Talk:Kamaitachi

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Just some information I found in some old tales of Kustuki I'm translating. --Cadmus Kyrala Well, it seems that my entry which was originally based on some legitimate translations of folklore has been fancifully elaborated beyond recognition. I guess it's a wake-up call as to the reliability of wikipedia in general. The original reference that I made was to a phenomenon supposedly attributed to "evil gods" that were reputed to crave human blood. As for the claims that have been put forth here about sickle wielding weasels being sighted, they seem to be more likely the invention of whomever modified the entry. My source was Legends and Folklore of Kutsuki Village. I'd love to see where this melodramatic rendition was inspired. --CK

The new article is cut-and-pasted directly from this page, which was the first to appear when I searched using Google. http://www.youkaimura.org/kamaitachi.htm It probably ought to be changed back? Or? Mickel
Youkaimura presents Japanese legendary creatures as if they were real, via fiction. I'm not sure how careful the site is to stick to valid source material. The article certainly needs to be edited to remove fictional elements. -- Julian Morrison
From what I know of it, Yokaimura uses the mythology as a point of entertainment, not much in the way of education. In short, take anything on the site with a grain of salt.--み使い Mitsukai 06:54, 7 March 2006 (UTC)
As far as I can tell, Youkaimura is not particularly trustworthy, and the owner seems to be a fluffy bunny more than anything else. I removed the link to the Youkaimura entry. --213.172.246.37 14:12, 3 August 2006 (UTC)

Contents

[edit] Copyright

The article may be in violation of this copyright policy -- Julian Morrison

Can you point to the exact page it's a violation of? It doesn't repeat any of the wording from this page. — BrianSmithson 13:00, 6 March 2006 (UTC)
Ah, I see. The copyright vio. was reverted. I should've done my homework before bringing this to the attention of the project. Nevertheless, the article needs to cite some sources. I'll work on digging some up. MikeDockery 13:08, 6 March 2006 (UTC)
Ok, done. However, I'm concerned about the doubts Julian has raised on the validity of Youkaimura's information. I personally have used this site as a source on numerous occasions, so if the site is semi-fictional and doesn't stick to source material, we're gonna have to rewrite quite a number of articles. The project should look into this. MikeDockery 13:18, 6 March 2006 (UTC)
Yes, Youkaimura's information is highly suspect, as the site's author considers the creatures to be real and frequenly posts information that cannot be backed up by any actual folkloric source. He also frequently refuses to share his sources and claims that some of his information was given to him by the creatures themselves. So yeah, anything you read at Youkaimura should be double checked; if you can't find at least one other source to back it up, consider it bad information. Shikino 02:16, 14 October 2006 (UTC)


[edit] What the hell?

Was this article made up to make Japanese people seem stupid?

Yes, Resistent, that's exactly the reason it was written. You read the article author(s) like an open book. Now go along and play with your toy cars. And do try not to interupt the grown-ups when they're busy, will you?
Calm down you fucking weeaboo, it was an honest mistake.

[edit] Champloo

In the anime Samurai Champloo, Mugen fights a character with this technique.


[edit] Natural Phenomena?

I remember reading a while back that the Kamaitachi is actually based on a natural phenomena which occurs in volcanic mountain regions... Basically, hot gasses build up beneath the surface, and escape through hairline fractures that form. As the super-heated air escapes through the crack at a tremendous speed, and due to its narrow shape and speed, it is capable of cutting flesh. Because the air is so hot, it will also cauterize the wound, preventing it from bleeding. I'm not sure if this is true, perhaps someone could look into it? WtW-Suzaku 19:11, 25 March 2007 (UTC)

It's mentioned as a speculated natural explanation for kamaitachi in the ja.wiki article, yes. But the ja.wiki article is cautious about this, so I didn't transfer it when I was revamping the article. If you can find your source again, feel free to include it. TomorrowTime 01:39, 1 April 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Another Popular culture reference

In Rurouni Kenshin, the character Raijuta uses a technique called the "izuna", which Kenshin refers to as kamaitachi in volume 6 of the manga. Should we put it in, what do you guys think?

[edit] The track listings

To whoever keeps reinserting tracks called "Kamaitachi". Could you please describe, how this info is important to the article and to a thorough understanding of what the article is about? If not, I maintain that this is useless trivia and should not be added. TomorrowTime 09:48, 25 August 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Ushio and Tora

When I added the Ushio and Tora reference, I did so because the characters I mentioned are probably the most typical example of kamaitachi I personally found in a manga. One makes the person fall, one cuts and one heals, just like in the old legend. And they can turn into weasels - they're not characters "inspired by" or just the name of a technique, but real kamaitachi taken straight (more or less) from old tales. Also, they become pretty recurrent characters from a certain point on. So I'll stay behind guidelines if I'm asked to, but I believe they are a more significant example than others presented here. Not least in order of importance, that manga is the only one quoted here that is almost completely based on the concept of the presence in this world of youkai, many of which are taken straight from Japanese tradition.

  • Different editor here from OP above. I found out about these creatures from the anime Ushio and Tora, but when I checked the kamaitachi wiki page, there was no reference to the anime, so I've added one.