Category Archives: Art

Ohaguro Bettari: The Blackened Teeth Yokai

Arkane Curiosities

You are walking alone, late at night. You see a pretty girl from behind. But when she turns, the girl has no face. Only a smile filled with blackened teeth. This is the frightening yokai called Ohaguro Bettari.

Tradition of Blackened Teeth

The name “Ohaguro” refers to the practice of dyeing one’s teeth black, which was popular in Japan during the Edo period (1603-1868). The process of dyeing teeth black involved applying a special mixture of vinegar, iron filings, and other ingredients to the teeth. The mixture would turn the teeth black over time, and the process needed to be repeated every few days to maintain the color. 

The custom was also associated with the idea of “mibae,” which means “to show one’s maturity.” Married women who did not dye their teeth black were considered immature and not yet ready for marriage.

Suddenly a Smile

The tradition of “Ohaguro” explains the black teeth and “Bettari” means “appearing suddenly” or “appearing out of nowhere.” This yokai will be drawn to anyone walking alone at night. 

The creature takes the form of a beautiful young woman wearing a kimono. She hides her face and asks the person if she looks beautiful. If the person says no, she will disappear. If the person says yes, she will follow them for the rest of the night. 

A closer look reveals a shocking creature. The Ohaguro Bettari has no facial features, save its smile — a mouth filled with black teeth. She will laugh at your fear and surprise (and this is perhaps the reason for the yokai’s trickery). 

The lesson here: stay clear of pretty woman late at night.

Tim Kane

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From Parts Unkown

When assembling your Frankenstein monster (or flesh golem) you need a reliable place to source your parts. The worst scenario is to get body pieces from parts unknown.

Tim Kane

Shirime: the Eyeball Butt Yokai

Arkane Curiosities

To the Western mind, images of ghosts and the supernatural conjures up amorphous spirits or tall creepy slender men. But in Japan, the supernatural takes a hilarious and often creepy twist. The word Yokai can be translated as monster, demon, spirit, or goblin and the come in many strange and bizarre forms. Yet, perhaps none more peculiar than the Shirime or eyeball butt yokai.

It’s Looking at You

The word “shirime” translates literally to “butt eye” but it also has the meaning of a “backward glance”, which is quite literal to how this yokai looks at you. The shirime has the body of a man or woman, but instead of a face, it has a single large eyeball where its butthole should be. Other meanings for “shirime” have qualities of distress, which seems to be the motivation for this prankster creature. 

A Supernatural Flasher

The shirime approaches you looking, in all respects, like a normal person. It wears a kimono and asks you for a moment to spare. Once it has your attention, the kimono drops away. You see that this person has no facial features. It bends over, spreading its butt cheeks, to reveal a single eyeball, shining like lightning. 

And that’s it. It doesn’t do anything else to you. Shock seems to be this creature’s only purpose. 

Origin

Little is known about this yokai. A Japanese poet, Yosa no Buson, wrote the first and only encounter with this supernatural being. Some believe that shirime’s true form is just an animal, shapeshifting into a disturbing form in order to play a practical joke on us humans.

Tim Kane

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