A yokai depicted in Edo-period picture scrolls such as Hyakki Zukan and Gazu Hyakki Yagyō. The texts offer no in-story explanation, but scholars link it to the folk observance of Kōshin night. On Kōshin nights, it was believed the Three Corpses (sanshi) left a sleeper’s body to report their sins to heaven; early sleep was feared to invite misfortune. Shōkera is understood as a harmful presence on that night—or the sanshi themselves—embodying a role of surveillance and punishment.
Folklore & Legends
During Kōshin vigils, people stayed awake all night; those who slept early were thought to suffer harm. A protective chant is recorded: “Shōkera wa wata tote mata ka, my dwelling—nenuzo taka zo, neta ka zo, nenu ba,” recited to ward it off. The Genroku-era Kōshin-den notes: “Shōkira is a kind of insect; some say it is the Three Corpses,” suggesting either a personification of the sanshi or a name for them. Iconically, Shōkera peers into houses through a rooftop skylight.
Based on Toriyama Sekien’s depiction, this interpretation frames the yokai as a watchful presence peering through a skylight during Kōshin night. It is identified with the Sanshi or treated as a spiritual agent acting on their behalf, examining human sloth and broken vows and, upon transgression, bringing misfortune with sharp claws. The name also appears in historical kana as “Shaukerá” or “Seukerá,” and its concrete form varies by region and source, yet it is positioned as a yokai that visualizes the normative ethos of Kōshin belief. Early modern sources offer little explanatory text, with later folkloric readings filling the gaps.
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 Traditional Iconography Interpretation. The higher the value of each item, the stronger that characteristic is expressed.
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