Kaichigo

Kanji: 貝児
Kana: かいちご
Pronunciation: Kaichigo (Kye-chee-goh)

TRANSLATION: Shell Child
ALTERNATE NAMES: None
ORIGIN: Edo period; Toriyama Sekien's Hyakki Tsurezure Bukuro (1784)

HABITAT: Shell boxes (kaioke)
DIET: None

ABILITIES:

• Stays inside a clam shell or a kaioke box
• Plays with painted kai-awase shells
• Appears only when no human is watching

WEAKNESSES:

• None recorded

OVERVIEW: The Kaichigo is a tsukumogami born from an old kaioke, the lacquered box used for the Heian shell-matching game. It appears as a small child who plays with the painted shells at night.

APPEARANCE: The Kaichigo has the body of a small child with doll-like proportions. It wears an old-style kimono in soft, faded colors. The yokai comes out of a lacquered shell box or stays among the painted clam shells. Its face is gentle, and they have no fearsome features at all.

BEHAVIOR: The Kaichigo is mischievous in a small, harmless way. It moves the painted shells out of place while the owner is asleep. They need the old kai-awase set to be played with again. The Kaichigo only acts when no human is in the room.

INTERACTIONS: A family that owns an old kai-awase set may find the shells moved out of place in the morning. The Kaichigo causes no harm, and they need no countermeasure. The owner can simply play with the kai-awase set again, and the spirit will stay quiet.

OTHER FORMS: The Kaichigo stays inside a single clam shell or remains inside the kaioke box. Its source object is the lacquered kai-awase set itself. Such sets were once wedding dowries, kept by mothers and given to daughters for centuries.