Hitotsume-kozouThe One-Eyed Boy

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.”

This yokai is included in the following collections:

Hyakkai Zukan (Illustrated Scroll of a Hundred Apparitions)

A 1737 yokai picture scroll by Sawaki Suushi. Thirty yokai in a catalog-like format that shaped later works like Gazu Hyakki Yagyō.

テーマ別

妖怪妖怪絵巻

Yokai with similar personality and characteristics to The One-Eyed Boy

Kinutanuki

Based on Sekien’s Illustrated Compendium

94%

Compatibility

Karakasa-kozou

Karakasa-kozou, the Old Umbrella Hopping on Night Roads

93%

Compatibility

Fridge Ward

Modern Version

92%

Compatibility

Yokai with opposite personality and characteristics to The One-Eyed Boy

Fudo Myo-o

The Wrathful Avatar of Dainichi Nyorai

57%

Compatibility

Tengu

Taro-bō of Mount Atago (Grand Chief of the Great Tengu)

59%

Compatibility

Iso-onna (Shore Woman)

Yorozunase-no (Reef Maiden of the Still-Sea Admonition)

59%

Compatibility