Now, it kind of goes without saying--but we’ve
laid this message on quite heavily over several other video series. When it comes to horror, be it cinematic or
in the legendary mythologies of folklore and religion--the Mystical and Magical Place known
only as Japan--does thinks quite a bit differently. And by differently--I mean eat your own fist,
this stuff is way to scary and how the hell did they come up with this kind of different. Yeah. It goes without saying, but the legendary
Yokai of Japanese Folklore are a different breed entirely, and thankfully for us--they’re
horrifying canon makes for some equally terrifying tales. So, we better take a look. Hello horror fans, what’s going on, and
once again welcome back to the scariest channel on YouTube--Top 5 Scary Videos. As per usual, I’ll be your horror host Jack
Finch--as today, we curiously take a look at the Top 5 Scariest Japanese Yokai From
Folklore. Roll the clip. For the curious amongst you, that scene was
from 2007’s Carved--based upon the Japanese Urban Legend Kuchisake-onna--or The Slit Mouthed
Woman--which, as you may imagine is quite the fitting visual to set the scene for this
particular scary video. But--as we will be discovering throughout
this list, in the terrifying mysticism of Japan--urban legend and the age old yokai
are two very different things. And the latter, is far--far more terrifying. I guess we better take a look, right? Kicking off at Number 5 - The Kasha And if you’re fond of cats--which, come
on--cats are awesome--then this particular Yokai of legend may make you think twice about
our furry bundles of friendship and dispondense. In fact, cat’s in Japanese Folklore are
incredibly important creatures, and it is believed that as a cat ages--and it’s tail
grows longer, it develops latent magical powers--often turning into helpful entities, or in some
cases--vile, demonic entities. Let me introduce you to The Kasha--a particular
type of monster cat, taking the formation of large, bipedal felines that eventually
grow even larger than a human. The Kasha are often accompanied by streaks
of hellish flames, or bundles of charged lightning--appearing late at night during rainy or stormy weather--which
has earned them the bizarre cultural name, the Kasha--which translates loosely to Fire
Cart. And believe me, their namesake is just the
beginning of the strange, unnerving presence of the Kasha. Being bake-neko, or monster cats--the Kasha
live freely amongst humans, disguising themselves as ordinary house cats, or strays. However--there is one cultural procession
that causes the Kasha to lose all sense of its disguise--revealing their true forms during
funeral services, where the Kasha will leap down from rooftops, snatching corpses straight
out of their coffins to feast upon--carrying the deceased bodies away into the night, never
to be seen again. The Kasha are considered messengers, or servants
of hell--where they are tasked with collecting the corpses of particularly wicked humans,
spiriting them away to the infernal depths for a lifetime of punishment. In some cases though, the Kasha becoming so
addicted to feasting upon corpses--that they operate solely for their own needs, stealing
corpses for their own uses--re-animating them like some strange, feline necromancer with
an army of shambling corpses. Yeah… The Kasha don’t exactly make the best of
pets. Swinging in at Number 4 -- Mikoshi Nyudo And if you’re ever strolling through rural
Japan, on a particularly quite road--you better hope to high heaven that you don’t run into
this particularly terrifying monstrosity. Mikoshi Nyudo--which literally translates
to anticipating priest, is one of the most fearsome yokai in Japanese Folklore, who often
appear to lone travellers on empty streets--or at intersections, lonely bridges--and often
late at night. They appear to lone travellers as harmless,
traveling priests--kindly old men or monks--of an average height, no taller than an ordinary
person. However, if you don’t perfectly anticipate
the Nyudo’s tricks--they can instantly become abnormally tall, often their necks growing
to a massive size--revealing their long claws and hair like a wild beast--where they’ll
lunge forward and bite their victims throat out with their teeth. In fact, this particular Yokai is so oddly
specific, that the true fear of it comes from not understanding Japanese customs--by failing
to understand how to defeat this strange, monstrous priest. You see, the only possible escape from the
anticipating priest--is to do exactly that, anticipate it--and before it can grow to it’s
true size--you have to meet it face to face, eye to eye--showing no ounce of fear. Then you look from it’s head--back down
to its feet, and if this process is done correctly, the priest will be fully anticipated--causing
its power to grow to it’s gigantic size to be sapped, where it is then said to vanish
in anger, leaving the traveler to pass safely--and obviously, your throat safe and sound and
not bitten out by a giant old man. I mean--that’s a good trick to know, right? Obviously, this yokai originated from the
necessity to look where you’re going when travelling through the countryside--which
is an important one, really--because, you’ll never know who or what you’ll bump into. Hopefully, it’s not the Mikoshi Nyudo. Next up at Number 3 - Yuki Onna Which makes up one of the many Onna of Japanese
Yokai--women who personify the magical properties of nature and the power of the elements, whilst
also personifying the malevolence of perturbed spirits that seek vengeance on the living. Yuki Onna, is perhaps the most deadly of them
all. The Snow Woman--that lives deep in mountain
passes, appearing anywhere that there is heavy and dense snowfall. The Yuki Onna prey on travellers that are
lost in the heavy snowstorms that often blanket the Japanese Alps during the dark heart of
winter. Without a doubt, the Yuki Onna possesses an
otherworldly beauty--with long, black hair--and piercing eyes colored in a deep violet. Their skin is ageless--as smooth as porcelain
and as white as snow. Her body is as cold as ice--and just a mere
touch, or the brush of hand is enough to give a passerby a deep, unshakeable chill. The Yuki Onna feeds solely on human life force--often
sucking it from their mouths, and breathing it into her with an icy breath that then freezes
