KotofurunushiThe Forgotten Tsukushi Koto, Kotofurunushi

This is the most orthodox and tragic interpretation of the Kotofurunushi, embodying the despair and sorrow of the "Tsukushi Koto" buried in the darkness of music history by the rise of the genius Yatsuhashi Kengyo. This Kotofurunushi is not a savage yokai that attacks and devours humans. Its true horror and melancholy unfold quietly deep within unvisited storehouses or ruined mansions late at night.

In the darkness, the old koto—abandoned for years, cracked, and covered in dust—begins to tune itself without the help of any hands. Then, the countless snapped and frayed strings writhe like living creatures, or like the black hair of a vengeful female ghost, and begin to play the archaic, heavy, obsolete melodies of the "Tsukushi school" that modern humans can no longer comprehend. That tone, mixing the pride once loved by aristocrats and high priests with the raw despair of now being ignored by everyone, induces a heart-wrenching, intense nostalgia and psychological unease in anyone who hears it.

The goal of the Kotofurunushi is not revenge, but the pure and maddening thirst of an instrument: "I just want someone to listen to my sound." Therefore, swords or talismans are not needed to appease this yokai. If someone who understands old music wipes the dust off this old koto, carefully restrings it, and affectionately plays its ancient tunes once more, its years of resentment will be sublimated as if it were an illusion, and the Kotofurunushi will revert to just being a masterpiece instrument. It is an entity that brilliantly expresses the cruel transitions of art and the uniquely Japanese affection for tools.

This yokai is included in the following collections:

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