Uwan

No origin story for the uwan is provided in the Edo-period visual sources that first depict it. The figure appears in yōkai compendia (e.g., Sawaki Suushi's Hyakkai Zukan and Sekien Toriyama's Gazu Hyakki Yagyō) without accompanying explanatory text, so its genesis within classical myth or a theogonic role is not attested. Modern commentators have proposed hypotheses based on visual signifiers — for example, the depiction of blackened teeth (ohaguro) has been read as linking the figure iconographically to social markers of kuge/buke or as a stylized grotesque trait, and the three-fingered hands echo broader oni iconography — but these remain interpretive and are not canonical origin narratives. Later 20th-century and popular sources (including a Tōhoku kaidan retold in Norio Yamada's Tōhoku Kaidan no Tabi and summaries in children's yōkai books) introduce domestic tales and behavioral attributions, though these additions lack primary-source corroboration and are therefore speculative.

In Edo-period illustrated records the uwan appears as a grotesque humanoid with blackened teeth and exaggerated facial features, shown vocally menacing — often with mouth open as if shouting — and gesturing with both hands. Illustrations depict three fingers per hand, a trait commentators note as resonant with oni portrayals. Some images (and later interpretation of Sekien's painting) place the figure emerging from walls or associated with deserted residences. No consistent textual description accompanies these images; what we know of the uwan's look derives mainly from visual depictions in yōkai scrolls and books.

The clearest attested trait in the sources is a loud, startling vocalization transcribed as "uwan!" — the entity is named onomatopoetically for this cry and is described in later summaries as producing audible harassment. Beyond the image-based implication of an alarming shout, later secondary and popular sources ascribe additional behaviors: selective audibility (only certain occupants hearing the cry), appearances near temples or roadsides, and the ability to startle victims potentially to fatal effect. These latter claims originate in modern retellings and children's folklore compilations and lack primary-source documentation; they should be treated as speculative additions rather than established powers in the Edo-period record.