Akateko (folklore)

An akateko (赤手児, lit. "red handed child") is a yōkai, or Japanese monster, from the folklore of Aomori prefecture, specifically in the city of Hachinohe.^[1][2] The monster is also a legend local to Kagawa and Fukushima prefectures.^[1]

The monster is described as the red hand of a small child descending from a tree. It is accompanied by the spectre of a young woman at the base of the tree whose beauty lulls unsuspecting passerby into a trance or fever state.^[1] In Kagawa and Fukushima prefectures, the spirit will travel in pairs, resembling moving feet or legs.^[3]

References

1. Kizen Sasaki (2007). Tōno no Zashiki-warashi to Oshirasama. Chūkō. Chuokoron-Shinsha. p. 71. ISBN 978-4-12-204892-8.
2. Kenji Murakami, ed. (2000). Yōkai Jiten. Mainichi Shinbunsha. p. 7. ISBN 978-4-620-31428-0.
3. Hencho, Konno Ensuke (1981). Nihon kaidanshū : yōkai hen (Shohan. ed.). Tōkyō: Shakai Shisōsha. ISBN 978-4-390-11055-6.