The karakasa-obake (唐傘おばけ "Tang umbrella ghost"), also known as kasa-obakenote and (kara)kasa-kozō note , is a Japanese fantastic creature with the body of a karakasa - an old oiled-paper Chinese umbrella. It is usually represented as an anthropomorphic being with one eye, an Overly-Long Tongue sticking out of a mouth and one leg in place of the handle. Its leg ends either in a clawed foot or a human foot wearing a geta (wooden sandal). It might or might not have arms.
The karakasa-obake belongs to the class of youkai known as tsukumogami, discarded household objects that suddenly spring to life when they become 100 years old. It shares several of its physical characteristics with other youkai, particularly hitotsume-kozō ("one-eyed brat"), which otherwise resembles a human child rather than an animate umbrella.
A rarer variant is the hone-karakasa, which is the spirit of an umbrella damaged by being ripped apart in high winds. Consequently, it has a somewhat fish-like appearance, using the splayed ribs/wings of its former body to fly and coming out during wet, windy weather, signifying truly awful weather is on its way.
Even though karakasa-obake, unlike other youkai, are not based on Japanese folktales, their goofy appearance makes them highly popular to draw, and you can almost certainly count on one of them showing up in any work that centers on or features youkai, where they are typically portrayed as Silly Spooks. Japanese-flavored stages in video games often feature umbrella ghosts as minor enemies.
Examples:
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Anime & Manga
- In Azumanga Daioh, when Osaka gets the idea of doing an obakeyashiki kisaten ("haunted cafe") for the School Festival, she imagines herself in a karakasa costume, struggling to serve tea while hopping on one leg.
- Doraemon has a one-shot gadget called Yokai Pills, which can summon random Yokai for help. The first Yokai summoned is a karakasa, who then serves as a "normal" umbrella for Tamako about to go on a shopping trip before she's interrupted by the rain.
- In GeGeGe no Kitarō, the karakasa appears as a minor character, although its appearance varies wildly between versions.
- In Karas, a kasa-obake saves a group of citizens from falling glass.
- In Pom Poko, a few Karakasa can be seen taking part in the somewhat trippy "Ghost Parade" scene.
- In Ranma ½, after Ranma-chan inadvertently makes him fall in love with "her", Tsubasa uses a kasa-obake costume while pursuing Ranma on one rainy day.
- In Rosario + Vampire, the character Kozo Kasahara is a two-legged umbrella ghost. He takes issue that he's actually one of the lamest, more ineffective students at the school just because of having such limited abilities.
- Show up in the first segment of Short Peace, resentful of being discarded after damage. A travelling repairman fixes them.
- A Karakasa costume pops up in Suite Pretty Cure ♪ for a prank on Ellen/Siren — and later that costume gets turn into a Negatone.
- Tsukipro's youkai AU has Rui as a Cute Monster Boy version of this. He even tells a sad story about his memories as an umbrella, and his time with the boy who owned him until they were separated.
- The "Minna ame n naka... " (Raindrops Keep Fallin') chapter of Urusei Yatsura has a karakasa called Ataru that is in a feud with a raincloud that is raining only on him. Ataru comes to Sakura for counselling and she realizes that the raincloud tormenting him is its spouse. Ultimately their problems are beyond Sakura's abilities to help and she calls a divorce attorney for the two.
Comic Books
- In the Usagi Yojimbo Graphic Novel Yokai, a karakasa appears as part of the hyakki yakō — the Night Parade of a Hundred Demons.
Films — Animation
- A karakasa is one of the tsukumogami that attacks Kate Corrigan in Hellboy: Sword of Storms.
Films — Live-Action
- The Japanese Yokai Monsters film series features friendly and affectionate Karakasa, perhaps too affectionate...
- The Great Yokai War has a karakasa as Plucky Comic Relief.
Literature
- One appears in the Anno Dracula novel One Thousand Monsters, as vampires in Japan have gotten very creative with their shapeshifting and try to be as unique as possible. His name is Kasa-obake.
- Dominion Of Blades: During the Hobgoblin Riot Tower Defense world event, the party captures a boss monster, which is a girl with a parasol. Then when they try to throw the parasol into the cell with her, it turns out to be a boss-level monster itself and kills half the party. Oh, and once they manage to kill it they discover that the girl is a dragon.
Live-Action TV
- Akumaizer 3: Kasadlar is an umbrella-themed Akuma Clan captain capable using his powers to cause rainstorms.
- Choujin Bibyun: The youkai of the week in episode 14 seems like a Karakasa, until it opens itself up to reveal itself to be a hybrid between a karakasa and a Kappa, possessing powers from both.
- Kamen Rider Gotchard features the Chemy Berosol, a Level 2 Occult Chemy based on the kasa-obake.
- Super Sentai:
- Ninja Sentai Kakuranger:
- The Monster of the Week of the episode "Karakasa Dance Queen" is a human-like female Karakasa that tricks two prankster kids into getting Saizo, Sekai, and Jiraiya to put on shoes that forces them to dance at her command.
- Confusingly, an earlier episode had another Karakasa, who was instead called Kasabake. This time, it was a male with a single eye and a Parasol of Pain he used to battle Tsuruhime.
- Likewise, Shuriken Sentai Ninninger had the Youkai Kasabake. Strangely enough, it was made from a fountain pen rather than an umbrella. He appeared in Power Rangers Ninja Steel as Spyclops.
- One ayakashi in Samurai Sentai Shinkenger was Okakurage, whose appearance was a humanoid hybrid of a Karakasa and a jellyfish. The umbrella-like projection on his head allowed him to fly, but ironically for an umbrella monster, he created rain that caused despair in humans. Appears in Power Rangers Samurai as Desperaino.
