The Hyōsube is a Japanese yōkai with origins from Saga Prefecture and the Miyazaki Prefecture.
They say it is a cousin, or sometimes, a companion of another water yokai called Kappa, but crueler
and more savage and harmful.
They dwell in underwater caves and rivers, found mostly in the southern and western parts
of Japan.
They love to eat eggplants, thus, there was a tradition of putting a spear through a fresh
eggplant and setting it upright on a field to offer to the Hyōsube.
These creatures also like to come out at night to cause mischief and strange ailments.
According to legends, the Hyōsube are short, with bald heads, long sharp claws, and a mouth
full of sharp ugly teeth, which are prominently visible, owing to the malicious smile they
usually wear.
They have an extremely hairy appearance, their bodies are covered with hair so thick it builds
up dirt, grease and stench, and constantly sheds wherever they go.
It is said that they got their name from the "hyou hyou" sounds they cry out when going
back and forth along streams.
At night, the Hyōsube would sneak into private residences, most especially bathrooms, and
soak itself in the bath, the bathtub would then be covered with greasy smelly hair floating
on top.
Once they are done using the bathtubs, they leave them smelly and covered in greasy hair.
if a hyōsube likes a certain bathtub, it will often return every night, leaving a great
deal of body hair and a horrible stench to be found every morning.
Legends say that whatever living thing the hyosube's hair touches , will instantly die.
There is a story of a man, whose bathroom was ravaged and messed up by a hyosube.
When the man returned the next morning, he drained the tub, but some hyōsube hairs dumped
from the bathtub landed on his nearby horse, and the animal instantly dropped dead.
The legends also claim that whoever sees a Hyōsube, would be afflicted with a strange
fever of unknown cause.
This fever would even spread to the other people the victim comes in contact with, and
the victim would die before 2 days expire.
there is a story about a woman who accidentally stumbled upon a Hyōsube ravaging her eggplant
field, the woman was struck with an illness that caused her entire body to turn purple,
and she died the next morning.
In addition, a person who hears a hyōsube laugh, and then laughs himself, will be struck
with a sudden fever and die within hours.
Literature tells, that upon encountering with someone, the Hyōsube would laugh...hee hee
hee
And if that other person also laughs from this, they would get a fever and die.
Hyōsube are occasionally honored at local Shinto shrines.
Farmers living in areas inhabited by hyōsube often leave offerings of the first eggplants
harvested in hopes that the hyōsube will spare their fields for the rest of the year.
Those who do not leave offerings might find their fields and crops destroyed by the monster.