Hitotsume-kozō
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''Hitotsume-kozō'' (一つ目小僧) are a ''
Yōkai are a class of supernatural entities and Spirit (supernatural entity) , spirits in Japanese folklore. The kanji representation of the word comprises two characters that both mean "suspicious, doubtful", and while the Japanese name is simply ...
'' (supernatural apparition) of
Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...
that take on the appearance of a bald-headed child with one eye in the center of its forehead similar to a
cyclops In Greek mythology and later Roman mythology, the Cyclopes ( ; , ''Kýklōpes'', "Circle-eyes" or "Round-eyes"; singular Cyclops ; , ''Kýklōps'') are giant one-eyed creatures. Three groups of Cyclopes can be distinguished. In Hesiod's ''Th ...
.


Summary

They generally do not cause any injury, are said to suddenly appear and surprise people, and are a comparatively harmless type of yōkai. By that, it can be said that their behavior could also be understood in terms of the '' karakasa-obake''. Perhaps because they don't perform bad deeds, when they are depicted in pictures, they are often depicted cutely, or in a humorous design. In '' yōkai karuta'', ''hitotsume-kozō'' are depicted carrying ''tōfu'', but according to the ''yōkai'' researcher Katsumi Tada, since "" leads to "", hitotsume-kozō are supposed to dislike beans, but somehow before anyone knew it the ''hitotsume-kozō'' switched to having '' tōfu'' (made from soybeans) as its favorite food. Additionally, this said to be related to the '' tōfu-kozō''. They take on the appearance of a ''kozō'' (a monk in training), but there is also the theory that they come from the ''yōkai'' from Mount Hiei, the said to be what the 18th Tendaizasu, Ryōgen turned into. See also Hitotsume-nyūdō.


In classics

They can frequently be seen in kaidan, essays, and modern folkloristics material, but the story from "" by Tōsaku Ikō is especially well-known. In Yotsuya, Edo, there lived a man named Ojima Yakiemon (小嶋弥喜右衛門), and headed towards the estate of the samurai family Asanuno for business, and when he waited in the room, a kozō about ten years of age appeared, and rolled up and rolled down the hanging scroll in the
tokonoma A , or simply , is a recessed space in a Japanese-style reception room, in which items for artistic appreciation are displayed. In English, a could be called an Alcove (architecture), alcove. History There are two theories about the predece ...
over and over. When Yakiemon warned him about playing a prank, the kozō said "shut up" while turning around, and there was only one eye on his face. Yakiemon raised a shriek and fell down, and was sent back to his home by the people of the estate who were surprised by his voice. Afterward, according to the people of the estate, this kind of strange occurrence happens about four or five times each year, but it doesn't particularly do anything bad. Even though Yakiemon slept for about 20 days, he returned to being as robust as he was before. It is said that hitotsume-kozō appear more frequently outside than inside. According to the "", near the in
Aizuwakamatsu is a city in Fukushima Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 118,159 in 50,365 households, and a population density of 310 persons per km2. The total area of the city was . History The area of present-day Aizuwakamatsu ...
, a girl met a child who was eight or nine years of age who asked "onee-san, do you money?" and upon answering "I want," the child face had only one eye, and the girl was glared at by that one eye fainted right there. Also, in the "Okayama no Kaidan", at Kamimomiimaidani, Kumenan, Kume District,
Okayama Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Chūgoku region of Honshu. Okayama Prefecture has a population of 1,826,059 (1 February 2025) and has a geographic area of 7,114 Square kilometre, km2 (2,746 sq mi). Okayama Prefecture ...
, there was a hill road called , and in the past, when one walks that path at night, a bright blue light together with a hitotsume-kozō would appear, and those who are unable to stand due to surprise/fear would be licked by one mouthful of a long tongue, and this would be where the name Hitokuchizaka came from. In yōkai depictions from the Edo period such as the
Hyakkai Zukan is a picture scroll by Edo period Japanese artist Sawaki Suushi. Completed in 1737, this scroll is a supernatural bestiary, a collections of ghosts, spirits and monsters (Yōkai), which Suushi based on Japanese literature, literature, Japanese fo ...
, the "Bakemono Zukushi", and the "Bakemono Emaki", it was depicted under the name . Also, in Oshu, they are called "hitotsu managu." Also in rakugo, people with one eye (including children) would appear, and in the program "", it told of how a charlatan heard about a one-eyed person witnessed about 120 or 130 ri north of Edo on an empty field. He went out to capture one to show as an exhibit for the sake of profit. He found a one-eyed child, and when he attempted to take him away, there was a big uproar and he was surrounded by a great number of people who captured him. All of the people were one-eyed, and it ended with "how strange he is, he has two eyes", and "quickly, let's put him on exhibit" (furthermore, geographically, 120 ri north of Edo would be about 470 kilometers, which would be the Iwate or Akita Prefecture).


