Kasa-Obake

Karakasa (唐傘^?, "Chinese umbrella"), or Kasa Obake, are a type of Tsukumogami, 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.

Tsukumogami (付喪神 ^?, "ninety-nine of ago spirit") are a type of Japanese spirit. According to the Tsukumogami-emaki, tsukumogami originate from items or artifacts that have reached their 100th birthday and thus become alive and aware. Any object of this age, from swords to toys, can become a tsukumogami. Tsukumogami are considered spirits and supernatural beings, as opposed to enchanted items.

Tsukumogami vary radically in appearance, depending on the type of item they originated from as well as the condition that item was in. Some, such as tsukumogami originating from paper lanterns or broken sandals, can have tears which become eyes and sharp teeth, thus giving a horrifying visage. Others, such as worn prayer beads or teacups, may merely manifest faces and appendages, giving a warm and friendly appearance.

Though by and large tsukumogami are harmless and at most tend to play occasional pranks on unsuspecting victims, as shown in the Otogizōshi they do have the capacity for anger and will band together to take revenge on those who are wasteful or throw them away thoughtlessly. To prevent this, to this day some Jinja ceremonies, such as the Hari Kuyou, are performed to console broken and unusable items.

It is said that modern items cannot become tsukumogami; the reason for this is that tsukumogami are said to be repelled by electricity.^[1] Additionally, few modern items are used for the 100-year-span that it takes for an artifact to gain a soul.

For example, the Bakezori(Straw Sandals), Ittan-Mommen(A One-Tenth hectare of cotton), Karakasa(The umbrella) or the Cochinobake(Lantern).

I am very intrigued by the paranormal! For example, the Tsukumogami.

According to Wikipedia, Tsukumogamis are Objects that become alive after being left alone for 100 years. Exciting, not? It says that they will extract their anger for being left alone by taking revenge after having a life of its own, mainly by scaring or surprising their past owners.

My Favorite Tsukumogami is the Karakasa, or Kasa-Obake. The Karakasa is an umbrella, the ancient Chinese or Japanese one, Made of paper. The paper umbrella is a mystical item.

The Chinese people believe, that if there is a person dying under a paper umbrella, their soul would enter and possess the umbrella, Thus rendering the umbrella haunted.

For me, there is a very old paper umbrella passed down to my family by my Great grandmother. The paper umbrella is said to bring luck, but we musn't touch or disturb the umbrella.

This marks the end of my post! (There may only be 1 reader at max, but thanks for reading!)