Hey hey, I’m Thersa Matsuura and you’re listening to Uncanny Japan.
Trees. I love trees. You love trees. We all love trees. Let’s talk about trees. But not the normal kind. Although they are plenty great. Let’s look into the supernatural kind, the potentially deadly kind.
For example, have you ever found yourself out walking in a forest? You’re completely alone, but you don’t feel that way. It’s like someone is there watching you. You can’t tell where they are. It seems like they’re everywhere all at once. It’s not a dangerous feeling, more of an ancient powerful primeval presence.
Maybe you hear something, a low reverberating groaning sound or a sudden high-pitched screeching. It’s all a little unnerving. When you turn trying to find out what it is, you might just see a ghostly ball of light flitting about in the distance? Maybe something is here observing you.
Intro and Knights Vs Samurai
My name is Thersa Matsuura and Uncanny Japan is the podcast about mysterious yōkai, fascinating folktales, endearing superstitions and more.
First, exciting news you’re going to absolutely love. Right now, go put on your pants and grab your keys, then head out to your favorite comic book store, and tell them to add David Dastmalchian’s Knights vs. Samurai to your pull list, because the first issue is coming out September 25th.
Meet Sir Charles Ward also known as “The Dragon Butcher” and his diverse and multi talented band of warriors as they head to the far east seeking vengeance on whatever savage monsters ambushed a group of English missionaries. Imagine their surprise when they land on the shore of this faraway country and find a regiment of samurai waiting for them.
I recommend following Good Fiend Official on Instagram for updates and introductions to all the characters that I guarantee you’re going to fall in love with. My personal crush is Sanada Musashi the Tiger Lord who artist Fede Mele depicted divinely. Oh, he brought all the characters to life better than I could have imagined.
All right then. Let’s talk creepy trees. Today I’m going to tell you about a handful of supernatural trees or tree spirits.
Kodama Tree Spirits
Let’s start with the kodama which are spirits or kami that often show up like the ones I just described in the intro.
The thing I first noticed interesting about the kodama was that there are three different versions of their name. In all three the first character “ko” is tree. But the “dama” part can be the kanji “rei” like in yurei, meaning ghost or spirit. Or “tamashi” meaning “soul”. Or the character for fascination or charm. So it’s interesting to pay attention and see how they’re used in different situations.
You might be familiar with the kodama from the Ghibli film Mononoke Hime (Princess Mononoke). Miyazaki Hayao’s vision of the kodama are these freaky ghostly child-like creatures with black gaping eyes and mouthsm, and lopsided-heads that do this wind-up and release thing. Just brilliant. As far as I can tell those are completely original kodama and so well done. Since most of the time these tree spirits are completely invisible.
So that’s the most recent version of these kodama, but let’s go all the way back. Where do they come from? And what exactly are they? Kodama are considered kami (gods or spirits) and you can find a very early version of them mentioned in the Kojiki (712 CE). Here they go by the adorable name kukunochi no kami or spirits of the wood, or tree gods.
Toriyama Sekien’s Kodama
Much later – but still long ago – in 1776 the artist and storyteller Toriyama Sekien drew his interpretation of what these kodama look like. His depiction is in Gazu Hyakki Yagō (Illustrated Demon Horde’s Night Parade). His tree spirits were an elderly man and woman carrying a rake and a broom stepping out of an old tree. The explanation reads something like: “When a tree reaches the age of one hundred years old, it gains a spirit that will allow itself to be seen.”
But kodama aren’t just ethereal or elderly tree spirits bopping around without a purpose. No, their wish is for a healthy, peaceful, thriving forest and their job is to try and protect it.
One way they can do this is by appearing in someone’s dreams. And by someone, I mean a lumberjack or anyone who is in a position to cut down a good number of trees or better yet, prevent it. When the tree spirits show up in a dream they take the form of a person and warn the dreamer to stop their attacks on the forest. If the message is heeded, all’s good. If ignored, the tree spirit can turn wrathful and resort to other means. That’s a nice chainsaw. It would be a shame if something happened to it.
Another interesting tidbit about the kodama is that they are not stuck to one tree. They can get up and move about, completely unseen, as a ball of light, as a strange sound, or even as some forest animal. So this is what you feel when you’re in a forest and get goosebumps and feel you’re being watched.
Kodama are generally benign and protective, but don’t you mess with their trees or their forest. They can make bad things happen.
Next let’s talk about a more testy tree spirit or yokai. Much more dangerous, too.
Bloodthirsty Jubokko or Jumokko
That’s the jumokko or jubokko (樹木子), two characters for tree and child. Tree child. This particular tree is found on sites where great battles once were fought. All the blood spilled on the ground soaked into the tree’s roots and caused it to change, becoming a kind of yokai that now craves blood. If you’re unfortunate enough to walk near one, it will snatch you up with its limbs, send a small tube into your body and suck your blood. By doing this the tree remains fresh and alive for many years. I’m assuming tossing your deflated husk aside.
