#noppera-bo

Noppera-bō 101: The Ghost Who Forgot Its Face (Literally)

Meet the Noppera-bō, Japan’s eeriest minimalist. At first glance, they look totally normal—just a quiet traveler, a lonely villager, maybe even your coworker Makoto (you know the one). But then they turn to face you… and bam! No eyes. No nose. No mouth. Just a smooth, blank canvas of existential dread.

They don’t attack, chase, or whisper cryptic haikus. They just exist, facelessly, ruining your evening and any hope of restful sleep. Classic ghost etiquette.

They’re not even evil, technically—they’re more about that slow, creeping horror. The kind that sinks in after you've screamed, bolted, and questioned your life choices.

Ah, the fusiform face area (FFA). It's the part(s) of your brain that recognizes faces, and, depending on your experience, other features (the example given in my class was a birdwatcher used his FFA to recognize bird species).

noppera-bo from japanese folklore is an avatar of the stranger!

Noppera-bo

[*is a Japanese yokai with no eyes, nose or mouth on its face.]

I have severe astigmatism. So my vision is normally blurry. Recently, when I pass someone wearing a pink or beige skin-like mask for anti-COVID purposes, occasionally, they could look as a noppera-bo for a moment, which freaks me out. I think, "No way, no way...can’t be", but then I am rather suspicious of this. It may not be surprising to find ghosts and yokai-monsters hanging around, just not usually visible. And those who can see it can see it.

But they are not so dangerous. If you threaten them with a loud scream, they will run away in surprise. Or, "This is not the place for you to come. Please leave." If you ask them lightly to leave, they will leave immediately.

It is much more troublesome for living people. There is nothing more dangerous than a living person. If you try to scare them a little, you could be sued and they won't listen to you for free even if you ask them to leave.

When I thought about it, I couldn’t help thinking, "If only all the people around me were monsters, it would be much more peaceful".

[Picture above - the noppera-bo, quoting "Are you there?"  from 'Kitaro of the Graveyard' by Mr. Shigeru Mizuki.]

のっぺらぼう

[＊のっぺらぼう（野箆坊）は、顔に目・鼻・口の無い日本の妖怪のこと]

わたしはひどい乱視です。だから、普段から視界がぼやけています。最近、COVID対策でピンクやベージュの肌っぽいマスクをしている人とすれ違うと、一瞬のっぺらぼうに見えることがあり、ビクッとします。「まさかァ、まさか…」と思いつつ、わりと疑っています。普段目に見えないだけで、幽霊や妖怪がウロウロしていてもおかしくはないのかもしれません。見える人には見えるし。

しかし、彼らはそれほど危険な存在ではありません。「わっ」って大きな声で威嚇すれば、驚いて逃げてしまいます。あるいは、「ここはあなたが来るところではありません。出て行ってください」と軽くお願いすれば、すぐに出て行ってくれます。

生きている人間の方がよっぽど厄介です。生きている人間ほど危険なものはない。下手に脅かそうものなら、訴えられかねないし、出て行ってくれと頼んだってタダでは言うことを聞いてくれやしない。

Kiyomi Haunterly 👻

Daughter of the Noppera-bō (のっぺらぼう), Japanese Faceless Ghost

Birthday: March 24

Star Sign: Aries ♈