The Kijimuna (
Okinawan: , ''kijimunaa'', also ''kijimun'' 木の精), or Bunagaya, are creatures of the
mythology
Myth is a folklore genre consisting of narratives that play a fundamental role in a society, such as foundational tales or origin myths. Since "myth" is widely used to imply that a story is not objectively true, the identification of a narrat ...
native to the island of
Okinawa
is a prefecture of Japan. Okinawa Prefecture is the southernmost and westernmost prefecture of Japan, has a population of 1,457,162 (as of 2 February 2020) and a geographic area of 2,281 km2 (880 sq mi).
Naha is the capital and largest city ...
. They are said to look around three or four years old and have red hair.
About
The kijimuna are small wood spirits according to Okinawan mythology. The kijimuna are said to live in
trees
In botany, a tree is a perennial plant with an elongated stem, or trunk, usually supporting branches and leaves. In some usages, the definition of a tree may be narrower, including only woody plants with secondary growth, plants that ar ...
, but the most common one is the 'gajumaru' or
banyan
A banyan, also spelled "banian", is a fig that develops accessory trunks from adventitious prop roots, allowing the tree to spread outwards indefinitely. This distinguishes banyans from other trees with a strangler habit that begin life as ...
tree. They are often described as being child-sized, with red hair covering their bodies and large heads. They are also known to be excellent fisherman, able to catch many
fish
Fish are aquatic, craniate, gill-bearing animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish as well as various extinct related groups. Approximately 95% of liv ...
, but then only eating one of the eyes of the fish before leaving the rest of it. The
Kijimuna festival
in Okinawa is named after them. Another name for the kijimuna is "bungaya," which means roughly "Large-Headed." The Kijimuna are known to be very mischievous, playing pranks and tricking humans. One of their best-known tricks is to lie upon a person's chest, making them unable to move or breathe. This is known as "kanashibari." Even though the Kijimuna are tricksters, they have been known to make friends with humans. However, these relationships often go sour. A kijimuna may offer to carry a human on its back as it leaps through the mountains and over the seas. The kijimuna dislike people passing gas on their backs, however, and will immediately throw the human off, no matter where they were at the moment. The kijimuna also hate octopuses.
Stories
The kijimuna are a common subject in Okinawan folk tales. Many of their stories begin with the kijimuna becoming a human's friend and then ending with the relationship going bad. One story tells of a kijimuna's friend burning down his tree, so the kijimuna fled to the mountains.
[Okinawan folktales- kijimuna. (2008, June 14). Retrieved from http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Japan/Okinawa/Camp-Kinser/blog-287249.html]
In Popular Culture
A Kijimuna appears as a recurring character in Disney Japan's spinoff anime series
Stitch!
is a Japanese anime television series. It is a spin-off of Disney's ''Lilo & Stitch'' franchise, serving as the franchise's second television series after '' Lilo & Stitch: The Series''. The anime series aired in Japan from October ...
. His special power is sneezing because his nose is powerful enough to blow anyone away.
In
Google Doodle Champion Island Games, The Kijimuna are described as having red hair and body and love racing on the beach.
Set in Okinawa, the anime
The Aquatope on White Sand
, or ''The Aquatope of White Sand'', subtitled ''The Two Girls Met in the Ruins of Damaged Dream'', is an anime television series produced by P.A. Works. It aired from July to December 2021.
Plot
Set in Nanjō, Okinawa, ''The Aquatope on Whi ...
features a Kijimuna that appears frequently in earlier episodes. It is implied to be the source of visions experienced by visitors to the Gama Gama Aquarium.
See also
*
:ja:マジムン (majimun, or okinawa equivalent of yokai)
References
{{Japanese folklore long
Okinawan legendary creatures
Mythological tricksters
Kappa (folklore)