In folk religion

In the
Kantō region The is a geography, geographical region of Honshu, the largest island of Japan. In a common definition, the region includes the Greater Tokyo Area and encompasses seven prefectures of Japan, prefectures: Chiba Prefecture, Chiba, Gunma Prefe ...
, there is the legend that on the night of , the eighth day on the second month and the eighth day of the 12th month in the lunisolar calendar, they would come from mountain villages together with a mikaribaba, and perform the custom of putting a bamboo basket in front of their house in order to drive it away. Also, depending on the region, hiiragi are used to pierce baskets, but this is what "to stab one eye" means in those places. On Kotoyōka, in the past there were many regions that people would not do their work and stay confined in their homes, but sometimes, this ritual of seclusion in the house was interpreted as staying in the home since monsters would appear; there is also a theory that these monsters are the hitotsume-kozō and the mikaribaba. Also in the legends of the Kantō region, hitotsume-kozō would go around houses carrying a notebook on Kotoyōka and would investigate houses that had bad door fastenings or bad manners, and determine their fortune, or report it to the yakubyōgami and bring about misfortune. On this occasion, on the eighth day of the 12th month, the hitotsume-kozō would record in a notebook the errors of each house and temporarily hand it to the
dōsojin is a generic name for a type of Shinto ''kami'' popularly worshipped in Kantō and neighboring areas in Japan where, as tutelary deity, tutelary deities of borders and paths, they are believed to protect travellers, pilgrims, villages, and individ ...
, and since they would be retrieving it on the eighth day of the second month, and as a practice to burn away the notebook, in Seya-ku,
Yokohama is the List of cities in Japan, second-largest city in Japan by population as well as by area, and the country's most populous Municipalities of Japan, municipality. It is the capital and most populous city in Kanagawa Prefecture, with a popu ...
,
Kanagawa Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Kanagawa Prefecture is the List of Japanese prefectures by population, second-most populous prefecture of Japan at 9,221,129 (1 April 2022) and third-dens ...
, they would make a temporary shrine to the dōsojin and on the 14th day of the first month, burn it in dondoyaki. In Izu region in
Shizuoka Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshu. Shizuoka Prefecture has a population of 3,555,818 and has a geographic area of . Shizuoka Prefecture borders Kanagawa Prefecture to the east, Yamanashi Pref ...
, on the 15th day of the first month, there is the custom of burning a statue of a dōsojin in a fire in the dōsojin festival. With this, the hitotsume-kozō who was supposed to retrieve the notebook from the dōsojin on the eighth day of the second month would no longer be there, thus evading misfortune.


Atypical gods (kami)

