No cosmogonic or origin narrative is recorded in the cited sources; the shidaidaka appears in local oral tradition across multiple Chūgoku prefectures and is presented in those sources as a localized roadside yōkai and as a member of the mikoshi-nyūdō family.
Reported as a humanoid yōkai whose principal and consistently recorded attribute is variable apparent height: it grows when seen from below or when observers look upward, and becomes shorter when looked downward. The sources classify it as a type of mikoshi-nyūdō, but specific mikoshi-nyūdō physical traits (e.g., bald head, extending neck) are not directly described for the shidaidaka in the provided materials (marked as uncertain in the sources).
Primary behavior is perception-dependent change in apparent stature: looking up causes it to grow taller; looking down causes it to shrink and disappear. Regional narratives add variant behaviors: in a Hazumi folktale hunters are advised to reserve a last bullet in case a shidaidaka appears (narrative tactic to kill it), and in a Matsukawa account a shidaidaka is said to be the boss or true form of a nekomata. The sources treat these latter points as local tale variants rather than universal attributes.
Weaknesses
- conditionObserver looks downward
- otherDependence on observer's gaze (does not grow when not looked up at)
- otherNarrative-specific: vulnerability to being shot (Hazumi hunting tale)
Wards
- conditionDo not look up
- conditionLook progressively downward until it becomes smaller and disappears
- conditionLocal injunction (Sakurae): do not look at it from beneath one's thighs
- otherNarrative-specific protective tactic: reserve a last bullet when hunting (Hazumi tale)
5 Ronin
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Abumi-guchi
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Abura-akago
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Abura-sumashi
A yōkai spirit from the Amakusa region of Kumamoto Prefecture, Japan, said to inhabit mountain passes. Traditionally explained as the ghost of a person who stole oil, it appears to surprise travelers and is represented in modern media with a straw-coat body and a potato- or stone-like head.
Aburabō / Abura-bōzu / Aosaginohi (traditions)
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Acala
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Agaru
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Ajisukitakahikone
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Aka Manto
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Akaname
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Akashaguma
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Akashita
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Community Record
- [1]Shidaidaka (Wikipedia). Wikipedia: Shidaidaka (summary and local variant quotations)wiki
- [2]Mikoshi-nyūdō (Wikipedia). Wikipedia: Mikoshi-nyūdō (comparative classification and family traits)wiki
- [3]Wikidata entry: Shidaidaka. Wikidata: Shidaidaka (region classification)wiki
- [4]Japanese Legendary Creatures - Naming Schemes. Ancillary web listing citing regional yōkai traditions (contextual mention)other
- [5]Omamori - Takanyudo monster legends (blog). Contextual folkloric material on mikoshi-nyūdō family (used for comparative context only)other