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Powdered-Hag

oh-shee-ROH-ee bah-BAH

Powdered-Hag

Powdered-Hag

Their soul is listening — speak, and they will answer.

Basic Description

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.

Detailed Analysis

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.

Rarity
Epic
Personality
relentless, returns favors
Compatibility
night watch in remote villages, households involved in sake brewing
Abilities
never loses her way in a blizzard, keen sense of smell that follows the scent of human homes, vanishes quickly from the doorway
Weaknesses
soft-hearted hospitality weakens and sends her away, loses vigor at daybreak light
Habitat
snowy crossroads, doorways of mountain hamlets, near sake breweries

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