Kamikiri (髪切)

About this Yokai

Kamikiri (髪切) or “The Hair Cutter,” is a mysterious yokai said to secretly cut people’s hair without being seen. In the earliest records, dating to the 15th century it is described as being a fox in disguise. Reports of this strange phenomenon continued till the nineteenth century in Japanese cities. Victims walking at night would suddenly discover that their carefully tied hair had been cut off, even though they felt nothing at the time. The severed hair was often found lying nearby on the ground. Eyewitness descriptions of the culprit are rare, though some stories mention a small, dark creature that moved too quickly to identify. Such incidents became widely discussed as “the hair-cutting mystery” during the Edo period.

Artist’s Note

I wanted to capture the atmosphere of my favorite era, the Edo period. In this piece, a spirit lurks in the shadows of traditional buildings, stealthily snipping the hair of unsuspecting passersby.