A yokai depicted in late Edo yellow-covered books such as Yokai Chakutōchō (1788): a child with an abnormally large head who startles people by showing off its enormous cranium. In the text it boasts of scaring a tofu seller to get tofu. Later writers sometimes confused it with the Tofu Boy (Tōfu Kozō), but period sources also portray it separately and occasionally link it to the Mikoshi-nyūdō.
Folklore & Legends
In Yokai Chakutōchō it appears as the grandchild of the Mikoshi-nyūdō, frightening passersby and speaking lines about its encounter with a tofu vendor. Sakuragawa Jihinari’s Bakemono Yofukeōmise (1791) likewise features a big-headed child specter called “Choroken” or “Choroken Kozō,” suggesting similar figures were known in Edo. In later eras, images of a child carrying tofu were sometimes mistaken for the Tōfu Kozō.
Organized around depictions found in kibyoshi and picture-books from the Tenmei to Kansei eras. In Yohkai Chakutōchō it is placed as a grandson of the Mikoshi-nyūdō, with lines stating it bullied a tofu seller to obtain tofu, and its image features an oversized head on a childlike body. A similarly big-headed boy appears in Bakemono Yofuke Omi-se under a different name, and scholars note its word-proximity to the sideshow and street performance “Choroken.” In modern times it is often confused with the Tofu-kozo, but folklorists advise against conflation and favor respecting each source’s naming and design differences. Shigeru Mizuki emphasized its beast-like bare feet and huge head and presented it as distinct from the Tofu-kozo.
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 Edo Kibyoshi and Picture-Book Source Edition. The higher the value of each item, the stronger that characteristic is expressed.
