Snake-Obi is a yokai depicted by Toriyama Sekien in Konjaku Hyakki Shūi: a sash (obi) that takes on the form of a snake. Drawing on the Chinese Bowuzhi claim that sleeping on a sash makes one dream of snakes, it links obi and serpent-dreams with the idea of corrupt intent. Sekien notes that a jealous woman’s sash becomes a venomous serpent, symbolically expressing the passions that dwell in familiar objects and their ties to dreams.
Folklore & Legends
In Konjaku Hyakki Shūi, Sekien illustrates a sash turning serpentine and cites the Bowuzhi anecdote. Across Japan, folk beliefs held that placing an obi near the pillow could induce snake dreams. Many tales liken female jealousy to serpents; Edo-period ghost story collections feature jealousy manifesting as a snake. However, specific local legends of Snake-Obi itself are scant, with the motif largely rooted in paintings and such popular beliefs.
A version based on Toriyama Sekien’s interpretation of the obi in Konjaku Hyakki Shūi. Though an everyday garment, the obi was said to turn into a serpent at the threshold of sleep and dream. This draws on the Natural History note that sleeping on a sash brings dreams of snakes, a belief also known in Japan. Sekien further composed that the triple sash of a jealous woman coils into a sevenfold venomous snake, punning on the kinship of malice and serpent-body, and presenting a visual reading in which emotion is projected onto objects. In folk terms, it warns that keeping a sash by the pillow invites ominous dreams, admonishes jealousy, and entwines concepts of sleep, dreams, and taboo. Rather than a literal attacker, the Snake-Obi is a symbolic specter that mirrors the viewer’s heart and reminds proper handling of sashes and bedding within the home.
Character Profile
This section is our own creative profile for storytelling. It is not historical fact or scholarship.
appears readily when touched by jealousy or wicked thoughts
Abilities
induces snake dreams at the onset of sleepmanifests in forms that embody jealousy and ill intentdepicted as an obi that slithers and writhes like a serpent
Weaknesses
wanes when wicked thoughts are abandoned, appears less when the sash is respectfully folded and set apart
Habitat
indoors near clothing racks and chests, sleeping quarters, by the pillow
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