Minowaraji or Minosoji is one of Japanese yokai (ghosts, spirits and monsters) which is portrayed in Sekien Toriyama’s yokai art collection book, “Gazu Hyakki Tsurezure Bukuro”. In the portrayal, the Minowaraji has a straw raincoat as its torso and straw sandals (“waraji”) as its legs. Some people insist that Sekien created it for fun, while others believe that it was a tsukumo-gami (a type of Japanese spirits that originate in items or artifacts that have reached their 100th birthday and become alive) transmuted from an old straw raincoat and straw sandals which had been possessed by the grudge of farmers upon whom heavy taxes had been imposed at prolonged poor harvest time. Since both straw raincoats and straw sandals were something to wear, they were considered to be possessed by the owner’s unconscious feelings and thoughts.
Description Minowaraji or Minosoji is one of Japanese yokai (ghosts, spirits and monsters) which is portrayed in Sekien Toriyama’s yokai art collection book, “Gazu Hyakki Tsurezure Bukuro”. In the portrayal, the Minowaraji has a straw raincoat as its torso and straw sandals (“waraji”) as its legs. Some people insist that Sekien created it for fun, while others believe that it was a tsukumo-gami (a type of Japanese spirits that originate in items or artifacts that have reached their 100th birthday and become alive) transmuted from an old straw raincoat and straw sandals which had been possessed by the grudge of farmers upon whom heavy taxes had been imposed at prolonged poor harvest time. Since both straw raincoats and straw sandals were something to wear, they were considered to be possessed by the owner’s unconscious feelings and thoughts.