- Ninja Sentai Kakuranger:
Video Games
- Battle Mania Daiginjou has these appearing in the first stage as Asteroids Monsters.
- BIT.TRIP Presents... Runner2: Future Legend Of Rhythm Alien: Kasa-obake appear in the background of certain areas in the Supernature, and even have a level named after them.
- The Darkest Dungeon Game Mod Sunward Isles, which is themed around Japanese-style horror, includes these as one of the types of yokai the party can encounter. They mostly focus on being stealthy and inflicting stress damage through unnerving appearance and actions.
- Demon's World is, naturally, filled with demon-themed enemies, with karakasa showing up in large numbers in the Japan stage.
- The Flintstones: The Rescue of Dino & Hoppy has these as enemies in a Wutai stage.
- Hana Tāka Daka!? has karakasa as enemies that hover when their tops are open and hop around when they fold up.
- Izuna: Legend of the Unemployed Ninja has Karakasa enemies whose special attack of spitting water washes Talismans off Izuna's equipment.
- In The Jackbox Party Pack, the game Tee K.O. features a number of Yokai as player avatars, including a Karakasa.
- Jitsu Squad have karakasa as a recurring enemy that attacks by jumping around and trying to bite the players.
- The Kiki Kai Kai series has recurring umbrella enemies named Kasabee, playing off the Eyelid Pull Taunt. In Pocky & Rocky, their name was translated as Umby.
- Kirby's Dream Land 2 features enemies based on Karakasa called Drifters, although they look more like regular umbrellas who happen to have an eye. There's also a Mini-Boss in both Kirby's Dream Land 2 and 3 called Jumpershoot who looks more the part.
- The Legend of the Mystical Ninja has umbrella ghosts as weak enemies.
- Monster Hunter: Rise features the Bird Wyvern monster Aknosom, a frilled bird creature with a crest on its head that resembles an eyeball and a tendency to stand on one leg. Its intro video even depicts it with its wings and frill folded, hopping on one leg to fully drive home its resemblance to a Karakasa.
- Invoked in Muramasa: The Demon Blade. Bandits hide in large umbrellas, and hop around on one foot, to look like spirits and scare their marks.
- Ninja Jajamaru-kun has this as the third type of enemy introduced, called Karakassa. It hops around a lot and occasionally throws geta at the player. The WonderSwan remake, Gansō Jajamaru-kun, compensates for introducing Karakassa at a considerably later stage by having a pair of them (and no other baddies) accompanying the Big Bad when he abducts the princess in the opening cutscene.
- Nioh: These are one of the many Yokai William will encounter: they attack by either leaping into the air and coming down like a javelin, or by spinning around and flinging razor-sharp needles everywhere.
- Parodius Da! has a Mini-Boss that consists of a group of karakasa looping around the screen (parodying Iron Maiden from Gradius III) after it starts to rain in a haunted level.
- In Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney – Dual Destinies during the second Episode, a prop Karakasa can be found on Yokai Lane. It isn't alive, even though it rotates quite a bit.
- In the Granzella area "Great Edo of Nippon" in PlayStation Home (where you play as a samurai or other fighter and defeat the monsters invading Edo), the Karakasa are a somewhat common enemy.
- Psychic 5 has umbrella ghosts as common enemies that float back and forth while emitting deadly droplets. However, they have two eyes and none of the traditional physical features.
- Ragnarok Online has a one-eyed umbrella monster called a Karakasa in Amatsu field 1.
- One of weapons for Yagyuu in Senran Kagura 2: Deep Crimson is a karakasa called "Umbrella Beast Lickoreena".
- SNK vs. Capcom: SVC Chaos: If she is beaten by Red Arremer, Kasumi Todoh is transformed into a kasa-obake with a coloration resembling her outfit.
- Splatterhouse: Wanpaku Graffiti has umbrella ghosts as the outdoor enemies in the secret pagoda level.
- Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins has a karakasa enemy called Umbrelloid in the second level of the Pumpkin Zone.
- Touhou Project:
- Kogasa Tatara is a Moe Anthropomorphisation of a karakasa, being depicted as a cute girl who's always seen carrying an umbrella that looks like the traditional karakasa (but cuter, of course). This has caused fan confusion about whether the girl or the umbrella is the "main body" or if they're two parts of the same whole.
- Mamizou Futatsuiwa uses a Tanuki disguised as a karakasa as a weapon in Hopeless Masquerade.
- Ugetsu Kitan, a horror-themed adventure game, have you randomly encountering a karakasa who will hop away as soon as you see it in a dim corridor, motioning you to follow it.
- The mobile Rogue Like Yodanji has the Karakasa as one of its Yōkai character "classes".
- Yokai Hunter Shintaro have hopping karakaras as one of the many, many yokai-themed enemies menacing you throughout gameplay.
- Yo-kai Watch 2 introduces a traditional Karakasa-obake (Pallysol) in Chapter 6 of the game, and also has the two-legged Sakasakkasa (Brokenbrella), which was a modern umbrella unhappily discarded by its owner after storm winds turned it inside out. Both of these are of the wind type.
- Appears as one of the minor enemy in Yomawari: Night Alone and it's sequel Yomawari: Midnight Shadows. Even though they are one of the cutest yokai in the series, they are still dangerous.
Webcomics
- Wukrii has a "Wukai" named Kasa possessing an umbrella, serving as an assistant to Jigin.
Western Animation
- A karakasa makes up one of the variety of yokai living in the underworld in Legend of the Three Caballeros.
