Wanyūdō is a yōkai depicted in Toriyama Sekien’s collection of yōkai illustrations, Konjaku Gazu Zoku Hyakki. He is a relatively well-known yōkai; the earliest reports of him date back to the Heian period. Wanyūdō takes the form of a burning ox cart wheel bearing the tormented face of a man. Various folklore purports him as the condemned soul of a tyrannical daimyō who, in life, was known for having his victims drawn on the back of an ox cart. He is said to guard the gates of Hell, and to wander back and forth along the road between this world and the underworld, scaring townsfolk as he passes and stealing the souls of anyone who gets too close in order to bring them to Hell with him.
Alias Wanyūdō (輪入道)
Real Names/Alt Names “Wheel monk”, “Firewheel”, “Soultaker”
Description Wanyūdō is a yōkai depicted in Toriyama Sekien’s collection of yōkai illustrations, Konjaku Gazu Zoku Hyakki. He is a relatively well-known yōkai; the earliest reports of him date back to the Heian period. Wanyūdō takes the form of a burning ox cart wheel bearing the tormented face of a man. Various folklore purports him as the condemned soul of a tyrannical daimyō who, in life, was known for having his victims drawn on the back of an ox cart. He is said to guard the gates of Hell, and to wander back and forth along the road between this world and the underworld, scaring townsfolk as he passes and stealing the souls of anyone who gets too close in order to bring them to Hell with him.
