Is Yuki-onna the Most Terrifying Snow Monster?
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- Опубликовано: 8 фев 2023
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Yuki-Onna, the icy snow maiden of Japanese lore, might steal your heart, or your life. This harsh winter monster is beautiful and dangerous, the incarnation of winter storms.
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We would like to sincerely thank Hiroko Yoda for her expertise and time. If you want to learn more about her work with yōkai, visit her website AltJapan.com and check out her latest book Yokai Attack! The Japanese Monster Survival Guide.
Written and Hosted by: Dr. Emily Zarka
Director: David Schulte
Executive Producer: Amanda Fox
Producer: Thomas Fernandes
Editor/Animator: P.W. Shelton
Assistant Editor/Animator: Jordyn Buckland
Illustrator: Samuel Allan
Executive in Charge (PBS): Maribel Lopez
Director of Programming (PBS): Gabrielle Ewing
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Music: APM Music
Descriptive Audio & Captions provided by The Described and Captioned Media Program
Produced by Spotzen for PBS Digital Studios.
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Bibliography
Bane, Theresa. Encyclopedia of Demons in World Religions and Cultures. Macfarland, 2014.
Chikamatsu, Monzaemon. Major Plays of Chikamatsu. Translated by Donald Keene. Columbia University Press, 1990.
Foster, Michael Dylan. The Book of Yokai: Mysterious Creatures of Japanese Folklore, University of California Press, 2015.
Komura, Toshiaki. "Translations and Transformations of Snow Women as Exiles: Lafcadio Hearn's 'Yuki-Onna' and Anne Sexton's 'Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.'" (2014): 1-30.
McNulty, Anne, and Sato, Eriko. Japanese Stories for Language Learners: Bilingual Stories in Japanese and English. Tuttle Publishing, 2018.
Papp, Zília. Traditional Monster Imagery in Manga, Anime and Japanese Cinema. Brill, 2010.
The Far East. J. N. Penlington, 1921.
What I love about this series is that you do not claim to be the expert on every culture's creatures. Y'all bring in outside sources, native researchers and writers and let them speak for themselves. I appreciate that.
Right!? Does such wonders for their credibility as well as helps assert that these stories are still alive and told to this day.
I also love how Dr Z also doesn't take herself too seriously by showing her. Goofs at the end of each video in a blooper reel. 🤪😬😖🤣
It really shows the respect for other people's works.
The implications of this comment are unsettling, it implies that no matter how long a "non-native" person studies a culture, their birthplace makes them inferior. The results of this belief have not been pretty...
@@killgriffinnow I don't think so. As someone who works in academia and specializing in mythology it is, I find extremely helpful to get a native's point of view on a myth or a a monster because they grew up or study it themselves.
In Pokemon Legends Arceus, there's a side quest where you're tasked with finding the remnants of a diary from an old abandoned village in the snowy area. After finding all of the pages of the diary, you read a story about how when lost in a blizzard, a man saw a beautiful woman in a blizzard and went searching for her. When you finish reading the diary, a Froslass appears, attacks you, and takes the diary, alluding that the froslass was the beautiful woman the man was searching for in the blizzard. A lot of pokemon are based on myths, legends, and yokai, but Froslass has always been a standout among them
Yes, the Froslass who marries a human... Could the two Snorunts nearby be her children?
Well froslass is based on the Yuki-onna
Yes wii get it
Snow is personified as seductive in many cultures, which makes sense given that to resist being dangerously cold is painful, but the moment one gives in, one feels warm and drowsy and contented. Surrender is very tempting, albeit often fatal.
The white dress, long black hair, and sometimes carrying a baby reminds me of Mohini in Sri Lanka. Some say she's a demon while some say a ghost. I would love to see a future episode on Mohini someday!
I'm intrigued! I would also like this episode now :)
also Pontianak, Kuntilanak from South East Asia folklore...
@@SummerTokyoNeko Pontianak got an episode already.
Mohini in white dress....never heard of it
Also makes me think of Frau Holle/Frau Perchta in Central Europe
I love how a lot of the Japanese Monstrum entries usually have a "There's Pokemon for that" part at some point.
pocket yokai
Because a lot of pokemon are based off popular yokai
Yep froslass, Mawile, and vulpix to name a few
@@jamesonweimann4720 Don't forget Golduck and Shiftry, who are based off of the kappa and the tengu, respectively.
Monstrum is truly one of my favorite series on RUclips!! Thanks so much for researching and producing these, they're fascinating!
Glad you enjoy them!
@@pbsstoriedyuki onna : Japan winter village snow woman vengful spirit long black hair freezing icy breath victims men not eye
@@pbsstoried I hope you will do a episode on the Slasher. That has be one of the most iconic movie monster since the 1970s.
