(image by Toriyama Sekien)

The keukegen (毛羽毛現; けうけげん, keh-oo-keh-gen) is a Japanese yōkai that was first documented by prolific 18th-century scholar Toriyama Sekien. It is a small, shy, dog-like spirit whose name literally means, “an unusual thing which is rarely seen”. Beware their cute, fuzzy appearance – its presence spreads disease and ill omens to any residents that have the misfortune of living in the same space as them. They tend to hide in shadowy, dust-covered corners, beneath unclean floorboards, or in overgrown gardens. Keukegen can be banished by tidying the premises.

My upcoming novel The Final Fallen features a keukegen named Ibo (疣, ee-boh). Ibo was Chiyo’s (the protagonist’s) first familiar – a choice that did not impress her magic teacher, Uncle Jōzo. “That thing isn’t good enough for you,” Jōzo insisted. Chiyo didn’t care. The little yōkai isn’t the sharpest knife in the drawer, but he’s boundlessly full of happiness. Ibo assumes the form of a furry shih-tzu that adores his master. When not masquerading as an innocent puppy, he returns to his disconcertingly vertical form as a very dirty keukegen. Ibo always has flies buzzing over his head and constantly emanates a musty, moldy stench.

Ibo’s name is derived from a real-life story. My mother, from whom I get my Japanese heritage from, once overheard her oka-san (mother) refer to a relative as “Ibo”. This relative was her mother-in-law, my mother’s paternal grandmother. My mother, not being fluent in Japanese herself, believed this was a normal term she could use to refer to her own grandmother. She casually used it in conversation with her oka-san. She called her grandmother “Ibo” several times. Oka-san stopped what she was doing and stared at her open-mouthed and wide-eyed.

My mom then learned oka-san had actually said, “gibo” (義母), which means “mother-in-law”.

Ibo literally means “wart” in Japanese.

“Gibo” isn’t exactly the most respectful way to refer to one’s mother-in-law in Japanese to start with, so Oka-san was delighted by her daughter’s new nickname for her “beloved” mother-in-law.

This story was repeated to me decades after it happened. Years after I first heard it, I decided to name the heroine’s trusted but smelly best friend after this familial anecdote. It’s not the most flattering name, but Ibo loves Chiyo regardless.

References and Further Reading

Keukegen