Hiderigami

In Japanese folklore hiderigami is a yokai with Chinese origins that is believed to cause droughts. It is short and hairy with a human-ish shape, although it has only one arm, one leg and a single eye on top of its head. Living in remote mountainous areas, its body gives off so much heat that wherever it goes everything dries up and rain cannot fall, thus causing drought. Hiderigami can run as fast as the wind but it is believed that, if you can catch them, throwing them in a toilet will kill them.

Toriyama Sekien (detail)
 
This yokai originated from a Chinese legend about a a battle between Chiyou and the Yellow Emperor. The Yellow Emperor utilised a flying dragon who brought rain and floods to the area in an attempt to trap Chiyou. However, Chiyou countered this by engaging the services of weather wizards and a fierce storm ensued. The Yellow Emperor then sent the goddess Ba in to battle. She was dressed in black and radiated so much light and heat that the storms and floods cleared and the Yellow Emperor was able to finally defeat Chiyou. The goddess was thereafter known as Hanba and was associated with droughts. Over time she lost her goddess status and was viewed more as a ghost or vampire, before eventually taking the form described above. In some accounts it is suggested that the monster hiderigami may be her offspring.


Toriyama Sekien from 'Illustrated One Hundred Demons from the Present and the Past'

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