her victims solid, encasing them in a tomb of ice. There are many, many tales of the Yuki Onna
taking the lifeforce of her victims out in the snowy mountain regions of Japan--but perhaps
the most bizarre instance, is that the Yuki Onna sometimes fall in love with their intended
pray, letting them go free--and then taking them as their husbands. In some cases, as supernatural beings that
never age--their husbands usually wisen up to the fact that they’ve unwittingly married
an Ice Queen--where upon discovery, the Yuki Onna will go on a rage-fuelled rampage, and
break into the homes of all their neighbouring villagers--flash freezing every single soul
in sight, leaving the village forever encased in an icy tomb. Yeah. You can’t really win with this one. Coming in at Number 2 - Kuro Bouzu And this one is pretty damn vile. And by function alone--the Kuro Bouzu is perhaps
one of the most terrifying Yokai in the whole of Japanese Folklore--and there’s not much
that you can do to combat it, either. Literally translating to black-monk, a Kuro
Bouzu is a dark, shadowy yokai of pure dark energy, that roughly resembles a bald-headed
Buddhist monk. However, those that glimpse the Kuro Bouzu,
often find it’s appearance to be vague--and difficult to describe or make out. It’s entire body is black, and it wears
black robes made of pure shadow. It’s face resembles that of a wild beast,
with pointed teeth and thin slits for eyes. And here’s the worst part--the Kuro Bouzu
has a long, putrid tongue--that it uses to lick it’s victims in a process that slowly
poisons them whilst they sleep, often over a period of days and weeks of repeated visits. And once it’s latched on to you, there’s
not a lot that you can do about it. The Kuro Bouzu haunt built up areas such as
cities and towns--and thrive where there are humans. They only ever come at night--sneaking into
houses whilst everyone inside sleeps, although they’re smelt before they’re ever seen. A Kuro Bouzu reeks of rotting fish and vile
garbage--and they exist solely to creep up to their victims, which are primarily women,
whilst they sleep--where they then suck out their victims breath from their mouths, sliding
their putrid tongues into their mouths--ears--and over their faces. Yeah. Exactly. I told you this one was vile. It is believed that the Kuro Bouzu didn’t
appear in folklore until the late Meiji Period--which ran from 1868 until 1912--and the origin of
it’s inception as a Yokai, was thought to be based upon a homogeneity of other, more
ancient Yokai--that had adapted and morphed their appearance to a more modern depiction. If that’s the case--the Kuro Bouzu is much
weirder than it lets on--and that’s without the whole face-licking thing, and the function
of it’s malevolent motives remain a bizarre cultural mystery. And finally--coming in at our Number 1 spot--The
Oni And we can’t really do this list without
sticking these horrifying entities right at our Number 1 top spot, because without the
terrifying Oni--Japanese Folklore may have turned out to be a completely different kettle
of fish. Demonic fish, of course--because come on,
this is the Yokai. Whilst there are many different versions of
The Oni--many of which could find their own place on this list--the entire race of iconic
demon men are without a doubt the ultimate villains of Japanese Folklore and Mythology--pitting
themselves eternally against the forces of mankind. In fact, originally, all of the spirits, ghosts
and monsters of the Yokai were referred to as Oni--where the root of its name, means
hidden or concealed--written alongside the Chinese character for ghost. Gradually though, as the canon of Yokai Folklore
expanded--the Oni were reserved only for the Male Demons that are born after truly wicked
humans die. The Oni are created when an evil human soul
ends up in one of the many Buddhist Hells--where they transform into the Oni, ogreish and brutal
servants of the Great Lord Enma--ruler of the infernal underworld. Now, unlike the familiar demons of Abrahamic
Mythology--the Oni that are more wicked than their other evil brethren, are bound to remain
on Earth to terrorize the living. This is where the Oni of legend take their
many different forms, as the fact of the matter remains that no two Oni are the same. Although, that’s not to say that they don’t
have their familiarities. The Oni have crimson red, or dark blue skin--wild,
beast-like hair--at least two horns, and fang-like tusks that protrude from their jaws. The Oni were loincloths made from the pelts
of great beasts that they’ve feasted upon--as these demons are extremely strong and capable
hunters--and in many cases, the Oni that remain on Earth are incredibly powerful sorcerers. Perhaps the most famous of all Oni is Shuten-douji,
the Demon Lord that was killed by the brave hero, Minamoto Raiko. During his reign, Shuten-douji was said to
be responsible for thousands upon thousands of abductions, capturing young girls and keeping
them captive in his Mountain Lair. Here, as the Oni Lord entertained his Demonic
Brethren, they would feast upon the slaughtered victims--eating their flesh in massive banquets,
and drinking their blood like wine. Yeah. There’s a lot to it, but as far as the Yokai
are concerned--they don’t get much more evil than The Oni. Well, there we have it folks--our list for
the Top 5 Scariest Japanese Yokai From Folklore. What did you guys think? Do you agree? Disagree? Have any more to add to this list? Then let us know your thoughts down in the
comment section below. Before we depart from today’s video though,
let’s first take a quick look at some of your more creative comments from over the
past few days. The Immortal Super Being says -- At the end of this, Jack Finch is going to
be a Monster. THE FINCHER. -- Ehhhh. The Fincher doesn’t sound all that scary
though, right? I just sound like some kind of accomplished
director. What about The Bloody Fincher. Or The Swamp Fincher. Yeah. Something like that, what do you guys think? Well, on that monstrous note--unfortunately,
that’s all we’ve got time for in today's video. Cheers for sticking around all the way until
the end. If you were a fan of this video, or just Top
5 Scary Videos in general--then please, be a dear and hit that thumbs up button, as well
as that subscribe bell, and we’ll be seeing you in the next one.
