Surrounding tourist info

Yamashiro-cho is a village in Miyashi city where Youkai legends exist even now.

Stories of Youkai were passed down to warn people away from dangerous places in the mountains and in order to give wisdom on how to protect one’s self, etc. These stories have climbed to number in the 30s.

Every year in November, at the “Youkai Festival”, a variety if Youkai themed events, parades and so forth are hosted.

In May 2008, regional revitalization based on Youkai was approved and it was certified as “Monster Heritage” by the World Yokai Association.

Source:Tokushima Tourism Association “AWA NAVI”

“Yokai House” at the roadside station Oboke was made in 2010 as a facility to introduce the local Yokai tradition.
Once you enter, you see a gigantic Tengu overlooking the visitors from the ceiling at first, followed by a lineup of scary yet charming Youkai dolls such as: Youkai that live on the waterfront; an Enko, which is known to pull out a Shirikodama; a moneylending youkai; a balding raccoon, etc.

These are handmade by locals and express the feeling of love that the local people feel towards Youkai.

Crybaby Geezer (Konaki Jijii) is a famous youkai that appears in “Yokai vocabulary” compiled by folklore scholar Kunio Yanagita and Mr. Shigeru Mizuki’s comic “GeGeGe no Kitaro.” As a matter of fact, it is a Youkai that was handed down from Yamashiro Town in Miyoshi city, in the Kanmyo district.

In 2001, in the Fujikawa Valley, a stone statue of Konaki Jijii was built by local volunteers.
The characters carved onto the pedestal “Konaki Jijii” are written in Mr. Shigeru Mizuki’s handwriting.
The stone monument standing beside the statue is engraved with an explanatory note written in the handwriting of the writer Mr. Natsuhiko Kyogoku.