dim light or on rainy nights
Weaknesses - said to dislike beans, retreats when firmly scolded, in some areas its form fades in the light of an andon lantern
Habitat - parlor rooms and alcoves, bridges and slopes and crossroads, castle-town alleys, around temples and shrines
🔮Yokai Compatibility Test
For more detailed information and diagnosis results about Traditional Aspect (Hitotsume-bō), please click here.