Also known as Yamauba (山うば), Yamanba, Onibaba (鬼婆), Yama-onna (山女), Yama-hime (山姫), and Kijo (鬼女).[1]
Yamamba are female yōkai that live alone in mountain huts. They occasionally offer a place to sleep for the night to travelers in the form of an old woman or beautiful young woman. After their guests fall asleep, they transform into their true form and eat their guests. Stories of yamamba encounters have been spread through those lucky enough to escape. Stories of yamamba are often bedtime stories for children to not go near the mountains.[2]
In classic folklore, yamamba typically preys on travelers and merchants such as ox-drivers, horse drivers, and coopers, who often travel between villages and walk through the mountains. They are thought to have widely spread the tales of yamamba.[3]
Yamamba has typically been portrayed in two tales. There are tales where yamamba was a fearful monster that attacks and eats travelers, and tales where yamamba is a benevolent yōkai that gives good fortune to people who were kind to her.[4]
Description20.Yamamba.jpg
English: Yamamba 山姥(やまんば) from Bakemono no e (化物之繪, c. 1700), Harry F. Bruning Collection of Japanese Books and Manuscripts, L. Tom Perry Special Collections, Harold B. Lee Library, Brigham Young University.
de partager – de copier, distribuer et transmettre cette œuvre
d’adapter – de modifier cette œuvre
Sous les conditions suivantes :
paternité – Vous devez donner les informations appropriées concernant l'auteur, fournir un lien vers la licence et indiquer si des modifications ont été faites. Vous pouvez faire cela par tout moyen raisonnable, mais en aucune façon suggérant que l’auteur vous soutient ou approuve l’utilisation que vous en faites.
partage à l’identique – Si vous modifiez, transformez, ou vous basez sur cette œuvre, vous devez distribuer votre contribution sous la même licence ou une licence compatible avec celle de l’original.