Gashadokuro

Gashadokuro (がしゃどくろ), literally "hungry skeleton," also known as Odokuro, are mythical creatures of Japanese folklore

Gashadokuro's Mythology

Gashadokuro are spirits taking the form of giant skeletons and being fifteen times larger than an average person; it is said that they are created from the piles of bones of people who died from starvation or in battles, without being buried.

These yokais wander around after midnight, catching lone travelers and biting their heads off to drink the resulting blood.

There is a way to know when they are approaching, as soon as their victims hear a dull ringing in their ears. Gashadokuro are reputed to possess the powers of invisibility and invincibility, although Shinto charms are supposed to ward them off.

Gashadokuro In popular culture

• In the Ninja Sentai Kakuranger Super Sentai series, Gasha Dokuro is one of the main villains who is described as cold, calm, ruthless and calculating. He appears in Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, Mighty Morphin Alien Rangers and Power Rangers Zeo under the name Rito Revolto. A gashadokuro appears as a giant monster of the day in the 3rd episode of the new series Shuriken Sentai Ninninger.
• In Youkai Watch there is a yōkai called Gashadokuro but it is a reference to gashapons, Japanese toys that one tries to get from coin-operated machines like gumballs. This yokai named Grolos has 2 sub-versions: Blingos (the same but in gold) and Bogos (the same but in diamond)
• In one of the DLC episodes of the Muramasa: The Demon Blade remake for PlayStation Vita, one of the last boss is a gashadokuro.
• The gashadokuro (usually referred to as the "Giant Skeleton") is depicted in roles of varying importance throughout the Castlevania series.
• In Hellboy: Sword of Storms, a gashadokuro emerges from the earth of a graveyard and rakes the ground to unleash many monsters on Hellboy.
• In Mystical Ninja 2 starring Goemon, we meet a gashadokuro at the beginning while he is on a bridge.
• In the Studio Ghibli movie Pompoko, the monster parade scene features a gashadokuro.
• In Adventure Quest Worlds, the gashadokuro is shown as the forbidden Chaos Beast called the O-Dokuro. Kitsune uses the Hanzamune blade to free it from a temporal rift.
• In Okamiden, there is a demon known as gashadokuro that looks like a gigantic human skeleton with a fiery heart and two twin blades located in its stomach. There is also an armored version that is much more powerful.
• In the manga/anime series Inu x Boku SS, Roromiya Karuta is a gashadokuro.
• In the game The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask the captain of the Stalfoss is a huge skeleton.
• In the movie Kubo and the Magic Armor, a Gashadokuro appears as the guardian of one of the three relics.
• In the game Dark Souls 3, the Supreme Leader Wolnir is a huge skeleton that emerges from the darkness.
• In the Shin Megami Tensei series, the gashadokuro are ordinary monsters.
• In the Kyokō Suiri series, the heroine sometimes rides on the shoulder of a gashadokuro to get around.
• In the video game Nioh by Team Ninja, Gashadokuro is a boss.
• In the manga One Piece a member of the crew of the hundred beasts calls Brook "a gashadokuro" on multiple occasions.
• In the video game Cuphead from MDHR studio, a giant skeleton can be fought in a ghost train. It can be assumed that he is a Gashadokurō.