A Handful of Yokai- Sazae Oni

In many Yokai tales, if an animal or object lives long enough, it transforms into a bizarre supernatural version of its old mundane self. For example, the Sazae (or Turban Snail) is a large sea snail living in Japanese coastal waters.  According to folk tales when a Sazae reaches thirty years of age (or possibly one-hundred) it turns into a Sazae Oni, literally a “Turban Snail Demon”. It reaches the size of a human and grows hands covered in suckers, arms, and a long torso from its spiny, crusty shell. The operculum (a tough door which seals the opening of snail’s shell) sits atop the torso like a bizarre conical head with bulging eyes. Worse, the Sazae Oni is a shapeshifter and often pokes its upper half above the water disguised a beautiful maiden dancing or drowning. If someone paddles or swims out to it, the Sazae Oni eats them. A Sazae Oni is as dangerous on land as on the water. One Sazae travels along the seaside disguised a young lady. She stops at every inn on the road to spend the night and to devour the innkeeper.

 

In the most famous encounter with a Sazae Oni, a ship full of plundering pirates discovered a woman struggling to stay above the waves in the open ocean. Seeing her beauty, the pirates pulled her from the water. When the pirates pressed her for gratitude expressed through carnal acts, she surprised the crew by eagerly agreeing to their wishes. That night she pleased each man on the ship, but in the morning every pirate discovered his testicles were missing. The beautiful woman was really a Sazae Oni, and she slunk through the ship biting off every pirate’s privates as they slept. The monster offered an exchange to the crew: the restoration of their testicles for all the ship’s plunder. The crew agreed.

 

Sazae Oni (Shape Shifting Sea Snail Demon)

Initiative: 4

Physical: 5

Mental: 5

Social: 8

Health Pips: 8 AV: 4

Special Traits:

Alluring Façade- The Sazae Oni can make itself appear as a beautiful woman. Changing to and from this form takes a combat round. Anyone suspicious enough to examine the disguise for monstrous traces may attempt a test of a relevant skill (Perception, Medicine, Lore, etc) with 9 black dice or 6 black dice if they previously encountered a Sazae Oni. If successful they notice details such as a sucker on the palm of the hand, a patch of slimy skin, or bit of shell sticking out under her hair.

Anatomical Theft- If the Sazae Oni’s bite attack does 9 or more damage to an opponent after applying Armor Value, the Sazae Oni may choose to do no damage at all. Instead, they cleanly and painlessly bite off a part of the opponent’s anatomy. The wound heals instantly, but the victim suffers -2 to a relevant attribute until the Sazae Oni restores the stolen body part.

Damage: Bite (12)

 

Adventure Ideas:
While the original tale of testicle taking might be too spicy for most tables, the idea of a monster stealing body parts off a living being for ransom is terrifically creepy. For a blackmailing monster, there’s no downside. Either they get paid or they put the purloined anatomical parts to sinister uses. There must be someone with money looking for healthy body parts somewhere.

While the Sazae Oni holds its own in combat, it’s a monster with a blackmailing brain making it a perfect menace to high society. Who is the mysterious lady making her way through this social season’s crop of eligible bachelors and why do her old flames limp and refuse to talk about her?

Japanese gourmets prize Sazae as a tasty delicacy. The demand might be even higher for the rare and dangerous flesh of the Sazae Oni or the flesh harvested by the Sazae Oni.

The idea of a sea monster turning into a desirable woman on land to hunt men is almost an inversion of the selkie, a sea creature turning into a desirable woman on land captured by a man and forced to marry. Is the Sazae Oni an agent of the sea’s revenge coming to reclaim its children imprisoned on land?