Uwan (Iwate)

Uwan is a voice-yokai of old houses, abandoned dwellings, and dark mountain roads, that suddenly utters a loud "uwan" to startle passers-by. The figure is said to show no body, or to be invisible. Toriyama Sekien's Gazu Hyakki Yagyo, "in" volume (1776), figures the yokai at the doorway of an old house with mouth wide open; the inscription gives only a brief gloss as a startler at old doorways. A later folklore overlay holds that one who answers "uwan" in return is spared, while one who does not has their soul taken. Cases are recorded in the modern folklore of Tono and the Kamihei district of Iwate, where night travellers on mountain paths report hearing "uwan." Murakami Kenji's Nihon Yokai Daijiten (Kadokawa, 2005) and the Nichibunken database collect cases. Adjacent voice and reply-yokai of the Tohoku mountains include Nobusuma and Yamabiko.