NOPPERABŌ のっぺらぼう

Pronunciation: NOH-peh-rah-BOH

Etymology: The word nopperi (のっぺり) describes the state of being flat or spread out. Bō (坊) is an affectionate suffix attached to boys’ names.

Similar to: Nuppeppō (ぬっぺっぽう)

Overview

The nopperabō is another harmless yōkai, but you’d never know that by looking at it. Its main purpose is to startle unfortunate passersby using its most unsettling yet simple appearance: It has a human form but no face. Where there should be eyes, a nose, and a mouth is perfectly smooth skin.

Stories about the nopperabō range from the annoying to the scary. Sometimes it just shows up as is out of nowhere to frighten you, but it is also capable of appearing as if it has a face, only to—once it gets your attention—reach up and dramatically wipe that same face off. Whatever the technique, there are many tales of innocent people encountering this perplexing yōkai.

Like many yōkai, the nature and origins of the nopperabō have different interpretations. When it comes to this yōkai, there are two main schools of thought:

1. 1.  In the first, the nopperabō is a distinct yōkai with its own unique characteristics. Its only disguise is to temporarily pretend to be human so that when it reveals its true nature, it gets maximum shock value.
2. 2. In the second, the nopperabō is some other shape-shifting entity, specifically a tanuki (Japanese raccoon dog), a fox, or a mujina (an old term that can refer to a tanuki, badger, or masked palm civet). These creatures are all believed to have the ability to transform into humans and then change their faces to be featureless.

The latter interpretation seems supported by a story in Shinsetsu Hyakumonogatari, a 1767 collection of ghost stories. That book describes someone who was surprised by a nopperabō on a bridge and then later discovered some thick hairs on their clothing. This led to the conclusion the no-faced monster must certainly be a fox, tanuki, or mujina in disguise.

If the nopperabō is in fact simply a mujina in disguise, then it was mentioned all the way back in the Nihon Shoki (C.E. 720). According to that text, during spring, mujina would appear and shape-shift into humans and sing songs.

Background and Popular Stories

While there are numerous accounts of run-ins with this faceless creeper, probably the best known was written by the master writer and translator Lafcadio Hearn. His short story entitled “Mujina” (found in his 1904 book Kwaidan: Stories and Studies of Strange Things) goes something like this:

Once, on the Akasaka Road in Tokyo, there was a place called the Slope of the Province of Kii. On one side of the road was an ancient moat, and on the other were high stone walls of an imperial palace. This was back before the era of streetlamps, and the roads were very dark after nightfall. Once the sun had set, pedestrians would go miles out of their way to avoid this particular slope. It was said that mujina had been spotted there.