Hey, remember Mizuki Shigeru? The manga artist who brought us Gegege no Kitaro? Well, he wrote about and drew hundreds of yokai. Some we already knew about, some were little known creatures from all over Japan that he brought back into the light, and some he completely invented himself. For a long time it was believed the Jubboko or Jumokko was one of his originals. But an old article dated 1966 was found written by a man named Morihiro Saito. The title of the article was: “Special feature – anata no soba in iru, nihon no youkai. Right beside you, Japanese yōkai” and in it talked about this bloodthirsty cursed tree. So another example of Mizuki-sensei keeping old folktales alive. So to speak.
Tabu no Ki on the Battlefields
Next there’s the tabu no ki, which is an evergreen also called a Japanese Bay Tree. It is scentless and its powdered bark is used for making incense because it absorbs other fragrances and burns well.
This particular tree in question is (or) was in Shiga Prefecture where some history happened. Nearby is the Sawayama Castle, is where Ishida Mitsunari retreated after being beaten by Tokugawa Ieyasu in the Battle of Sekigahara. Only running away wasn’t going to save ol Ishida Mistunari. Tokugawa’s forces followed, captured him and executed him. They also burned the castle down. Lots of bloodshed.
At a nearby temple, there stood a several hundred year old tabu no ki. Sometime after this epic battle, the tree started acting funny. And by acting funny, I mean at night it would turn into a lovely young lady (called a Kimusume, tree daughter) and play tricks on visitors to the shrine. There is also the legend of a small pond in the corner of a cemetery where flowed the blood of many people killed when Sawayama Castle fell. For years at dusk if you gazed into the water you’d see the bloody face of a woman staring back at you.
As for the tree that liked surprising people by appearing as a young woman, it seems the head abbott of the temple heard about this mischief and with much praying and chanting put an end to those shenanigans.
Tsubaki no Rei or Camellia Spirits
Speaking of shenanigans, watch out for camellia trees, especially old ones. Even Toriyama Sekien warned people in his second book of supernatural creatures: Konjaku Gazu Zoku Hyakki. He called them called Furu Tsubaki no Rei. The spirits of old Camellia trees.
So it goes that spirits reside in these old trees, appearing as beautiful women, but with ill intent. Well, mostly they bewitch their victims then scare them away when they get too close. Although sometimes they’ll disappear a person. Poof.
They can be found in different areas of Japan with their legends varying depending on the place.
In Yamagata prefecture there was one called the Camellia Woman. The story goes that two merchants were walking when suddenly a woman appeared beside one of them. She blew on him and he turned into a bee. The woman vanished into a gorgeous camellia tree. The bee suddenly took notice of the flowers and flew over and landed in one. The flower dropped to the ground with a thump and the second merchants picked it up. Alas, his friend – now a bee – was dead.
He took his dead bee friend to a temple and told the story. That explains a lot, said the monk. Travelers have been disappearing right and left along that pass. Prayers were prayed, chants chanted and the bee merchant along with his flower were buried together.
Before I let you go, let me tell you about the camellia flower. It used to be a very auspicious flower, even sacred back in the Heian Era. That lasted for hundreds of years, even into the Edo Era when feudal lords and samurai and high running hatamoto used to collect them. Camellia flowers were thought to ward off evil and were even mentioned in the Tale of Genji where there was a scene about eating camellia mochi to get rid of impurity.
The meaning of the flower was eternal beauty and impeccable charm. Remember when I talked about the very lucky trio, shochikubai (pine, bamboo, plum) in Episode 138. Well, BEFORE the plum entered the picture it was shochiku tsubaki. With tsubaki being camellia.
Camellia’s Bad Luck?
But then, some observant person noticed the way the tree drops its flowers. They don’t just shrivel and float down petals, but instead while still quite hefty, the bloom falls completely off and lands with an audible sound. Thunk. Which reminded someone somewhere of a head being lopped off. The camellia then became associated with beheading, and all those samurai started thinking twice about having them in their gardens. For this reason, you definitely shouldn’t give camellias to anyone who is sick or in a hospital. Not so much the doctor is going to come in with a katana, but the whole portending death thing isn’t very nice.
That said, they are beautiful and helpful. These days you can buy camellia oil that is supposed to be really good for your hair, scalp, and skin. It doesn’t really have an odor though. If you want a nice fragrance with your camellia, then you can get the shampoo here called Tsubaki that smells really nice.
And I’ll leave you with an interesting thing I read about the camellia plant, just a single line I read several times in Japanese with no explanation and that is: Camellia’s want to talk to the dead.
There you go! Thank you for listening, thank you patrons for supporting the show and making it possible. You’re the best!
Everyone stay safe and well, have an awesome two weeks until I talk to you again.
Bye bye.
