The Jubokko (樹木子; literally “Tree Child”) is a fictional creature from Japanese urban legends. It is considered a “modern Yōkai” (demon) and is described as deceitful and malevolent.
Description
The Jubokko is said to appear on old battlefields where a significant amount of blood has been shed. It originally started as a simple, normal sapling. However, due to absorbing so much blood from war victims, its soul became corrupted, transforming it into a tree-like Yōkai. The Jubokko is said to be outwardly indistinguishable from other trees of the same species.
It generally becomes noticeable only when someone has approached too closely. Among its lush and densely growing branches and leaves, numerous long thorns are said to be present, hollow like needles. Once an unsuspecting wanderer stands under its branches, the Jubokko seizes its victim, thrusts its thorns into the body, and drains it completely of blood. It then covers the bones with its roots.
Background
The Jubokko is first described in the Lexicon Zusetsu Nihon Yōkai Taizen (“Illustrated Encyclopedia of Japanese Monsters”) by the Japanese folklorist and science fiction author Shigeru Mizuki, published in 1984. Other folklorists and scholars such as Natsuhiko Kyogoku, Tada Natsumi, and Murakami Kenji point out that there is no mention of the blood-sucking tree Yōkai in any known ancient or classical Yōkai literature.
While there are several lesser-known tree Yōkai from various eras, none of them match the characteristics of the Jubokko. The name “Jubokko” also does not appear before Shigeru’s literature.
Therefore, general research today assumes that Shigeru created the Jubokko specifically for his popular manga literature and anime series (such as GeGeGe no Kitarō). The Jubokko is thus considered a “modern Yōkai,” even though strictly speaking, it must be classified as an urban legend. A similar phenomenon is known for other “modern Yōkai” such as the Kuchisake-onna and the Kunekune.
Jubokko appears in the TV series “Grimm”, and the person who tries to injure the forest is killed by the woodsman, and the corpse and its blood become the nutrients for the tree.