Uwan

An uwan as dipicted in Sawaki Suushi's Hyakkai-Zukan

An uwan (うわん) in Japanese folklore is a disembodied voice that inhabits old, abandoned temples and homes. According to ancient legends from Aomori Prefecture Japan, when a person enters one of these buildings, the formless yōkai shouts out an ear-piercing “Uwan!” The voice is only audible to people inside the building — those outside hear nothing. Since an uwan does not physically exist and only consists of sound, it poses no physical danger.

Ancient Japanese legends provide several examples of formless yōkai like the uwan, which consist of nothing but sound, light or other natural phenomena. In the Edo period, however, these demon spirits assumed physical bodies as artists such as Sawaki Suushi incorporated them into their work.

References

http://www.pinktentacle.com/2008/02/edo-period-monster-paintings-by-sawaki-suushi/

Japanese folklore

Folktales	Bunbuku Chagama Hanasaka Jiisan Issun-bōshi Kachi-kachi Yama Kintarō Momotarō Nezumi no Sumō Saru Kani Gassen Shita-kiri Suzume Taketori Monogatari Tamamo-no-Mae Tawara Tōda Urashima Tarō Yamata no Orochi Yotsuya Kaidan

Text collections	Konjaku Monogatarishū Otogizōshi

Legendary creatures	Akaname Bakeneko Daidarabotchi Dragon Futakuchi-onna Gashadokuro Goryō Inugami Gyoubu Kappa Kasha Kirin Kitsune Mujina Nue Obake Onryō Oni Rokurokubi Satori Shachihoko Shōjō Shuten-dōji Tanuki Tengu Tenome Tsukumogami Tsuchigumo Tsuchinoko Umi Zatō Ushi-oni Uwan Yama-uba Yuki-onna Yūrei Zashiki-warashi

Mythology in popular culture Legendary creatures

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Thursday, June 04, 2015. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.