In the lineage attributed to Toriyama Sekien’s Konjaku Hyakki Shūi, the shink—an enormous clam—exhales a vapor at the shore, which fills the sky and forms images of towers and palace gates. The imagery depicts inverted or elongated castles and gatehouses drifting above the sea, sometimes shown alongside the shink itself or a dragon. In the late Edo period the motif was repeated in surimono and ukiyo-e and became a popular topic among spectators. The tradition is not fixed to a single locale, with sightings told from coasts and tidal flats such as Etchū. As a yokai it lacks a stable body, appearing and vanishing to beguile onlookers while causing little harm.
Character Profile
This section is our own creative profile for storytelling. It is not historical fact or scholarship.
Yokai Type - Traditional Yokai
Category - Natural Phenomena Spirits
Rarity - Epic
Personality - taciturn, avoids human involvement, manifests only its image
Compatibility - appears readily along seashores, favors clear weather
Abilities - conjures images of pavilions and palace towers above the sea, distorts distant views and vanishes when approached, clarifies the mirage in fair and calm weather
Weaknesses - collapses with sudden weather changes, becomes indistinct at sunset or in fog
Habitat - seashores, tidal flats, sandbars
🔮Yokai Compatibility Test
For more detailed information and diagnosis results about Mirage Pavilions Breathed by the Shink (Sekien lineage image), please click here.