Ōkubi, the Giant Head in the Sky

The myth

Ōkubi, "big head", is a yōkai that appears in the sky as an enormous woman's head, sometimes with blackened teeth, the old custom of married women called ohaguro. Toriyama Sekien included it in his illustrated collection of 1781, showing it above rain clouds, gazing down at passers-by. It appears suddenly on rainy or misty nights and tends to laugh or stare in silence. Like many of Sekien's yōkai, it is more an image of astonishment than a creature with a long story, and various "giant head" yōkai appear in local accounts.

Why it has this power

An Uncommon level-5 Wind Undead with 1700 ATK and 1400 DEF: a terror that comes from above. Wind and Feather are the sky it floats in; Scarab, its kinship with the dead. In the celestial cycle Feather beats Sun, useful against the archipelago's solar deities.

Did you know

Ohaguro, blackening the teeth, was fashionable among nobles and married women in Japan for centuries and was only banned at court in 1870.

Connections

• In Renji, Ronin of the Snowy Roads's deck
• In Master Suzu of Mount Kurama's deck

Where to get it

• Campaign drop: Renji, Ronin of the Snowy Roads (Archipelago of the Kami) — grade S: 25% · grade A: 25% · grade B: 25% · grade C: 25% · grade D: 13%
• Daily Offering: 0.45% per pack (Uncommon 33% per card)
• Welcome Pack: 1.1% per pack (Uncommon 30% per card)
• Traveler's Pack: 0.96% per pack · 5.6% in the themed pack (Uncommon 29% per card)
• Bronze Reliquary: 0.94% per pack · 5.5% in the themed pack (Uncommon 29% per card)
• Silver Reliquary: 0.96% per pack · 5.6% in the themed pack (Uncommon 33% per card)
• Golden Reliquary: 0.94% per pack · 5.5% in the themed pack (Uncommon 35% per card)
• Daily Showcase: Shows up on about 0.98% of days · 400 gold
• Craft with card dust: 100 dust
• Crossing of Myths: Can be offered as a reward during a crossing (the card stays in the crossing deck).

Sources

1. The Database of Paintings of Mysterious Phenomena and Yōkai — International Research Center for Japanese Studies (Nichibunken)
2. Kaii・Yōkai Denshō Database (folklore of strange phenomena and yōkai) — International Research Center for Japanese Studies (Nichibunken)