A ghost recorded in the Edo-period奇談 collection Ehon Hyaku Monogatari. It is said to appear when someone dies without leaving last words, lived at odds with Buddhist precepts, or perished in hunger and thirst. Night after night it begs for water and weeps. Its torment is eased only slightly when memorial rites are performed and a “sweet dew” rain falls. Listed alongside the “Will-Lacking Ghost,” it represents a type of spirit bound by lingering regrets.
Folklore & Legends
Ehon Hyaku Monogatari describes it as a spirit unable to attain peace, lingering in the living world. Proper memorial services and sutra recitation bring relief, likened to a shower of sweet dew that soothes its thirst. Later commentaries say the ghost appears nightly seeking water, lamenting “water…” by wells or along the roadside. Few tales link it to specific places or incidents; it survives mainly as a typified ghost story that is calmed through acts of offering and memorial prayer.
Yokai Cards2
Water-Begging Ghost across multiple art-style decks
A traditional reading grounded in the side-by-side entries of the Testament Ghost and the Water-Begging Ghost in Ehon Hyaku Monogatari. The spirits of those who died with last words unspoken or burdened by thirst appear at night to plead for water. Individual names and deeds are seldom told; instead they serve as moral parables urging memorial offerings. When monks chant sutras, perform memorial services, feed hungry ghosts, or make alms to the dead, their thirst is said to be soothed with the symbolic “sweet dew” described in scripture. Told in both towns and villages, they appear where people and water meet—by wells, bridges, graves, and roadsides. They stir pity more than terror, and tales warn that rough treatment brings a curse, while respectful rites lay them to rest.
Character Profile
This section is our own creative profile for storytelling. It is not historical fact or scholarship.
The diagram below is a diagnostic evaluation chart for Testament Ghost and Water-Begging Ghost (Traditional). The higher the value of each item, the stronger that characteristic is expressed.
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