Wanyūdō The Soultaker – Fearsome Yōkai In Japanese Mythology

Ellen Lloyd - AncientPages.com - Japanese mythology is full of mysterious and fascinating creatures. One of them is called Wanyūdō and its existence is based on thousand-year-old legends.

In Japanese, Wanyūdō  is one of the most frightening types of Yōkai. According to ancient Japanese beliefs, Yōkai (in Chinese: ‘kanji’, which means “strangeness, mystery, or suspicion”) are weird creatures that dwell in the borderlands and in spaces, which are located “in-between”.

They haunt bridges and tunnels, entranceways, and lurk and disturb at crossroads and thresholds; they are elsewhere, changing their forms and places.

Known as the Firewheel or Soultaker, Wanyūdō is said to haunt residential areas, most notably Kyoto. The creature is so terrifying in its appearance that it can easily give anyone nightmares.

An Ancient legend traces the origin of the Wanyūdō  to a tyrant Daimyo, a powerful feudal Japanese lord. Subordinate only to the Shogun, daimyos were the most powerful feudal rulers from the 10th century to the middle 19th century in Japan.

In Japanese Folklore, the "Wanyudo" is a giant fearsome man’s head trapped within a flaming oxcart wheel. Image left and top right: Matthew Meyer - Image let bottom: artist unknown - fair use

This Daimyo was very evil and he was known for having his victims drawn on the back of an oxcart. Once while touring what is now Kyoto on an ox cart an assassin struck him down.  As punishment for his wrong-doings, he became a condemned soul and a monstrous spirit called a Wanyudo. His life and death are the reason why he today takes the form of a burning oxcart wheel bearing the tormented face of a man.

Encounters With Wanyūdō Are Dangerous

Where Wanyūdō resides when it is not streaking through the night skies and terrorizing people is unknown, but according to some folklore stories, the monster guards the gates of Hell. Wanyūdō is believed to take journeys between this world and the underworld. It frightens people and steals the soul of anyone who comes to close to him. He then takes the stolen soul to Hell.

There are also people who think Wanyūdō lives in the mountains.

It is said that meeting Wanyūdō  is very dangerous. The mere sight of the Soultaker can give a person an intense fever. Wanyūdō can run after its victims, ripping them limb from limb and leaving nothing but a burned and broken husk in the road.

Artist's depiction of Wanyudo, circa 1779

In modern Japan, many people still believe in the existence of Wanyūdō. There is not much one can do to protect people from the dangerous Soultaker, expect to stay indoors.

Yōkai is the common name for a monster, transformed humans and animals, demon, spirit, or goblin. People say they are simply monsters. Their nature varies from benign to mischievous to seriously scary.  Wanyūdō is one of the most fearsome of all the Yōkai.

Written by - Ellen Lloyd – AncientPages.com

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