Understood by many Western scholars[1] as a type of Japanese yōkai,[2] the Tsukumogami (付喪神) was a concept popular in Japanese folklore as far back as the tenth century,[3] used in the spread of Shingon Buddhism.[4] Today, the term is generally understood to be applied to virtually any object, “that has reached their 100th birthday and thus become alive and self-aware,”[citation needed] though this definition is not without its controversy.[5][6][7]
Tsukumogami are animate household objects. After a service life of nearly one hundred years, utsuwamono or kibutsu (containers, tools, and instruments) receive souls.
Because the term has been applied to several different concepts in Japanese folklore, there remains some confusion as to what the term actually means.[13][14]
Kasa Obake (傘お化け, "umbrella obake"), or Karakasa Obake (唐傘お化け) or Karakasa Kozo (唐傘小僧), are a type of Tsukumogami, a folk legend about a form of Japanese spirit
that originate from objects reaching their 100th year of existence,
thus becoming animate. Karakasa in particular are Spirits of Parasols (umbrellas) that reach the century
milestone. They are typically portrayed with one eye, a long tongue
protruding from an open mouth, and a single foot, generally wearing a geta.
Chōchin Obake (提灯お化け, "paper lantern ghost") are a type of Tsukumogami,[1] "[the]
lantern-spook (chochin obake) ... a stock character in the pantheon of
ghouls and earned mention in the definitive demonology of 1784."[2]
The Chōchin obake in particular was created from a chōchin lantern,[citation needed] composed of "bamboo and paper or silk."[citation needed] They are portrayed with "one eye, and a long tongue protruding from an open mouth."[3]
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