Mujina is an old Japanese term primarily referring to the Japanese badger, but traditionally to the Japanese raccoon dog, causing confusion. Adding to the confusion, it may also refer to the introduced civets, and in some regions badger-like animals or Japanese raccoon dog are also called mami.
In reality
The confusion over the term mujina has led to legal consequences in Japan. In Tochigi Prefecture in 1924, a hunter killed a raccoon dog, which he believed to be called a mujina. He believed badgers were a protected species as they were called tanuki in Tochigi Prefecture. However, the law banning the hunting of tanuki was referring to such raccoon dogs, as a raccoon dog is called tanuki in Tokyo. The Japanese Supreme Court ruled the hunter was legitimately confused.
In folklore
In Japanese folklore, like the Kitsune and the tanuki, mujina are frequently depicted as yōkai that shapeshift and deceive humans. They are first seen in literature in the Nihon Shoki in the part about Empress Suiko's 35th year, where it states, "n two months of spring, there are mujina in the country of Mutsu, they turn into humans and sing songs " demonstrating that, in that era, there was the general idea that mujina shapeshift and deceive humans. In the Shimōsa region, they are called kabukiri-kozō, and they would shapeshift into a kozō wearing a strangely short kimono with a kappa-like bobbed head, and frequently appear on roads at night without many people and say, "Drink water, drink tea." The story in Lafcadio Hearn's collections called "Mujina" about the witnessing of a faceless ghost is also well-known.
The faceless ghost from Kwaidan
On May 19, 1959, Honolulu Advertiser reporter Bob Krauss reported a sighting of a mujina at the Waialae Drive-In Theatre in Kahala. Krauss reported the witness watched a woman combing her hair in the women's restroom, and when the witness came close enough, the mujina turned, revealing her featureless face. The witness was reported to have been admitted to the hospital for a nervous breakdown. Noted Hawaiian historian, folklorist, and author Glen Grant, in a 1981 radio interview, dismissed the story as rumor, only to be called by the witness herself, who gave more details on the event, including the previously unreported detail that the mujina in question had red hair. The drive-in no longer exists, having been torn down to make room for Public Storage. Grant has also reported on a number of other mujina sightings in Hawaii, from ‘Ewa Beach to Hilo.
Other uses
The term can also refer to the following:
"Mujina", a short story relating to the above legends, found in Lafcadio Hearn's book .