Kunio Yanagita was a Japanese author, scholar, and Folklore studies, folklorist. He began his career as a bureaucrat, but developed an interest in rural Japan and its folk traditions. This led to a change in his career. His pursuit of this led to his eventual e ...
, a great authority on
folkloristics Folklore studies (also known as folkloristics, tradition studies or folk life studies in the UK) is the academic discipline devoted to the study of folklore. This term, along with its synonyms, gained currency in the 1950s to distinguish the ac ...
, based on the thought that "yōkai are gods (kami) that have come to ruin", it has been explained that hitotsume-kozō are fallen mountain gods. There are several regions that have the legend that "mountain gods are cross-eyed (
strabismus Strabismus is an eye disorder in which the eyes do not properly align with each other when looking at an object. The eye that is pointed at an object can alternate. The condition may be present occasionally or constantly. If present during a ...
)", and since "has one eye" was a common way to say "cross-eyed", this is also originated from the divine spirits of the mountain. Also, there are hints that there existed people who lost a leg and an eye as a
sacrifice Sacrifice is an act or offering made to a deity. A sacrifice can serve as propitiation, or a sacrifice can be an offering of praise and thanksgiving. Evidence of ritual animal sacrifice has been seen at least since ancient Hebrews and Gree ...
in old rituals, and according to
hunter Hunting is the human practice of seeking, pursuing, capturing, and killing wildlife or feral animals. The most common reasons for humans to hunt are to obtain the animal's body for meat and useful animal products ( fur/ hide, bone/tusks, ...
s and
lumberjack Lumberjack is a mostly North American term for workers in the logging industry who perform the initial harvesting and transport of trees. The term usually refers to loggers in the era before 1945 in the United States, when trees were felled us ...
s, in a legend related to nature gods deified in the mountains, one can catch a glimpse of atypical gods that took on an appearance with one eye and one foot. Other than this, since, among those who were employed in smelting iron in a tatara there were many people who lost one eye, there is the theory that it is related to one-eyed god, Ame no Mahitotsu no Kami that people employed at iron smelting have put their faith into.


Cyclopia

There is an inherited deformity called
cyclopia Cyclopia (named after the Greek mythology characters cyclopes), also known as alobar holoprosencephaly, is the most extreme form of holoprosencephaly and is a congenital disorder (birth defect) characterized by the failure of the embryonic prosen ...
. When the mother is deficient in
Vitamin A Vitamin A is a fat-soluble vitamin that is an essential nutrient. The term "vitamin A" encompasses a group of chemically related organic compounds that includes retinol, retinyl esters, and several provitamin (precursor) carotenoids, most not ...
or other nutrients, the
cerebrum The cerebrum (: cerebra), telencephalon or endbrain is the largest part of the brain, containing the cerebral cortex (of the two cerebral hemispheres) as well as several subcortical structures, including the hippocampus, basal ganglia, and olfac ...
is unable to divide to the left and right, and accompanying this there is also only one eyeball. More than just abnormalities with the brain, nerves, or respiratory system, it is a condition that results in death in the womb before even birth. Vitamin A is, other than green vegetables, also contained in many animal foods, and in Japan, which did not have much of a culture in eating meat, it might not have been strange to be deficient in Vitamin A. With this background, since hitotsume-kozō have the appearance of a child and the clothing of a young priest, it is thought that babies born with one eye were called this, which is where it started. In Zama,
Kanagawa Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Kanagawa Prefecture is the List of Japanese prefectures by population, second-most populous prefecture of Japan at 9,221,129 (1 April 2022) and third-dens ...
, in 1932 (Showa 7), a skull with only one eye socket was dug up from the cemetery inside the city, and it was presumed to have been the result of someone who was attacked by wild dogs after collapsing, and a "Hitotsume-kozō Jizō" was constructed as a memorial for this, and afterwards people connected it with the legend of hitotsume-kozō and conveyed between people. There is also the viewpoint that the owner of the skull had cyclopia.


See also

*
Cyclopes In Greek mythology and later Roman mythology, the Cyclopes ( ; , ''Kýklōpes'', "Circle-eyes" or "Round-eyes"; singular Cyclops ; , ''Kýklōps'') are giant one-eyed creatures. Three groups of Cyclopes can be distinguished. In Hesiod's ''The ...
* List of legendary creatures from Japan


References


External links


Tōfu-kozō – The Tofu Boy , 百物語怪談会 Hyakumonogatari Kaidankai
by Mizuki Shigeru at hyakumonogatari.com
133 Yokai Statues on Mizuki Shigeru Road
; scroll down to see 84. Hitotsume Kozou (One-eyed boy) {{DEFAULTSORT:Hitotsume-kozo Mythic humanoids Yōkai Cyclopes