Me: *Breaks a Promise*
Yuki-Onna: WINTER IS COMING
Here in Dublin, Ireland, you sometimes see Japanese tourist take photos of Lefcadio Hearns childhood home. Supposedly he's a household name in Japan, yet most in Ireland have never heard of him.
True, I've been, but never heard of him.
I wonder what would happen if monsters other than werewolves and vampires got the romantic treatment. I feel like that would make for more interesting stories and movies…
Several vampire movies include forbidden love of some sort
The Kinnaree/Kinnon of Thai lore would be awesome for a romantic/fantasy movie or tv show. There's literally a story where a kinnaree says that no person/love shall become in between them and their spouse/mate.
If Storied is ever looking for more Japanese yokai, creatures, or stories, I translate local Akita-prefecture folktales into English. One of them was made into a video by Linfamy. A lot of these stories have never been translated into English or gone much farther than the prefecture, and I'd like to promote the region as much as I can.
As a non-Japanese person, Yuki-onna is probably my favorite Japanese ghost story, so I'm very happy to see you doing her justice.
The latest episodes of Kyokou Suiri has a yuki-onna that fell in love with a mortal man and supports him when he's suspected of murder. Yuki-Onna also tells him to never mention her to anyone else, but ten years later, when they cross by chance, he tells her about the encounter. Since she's shocked he broke the taboo, he tells her he wasn't supposed to tell anyone else, while he knows very well it's her, therefore he did not break the promise.
I always felt that was the loophole of such a deal. Technically, they didn't tell anyone else, they told the person that was already aware of the knowledge.
Yes, that anime was brought to my mind as well.
Thought the same, almost comes off as a charisma check moment haha.
"I know it is you, thus I havent told anyone 'else'.. anyway wanna grab a frosty?" lol
I was wondering if you would mention Froslass, and I'm happy you did!
I love my little ice/ghost poket monster.
Her influence goes back to the original generation with Jynx, too.
I think I have a doll of that inherited from my grandma. My grandpa was stationed in Okinawa and my mother lived there for a bit. The doll has the label "Snow Queen" but when I started learning Japanese, I started calling her Yuki. I think I just found her story!
A seductress in a snow storm might serve as a plausible explanation for paradoxical undressing of hypothermia victims.
I'm so happy you covered the yuki-onna! I love the creatures of Japanese folklore. Also, the Tohoku area gets the most snow in the world. Aomori, specifically, gets the most snow, beating out cities in Canada and Russia by a wide margin. So the yuki-onna makes sense.
Yay! I'm so glad you covered this! Kwaidan is one of my favorite movies of all time! There is also an American remake of the popular story in the movie "Tales from the Dark Side" only it was changed from Yuki-Onna to gargoyles. Great video!
The Tales from the Darkside movie came to mind for me as well. Glad I'm not the only one.😊
Hello! It's great to see Patrick Lefcadio Hearn's work getting some attention. I'm also from Greece and not a lot of my fellow countrymen are familiar with him or his work, although he is considered a very important scholar in Japan.
I simply love this series. Monstrum, is one of the most entertaining, if not, the most entertaining folklore/urban legend series ever made on You Tube. Dr Zarka is a blast. A perfect example of brains and beauty. In fact, If I feel under the weather, I just rewatch and binge on Monstrum. Simply Addictive.
Many versions of the snow woman story i've heard are usually tragic tales like how she met and married a young man but was reluctant to go into the bath and when made to go in only fragments of floating ice remained. Also tales of her asking to hug her child with the child becoming heavier and heavier with the person eventually dieing of exposure being unable to move under the weight of the child, refusal to hug the child gets you pushed down a snowey valley but if you endure you become super strong.
Oddly, I've heard that latter story as typically associated with an entirely different yokai. It's usually the nure-onna that I've seen stories of asking a human to help carry/comfort her distressed child, only for the child to actually be a disguised boulder or some kind of other heavy weight. Though in that case, it's usually to pin the victim down so that she can drink their blood at her leisure, as nure-onna are blood-drinking serpent-women under their human guise.
I also typically only have heard the first version associated with the similar yokai, tsurara-onna (icicle woman). She's not as vicious as yuki-onna, seldom doing harm, and her story typically has her leaving her husband behind as spring begins to arrive in order to not end up melting, rather than the breaking of oaths that leads to the yuki-onna abandoning her husband. However, if forced into a bath, she does in fact melt away leaving nothing but shards of ice behind. Then again, tsurara-onna and yuki-onna often get conflated with one another, so it's unsurprising to see the stories getting crossed.
