Everyone's Mad at Nezumi Otoko (52)
Source: TV
Layers: 1
Sketches: 1
Cel Number: A1 END
Oversize, 21W x 13.5H
No Background
Added 2/28/2010
Updated 9/14/2023
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Indeed, in this impressively oversized sketch from the 1985 edition of the series, it really looks as if “Rat Man” is on the poop list of just about every major yōkai in Shigeru Mizuki’s catalogue. The sketch is fully 21 x 13.5 inches in girth and though creased by being folded and stored, it is yellowed but not damaged in any important way. In the thumbnail I’ve added a cropped image of the rectangle that marks the start of this cut; then as you see in the image featured above, a T.B. (track-back) camera move pans out to reveal the rest of the mob of yōkai. Notice that the scene originally involved an even tighter close-up at the start, which was canceled in favor of the less drastic track-back.
An unusually helpful note by the seller, along with some hacking around on Japanese websites (with the help of Google Translate) lets me add quite a bit of background. The sketch comes from the Third Series' Episode 52: “Burn! Nezumi Otoko! The battle of the geta.”(Moeru Nezumi Otoko! Geta kassen [燃えるねずみ男！ゲタ合戦]).
Briefly, Nezumi Otoko has been enticed into a deal that he can’t resist by a mysterious gentleman with a bowler hat, This involves selling figurines of the familiar maneki-neko or “beckoning cat “ to his neighbors. These are commonly used to collect loose change and, being luck charms, they are supposed to multiply the coins deposited inside. Actually, as the con-man intends, they magically convey the money into his own hands. Meanwhile, the trickster (a vengeful yōkai known as a Sakabashira) kidnaps Kitarō’s geta, replacing them with counterfeits that render their owner helpless.
Kitarō, aided by the flower fairy Hanako, defeats the enemy yōkai, and at the episode’s climax the hapless Rat Man is encircled by a host of Japanese supernatural creatures, like a mortal unwary enough to interrupt a hyakkiyagyō, or parade of uncannies. Several of those in the circle are easy to recognize as regulars in the Kitarō-tachi, or inner circle of the series’ main character. Others are fairly easy to spot for someone with passing knowledge of Japanese folklore, and still others remain somewhat mysterious, in spite of the seller’s description and the notes on the sketch itself.
Here is a preliminary catalogue of the characters we can see, beginning in the very middle, where the two creases cross:
ねずみ男: Nezumi Otoko or "Rat Man," the customary trouble-maker in the series, whose self-serving schemes usually end up in self-destruction, or at least causing trouble for the good-hearted Kitarō. On either side of him we can see:
On the left: 鏡爺: Kagami Jijii or “Old Man in the Mirror.” He first appears as a sinister oni, (or Japanese ogre) with one horn growing on top of his head,.who inhabits the world behind mirrors. Like Candyman in the American horror film, he can appear to young women, startling them or even drawing them into his mirror world. Defeated by Kitarō in Ep. 2 of this series, he becomes one of his supporters and makes frequent guest appearances in the Kitaro saga.
On the right: a 河童: Kappa or “Water Imp,” one of the most celebrated and studied legendary creatures in Japan.
In the back row, starting on the left, we see:
1. 化け火: Bake-bi or “Spook fire.” According to Wikipedia Japan, this apparition, a sort of “jack o’lantern” phenomenon, appears along the shore of Lake Biwa, near Kyoto.
2. The featureless head of のっぺらぼう: Noppera-bō or“Faceless ghost.” This trickster spirit is the topic of a number of popular legends.
3. 日照り神: Hiderigami or “Drought God,” a hairy creature with a single prominent eye who appears during hot, dry weather, according to Wikipedia.
4. あみきり: Amikiri or “Net Cutter,” (my favorite!) visualized from the 17th century on as a kind of centipede with a bird’s beak and pincher hands.
5. 一反木綿: Ittan Momen or “Roll of Cloth.” This familiar character is one of Kitaro’s closest companions, and he is often seen transporting the hero through the air on his back. Originally, this character was based on a Kagoshima Prefecture legend about a spirit that wrapped itself around the face of its victims, temporarily choking them.
Moving to the front row, again from left to right, we see (mostly from the rear, sadly):
1. あかなめ: Aka-name or “filth licker,” a toilet ghost who particularly haunts johns that have not been properly cleaned in a while.
2. 砂掻ばばあ: Sunakake-baba or "Sand-throwing Grandma." She is one of the central characters among the Kitaro-tachi; originally, she was mentioned in the folklore of Nara Prefecture as an invisible spirit who threw sand into the faces of passers, making them lose consciousness.
3. 雁木小僧: Gangi Kozō or “Jagged Teeth.” a furry kappa with webbed hands and feet. Some information and a dramatic illustration can be found at this Japanese blog. The creature seems well named, according to Mizuki’s representation of him.
4. This egg-shaped yōkai is difficult to identify, but from the dealer’s notes and the screen grabs it must be さざえ鬼: Sazae-oni or “Turban Snail Demon,” a supernatural being formed from a very old shellfish.
5. 子泣き爺: Konaki Jijii or “Crybaby Grandpa.” Another frequently-met character in the Kitarō story, this character was based on a Tokushima Prefecture legend about a mysterious baby, whom travelers found alone and weeping in the wilderness. If they attempted to pick it up, however, it would magically increase its weight, crushing the would-be savior.
6. 猫娘: Neko Mesume or “Cat Girl,” Kiterō’s female sidekick. While usually seen in this humanoid form, with a bow that suggests cat ears, she is really a type of bake-neko or shapeshifting cat/human hybrid and at times of crisis turns into a frightening feline monster.
7. A note on the genga identifies the large potato-shaped head just behind Neko Mesume’s bow as 油すまし: Abura-sumashi or “Oil Presser,” a scary revenant from Kumamoto Prefecture, who travels with a heavy cane, which can also be seen behind his bald skull.
8. Below him and behind Neko Mesume is a だるま: Daruma, a doll spirit featured in one of the Kitarō adventures. These dolls, originally a good luck charm sold by Buddhist shrines, has become the topic of much folklore and popular culture in Japan. They are supposed to be returned to the shrine where they were bought at the end of the year and ritually burnt, then replaced by new ones. I’d guess that this one was not burnt at the proper time, and so became a yōkai.
9. Finally, the picture contains a かわうそ: Kawauso or “River otter.” This animal, like the fox and tanuki, was formerly considered a creature capable of shapeshifting in Japanese lore. Sadly, the animal has not been seen in the wild since 1979 and may be extinct. It’s also hard to spot this guy in the picture, but he’s the poor guy in the hat with his eyes closed, squashed in just above Neko Mesume’s head.
A number of screen grabs on fan pages shows cuts from this same scene, and while none are identical with this sketch, they fill out our view of this tense confrontation. This frame shows the arrival of Hanako and Kitarō (who seems equally irritated at poor Rat Man). Konaki Jijii and the daruma are on the left, with Gangi Kozō and Sunakake-baba (who’s not yet turned around) on the right.
This image seems to fall a moment later, showing poor Rat Man between Kagami Jijii and the kappa, with Hiderigami and Amikiri visible behind them. Sunakake-baba has turned around, I’d guess to address Kitarō and Hanako who have just arrived.
This screen grab shows a fuller assemblage of the yōkai characters, plus Kitarō and Hanako in front. They are looking down a ladder where I'd guess Nezumi Otoko has been forced to descend to atone for his sins. (Oh, but he’ll be back.)
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