Chillingly charming: West Japan town’s newest monster bench features grandma ‘yokai’

FUKUSAKI, Hyogo — A traditional “yokai” monster in the form of an old woman with large wrinkled hands and goggling eyes is the newest addition to a list of benches in this western Japan town using the folklore creatures for revitalization.

The 22nd bench of its kind features “Sunakake-ba,” literally meaning “sand-throwing hag.” While horrifying, there is also something endearing about the monster, which is described as an old woman who “sprinkles sand to frighten people who walk under the shade of a lonely forest in a shrine” in the book “Yokai Dangi” written by Kunio Yanagita, a folklorist from the town of Fukusaki, Hyogo Prefecture.

The bench was installed in front of the Fukusaki branch of Tanyo Shinkin Bank across from the town hall. The “old woman,” measuring about 70 centimeters tall, sits cross-legged on a 1.8-meter-long bench, and wind constantly blows from her puckered lips. There is an element of playfulness to it, such as the heart-shaped fingers and eyes, and spots on her skin in the shape of animals featured in the Chinese zodiac signs.

A town official told the Mainichi Shimbun, “We hope people will see it as a happy way to grow old.”

The entire cost of construction of around 2.5 million yen (roughly $17,000) was covered by a donation from Tanyo Shinkin Bank through the corporate version of the “hometown tax” program offering return gifts for contributions.

(Japanese original by Nobuya Muramoto, Himeji Bureau)