Ghosts & SpiritsEpic
Yuki-onna
Japan · Honshu snow country
A pale snow spirit who appears in storms and vanishes with the wind.
Yuki-onna is often seen on frozen roads and mountain passes, beautiful and terrifying in equal measure. Some tales say she freezes travelers with her breath; others let her spare a life after a promise of silence. Her power comes from the border between wonder and exposure: the moment snow becomes deadly, the landscape itself seems to take human form.
Japanese yuki-onna snow-woman folklore from snowy regions, with regional variants and later literary
retellings such as Kwaidan.
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Ghosts & Spiritslocalized traditionfolklore / oral traditionEpic