Despite my aversion to the cold, this is one of my favorite Yokai.
Yuki-Onna are easily 1 of my favorite Youkai (Top 10) & I tend to agree with thinking that she is an Elemental of ice similarly to the Paracelsus' 4 elementals that being Gnomes = earth, Undine = water, Sylphs = air, & Salamander = fire
- Also from Minokichi's story I have also heard that after revealing that he met a Yuki-Onna he not only lost his wife but his children as well & leaving with their mother
Today animes like In/Spectre S2 and Ice guy & cool female colleague (and few doujins) had me fascinated of Yuki Onna. I'm glad Monstrum covered this winter yokai
I really like the perspective of the Yuki-onna being beautiful but deadly like a snowy winter is beautiful but deadly. That tracks.
So.. I guess, the cold never bothered her anyway?
omg more female yokai please! theyre always so creative and powerful
Dreams and Kwaidan are two of my favorite films so I was already excited about this episode, then to see them both featured only makes me appreciate this series more.
I just love these monster videos 😍
Please make a video of the blemmyae, sciopod, dobhar-chu, and cat-sith.
Fascinating as always! I enjoy when experts on a specific area's lore are brought in.
Suggested this one awhile back. So happy to see it! Worth the wait! Thank you for keeping this channel going.
Thanks for this, now I get the joke/reference behind the character Oyuki in the old anime, Urusei Yatsura.
The Yuki-onna is honestly one of my personal favorite Yokai. She's just one of those deadly creatures that have this strange allure.
Nice, I was hoping you will make a video about the yuki onna. Truly a fascinating creature.
3:31 a horrible blizzard, as if there is any other kind of blizzard
Welcome back! Worth the wait!
Love the yuki-onna. Really cool spirit. Great way to start off the 2023 season, Dr. Z!
Yuki-Onna is one of my favourite Yokai, I'm glad to see you did an episode on her. Seeing Hiroko Yoda too was a nice surprise, I have some of her books.
Yes!!!! 🤩I have been waiting for an episode of Monstrum for a long time!!! I feel so happy now!!!
Yay!! I was so looking forward to another monstrum video! As a person who loves video games and anime I was familiar with this yokai (I am currently rewatching an anime that features a yuki onna), but I didn’t know that there was so many variations of the Yuki onna legend. When I heard of this yokai I just excepted it and not questioned if she was a ghost or monster. Thanks for expanding my knowledge in such an entertaining way. You put so much effort in explaining the yokai that I am extremely grateful for. I look forward for the next monstrum video.
Thank you both for the video and sharing the story with us
Great episode!
This was very enjoyable. Thank you.
Welcome back Dr. Z and Monstrum! I love you!!!
This is one of my favorite Yokai and Japanese urban legends. There's another channel who did a story on the Yuki-onna called Snalred. If you haven't heard of it, it's a channel where you can listen to scary stories, urban legends, paranormal stories, creepypastas, and scary true stories.
Awesome thanks for everything love your channel
Thank you guys. I love this show!
Never stop making these ❤
I'm glad that Emily is back:)
So can she be seen as the personification of ‘hypothermia’.
Hypothermia makes people believe it’s warmer than it is and people sometimes see hallucinations.
It's lovely to see an interview with Yoda-San, thank you! The Yuki-Onna always makes me think of classic CLAMP manga 🤓😊
My wife and I spent three years together on Okinawa. More Japanese monsters, please!
And if you've got Okinawa-specific monsters, please don't hold back!
I was so excited to see a new monster video!
I love the Pokemon shoutout. Yokai like the Yuki-onna are definitely influencing today's culture and fantasy
As always Monsterum is so worth watching, another gripping episode.
her book, looks awesome!
The only thing supernatural here is how early I am
Same Bestie
I love Yokai Attack!!!!!!! Great expert to pull in ❤️
Hurray!
Welcome Back!!!
I just ordered all 3 of her books. I can't wait.
I really love the legend of Yuki-onna, its so well explained in this video
We need more Yōkai videos
I vividly remember that scene from "Dreams," which was made when I was a teenager, and is still one of my favorite movies. (I saw it on Cinemax, and loved it despite the critics' panning.)
I appreciate when they get a secondary person to help talk about the folklore/myths.
Aahh yes. My all time favourite poke-fu Froslass !
She reminds me of Lady Midday of eastern European folklore.
She embodies the heat of the summer and acts as a warning against heat stroke for those who work in the rolling fields of Poland, Ukraine, Romania etc
The polar opposite of Yuki Onna
Very cool, both literally and figuratively. Her story reminds me of the "Tales From the Dardside" anthology titled "Lover's Vow."
Thank again Dr Z.
