An old woman yokai with her face caked in white face powder, wearing a torn sedge hat. She appears on snowy roads, leaning on a staff with a sake flask at her side, and asks travelers for a drink. She is said to stand at doorways, drawn by the scent of amazake or sake. If given a little, she causes no harm; if refused, she knocks at the door until late into the night. Tales portray her as a wintertime admonition in poor villages and a reminder of hospitality toward visitors.
Folklore & Legends
On winter nights, a hag with a face whitened by powder appears carrying a sake flask, asking, “Give me a cup.” If offered even a small amount, she slips away quietly; if turned away, she keeps rapping her staff at the threshold, terrifying the household. Similar accounts are told in various regions. She is a sake-begging specter of the snow, said to be lured by the smells of brewing season and rice-pounding, and her stories take on the character of a lesson in sharing with those who come to one’s door.
On snowy nights she appears at the door, face pale as if dusted with powder, wearing a torn straw hat and carrying a sake flask. She asks for sake or sweet sake, thanks the giver even for a small portion, and leaves. If refused, she troubles the household with knocking and calls. She blends the idea of a winter visiting deity with eerie folktales, remembered as a figure embodying customs of sharing and proper hospitality.
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 Powder-Faced Hag of the Snowy Night. The higher the value of each item, the stronger that characteristic is expressed.
