Japanese · No. 074
Yamauba, the Mountain Witch
Real myth
She offers shelter to travelers. She has a mouth on top of her head.
- Rarity
- Uncommon
- Category
- Monster
- ATK
- 1700
- DEF
- 1500
- Level
- 5
- Type
- Spellcaster
- Element
- Darkness
- Constellations
- Moon · Fox
The myth
The yamauba, "mountain crone", is an ambiguous figure of Japanese folklore. In many tales she is a cannibal witch who offers travelers lodging and devours them at night, like the old woman of Adachigahara retold by Yei Ozaki. In some versions, such as the tale of the wife who never eats, she hides a second mouth on top of her head under her hair. Yet the yamauba is also mother and protector: in many traditions she raises the wonder-child Kintarō in the mountains. The fifteenth-century Noh play Yamanba presents her as a spirit wandering the mountains forever.
Why it has this power
An Uncommon level-5 Darkness Spellcaster with 1700 ATK and 1500 DEF: dangerous and seasoned, with the strength of one who lives alone in the mountains. Darkness and Moon are the nights in the isolated hut; Fox, the deceptive hospitality. A good attacker for dark Spellcaster decks.
Did you know
In the Adachigahara legend the traveler survives because he disobeys the order not to look into the back room, the reverse of so many Japanese tales.
Connections
- In Hanae, Wandering Miko's deck
- In Renji, Ronin of the Snowy Roads's deck
- In Kaguya, Guardian of the Torii's deck
Where to get it
- Campaign drop: Hanae, Wandering Miko (Archipelago of the Kami) — grade S: 25% · grade A: 25% · grade B: 25% · grade C: 14%
- 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
- Japanese Fairy Tales (Project Gutenberg) — Yei Theodora Ozaki
- Noh theatre — Encyclopaedia Britannica — The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
- Yamanokami — Encyclopedia of Shinto — Kokugakuin University