Can you please do one on the Tengu? They are one of my favorite yokai in Japanese mythology. 🍁👺🪽
Honestly these videos are very impressive and ironically the yuki-onna also have a representative in the Rosario Vampire series with Mizore Shirayuki being one of the main characters of the series and the manga even has little info boxes for yokai such as the Yuki-onna and another of Japan’s yokai the tengu
I really do love this series so much. I enjoy how you explain the myth and origin of each monster. I'd love to see a video on the kitsune (the nine tailed fox 🦊)
Amazing story of Yuki-Onna legend.
Just landed on your channel, quite a lovely discovery 😊
There’s another Yuki-Onna inspired character from the anime Yu Yu Hakusho. Her name is Yukina, and there’s lots of other Yokai to be found in the series
I know this might sound crazy, but I like her a lot since childhood and if I could have a nice cup of tea with her I would
I learned about the Yuki-Onna when I was a teenager and was entracned by the tale! Glad you covered it.
Finally more Monstrum!!!!
You made us wait so long 😭
Definitely saving those movies shown at the beginning to watch later, need to catch up on japanese horror!
Love all the Japanese snow yokai. Glad to see Hiroko-san back! (Also, top sweater! Love it!)
Great informative video.
Next time please about Kuchisake-onna.
Quite a seasonally appropriate video!
You guys are so great. Thank you for bringing in other cultures and allowing us to learn the deeper truths about them
I would really like it if you do a video on the history of monster dinosaurs in cinema, especially the impact of Jurassic Park and it's sequels.
i will never experience what it feels to be so handsome that even a ghost decides to unkill you
Love the stories, narration & channel.
All the hosts are wonderful. Tfsharing🌺👻🌺
I wish we get Kamaitachi in Monstrum in the future.
I think like a lot of young people here I first learned of the Yuki-onno because of Froslass from Pokemon. While not popular battlewise it has of the best origin stories and definitely one of the most spookiest Pokémon so it is popular around Halloween time.
That’s really cool
Question: Have you done reviews of Nagas?
I’m always intrigued and curious about how the creatures were frightening except there were times they aided humans before
HEY I read her book! Awesome.
Very cool! You should do a video on Kuchisako Onna as well. (I’m sure I spelled that wrong)
That Rudolf special would have been waaay different with her in it instead of the Bumble.
Looks like I'll be needing that survival guide book from Ms. Yoda
This is the first episode I have seen and it has me hooked. Holy Moly 😁, It is amazing how this show immediately showed a correlation to how Hollywood rehashed tales from old. This immediately reminded me of the Tales From the Darkside Movie segment with Rae Dawn Chong and James Remar where the same promise was made but the outcome was far worse. Great Job! I will be watching all of these i can.
Glad you found us!-*Dr.Z*
When I was a kid my father showed me Akira Kurosawa’s Dreams. One of the films in it is called the "Snow Woman". My family lived up north, we would get terrible blizzards in the winter. Suffice to say my eight year old self was terrified I was going to be taken by a Yuki-onna for many years after lol.
One of my favorite tales
can we talk about how Monzaemon basically wrote slice of life plays that’s legendary
YAAAAAASSSS THEY ARE BACK!!!
Lafcadio Hearn (his preferred english name btw) wrote down so many stories from locals in his time, some of the stories would be lost had he not translated them. Being a gaijin, undoubtedly some of the stories arent 100% accurate, but he had such a love for their culture he did his best to do them justice and preserve their stories. There are free audiobooks of his works and they are all in the public domain, I recommend anyone curious of Japanese folklore check them out. Imo it is more likely that his version of the Yuki-onna is longer/more detailed because of the specific local's telling of it than because he added illiterations because he was so respectful of their culture and stories (hard to believe because it was the 19th century and he was American, but if you read/hear some of his thoughts on their culture you could see how much he respected it). Folklore tends to gain extra details depending on who is telling it, for the better imo.
The vengeful Yuki-Onna story definitely reminds me of Nioh's interpretation of Yuki-Onna.
What I take most from these stories is don't be a woodsman!
I still remember when I first heard of this yokai; the game Nioh invokes a lot of Japanese legends and monsters. They also alter a LOT of details of those creatures, naturally, but the particular use of Yuki-onna in the game has a lovely, tragic story attached, in that this snow woman seeks vengeance for her murdered husband (among other betrayals that also led to her own death). And graphically speaking she's just gorgeous, though perhaps a little more angled towards Western beauty standards. It's a video game, so I knew it was not at all accurate, and I went looking for information about this fascinating being.
Your coverage of her is very good, and I still learned new things, too! Great video, thank you yet again for all the hard work you and your team put in on these!