A name found in Edo-period yokai picture scrolls, depicted as a figure shrouded in long hair with its face hidden by bangs. It appears in works like Sawaki Suushi’s Hyakkai Zukan and Toriyama Sekien’s Gazu Hyakki Yagyo, but offers virtually no accompanying text; its nature and origins remain unclear. Spellings vary—such as “Odoro-odoro” or “Ke-ippai”—suggesting a play on the sense of dread and wild, disheveled hair.
Folklore & Legends
Early modern picture scrolls give only the name, without commentary, and no regional oral traditions are confirmed. Later children’s guides popularized the idea that it frightens the impious from atop shrine torii, but this lacks primary sources and is considered a creative reading of Sekien’s imagery. Specific deeds, powers, or curses are unknown in authentic tradition.
Organized around forms depicted in Edo-period picture scrolls and picture sugoroku. Long hair covers the entire body, with bangs hanging down to obscure the face. In works like Hyakkai Zukan and Gazu Hyakki Yagyō it appears on the same page as Waira, suggesting a shared sound and sense of fear. Names such as Otoroshi, Odoro-odoro, and Keiippai are listed together, implying variation from differing readings of repeating marks. Specific locales, deeds, or omens cannot be inferred from the images; some show it atop a torii, but no sources conclusively assign it a punitive divine role. In folk thought, it is seen as a form shaped by the notion of odorogami (bristling hair) and the language of fear.
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 Iconography from Picture Scrolls (Early Modern Tradition). The higher the value of each item, the stronger that characteristic is expressed.
Love Yokai Type Test
The diagram below is a diagnostic evaluation chart for Iconography from Picture Scrolls (Early Modern Tradition). The higher the value of each item, the stronger that characteristic is expressed.
Meet your guardian yokai at the shrine
Draw an omikuji fortune and discover the yokai watching over you today.
