Konaki-jiji (子泣き爺)
Konaki-jiji (子泣き爺) is an old-man yokai from the mountains of Tokushima Prefecture. It cries like an abandoned baby and lures compassionate travelers close.
When someone picks it up, the creature becomes heavier and heavier—eventually weighing like a massive stone and crushing the person beneath it.
Its name means “the old man who cries like a child.”
What Is Konaki-jiji?
- The best-known tradition comes from the former Miyoshi District, around present-day Yamashiro in Miyoshi City, Tokushima.
- A baby’s cry is heard deep in the mountains. A traveler approaches, expecting to find an abandoned child, but discovers a small old man wearing a straw rain cape.
- The danger begins only after the traveler decides to help.
- Konaki-jiji uses sympathy as a trap. The legend transforms a difficult question—whether to follow a cry for help in an isolated mountain—into a supernatural encounter.
Appearance
- a small old man wearing a straw cape
- a voice like a crying infant
- often shown with a bib in Shigeru Mizuki’s artwork
- may combine the features of an old man and a baby
The essential traits are not its face or clothing, but its cry and supernatural weight. It does not openly threaten people. It first appears to need protection.
Abilities and Behavior
- Crying to attract people:
It imitates the sound of an abandoned baby. - Clinging to the rescuer:
Once lifted, it refuses to let go. - Increasing its weight:
It begins at a manageable weight, then becomes as heavy as rock. - Crushing the victim:
The traveler is eventually pinned down or killed.
The Tokushima Legend
- A person heard a baby crying in the mountains and went to investigate.
- Instead of a child, he found an old man in a straw cape. When he picked the figure up, it grew steadily heavier until it crushed him.
- Some related “growing weight” stories end differently: a person who withstands the burden may receive great strength or treasure. This rewarding conclusion, however, is not universal to every Konaki-jiji account.
Yokai Related to Konaki-jiji
- Obariyon (おばりよん):
A yokai from Niigata that jumps onto a person’s back and becomes increasingly heavy. It is the closest parallel in its use of supernatural weight. - Ubume (産女):
A female apparition associated with asking travelers to hold a baby. The background is different, but both stories use compassion for an infant to draw a person into danger.
Konaki-jiji in Global Pop Culture
In Shigeru Mizuki’s *Kitaro* series, which has received official English editions, Konaki-jiji becomes one of Kitaro’s regular allies.
He grabs an enemy and increases his own weight to immobilize it. The adaptation reverses the original threat: an ability that once crushed travelers is now used to protect his companions. He is often paired with Sunakake-babaa (砂かけ婆).
Early record:
Kunio Yanagita’s “Yokai Meii” introduced a being called Konaki-jiji from the mountain villages of Awa in 1938. Regional research by folklorist Akira Takeda also helped preserve the Tokushima tradition.
What Konaki-jiji Represents
- Konaki-jiji (子泣き爺) turns human kindness into a source of danger.
- A crying child should be helped, but a voice in an isolated mountain cannot easily be identified. The traveler must choose between compassion and caution.
- The yokai gives that anxiety physical form as a burden that becomes heavier the longer it is held.
