Apr 11, 2024
Waniguchi,
are temple gongs that gained sentience through care and maintenance. The umbrella term for these living artifacts is Tsukumogami.
seen from Maldives
seen from Singapore
seen from United States
seen from Türkiye
seen from United States
seen from United States
seen from Kenya
seen from China
seen from Australia
seen from China
seen from China
seen from China
seen from United States
seen from China
seen from China
seen from Singapore
seen from Netherlands
seen from Poland
seen from United States
seen from Germany
Waniguchi,
are temple gongs that gained sentience through care and maintenance. The umbrella term for these living artifacts is Tsukumogami.
this is my jjk sona they don't have a cursed technique so they've resorted to taming/wrangling curses that are animalistic in nature, to varying degrees of success they transport their curses in a bag which is essentially a really shitty prison realm; it can fit and sustain living beings and curses, but it is able to be escaped quite easily. to prevent this, they create enclosures that keep the curses placated, and put the entire enclosure in their bag when they need it. their favorite is waniguchi, a special grade curse who represents the fear of the deep sea. it is considered special grade on technicality; the curse itself is weak, but it can summon a domain which is full of deep-sea-level pressurized water, which is enough to instantly crush most living things. waniguchi fucking hates their guts and is constantly trying to kill them. in order to use the domain to their advantage, they have to show up to a fight in a deep sea diving suit, which puts them at a huge initial disadvantage. once they get an opening to release waniguchi, though, it will immediately invoke its domain and start trying to attack them, crushing their enemies as a byproduct. this is, obviously, a huge pain in the ass, so they only use this in dire situations. waniguchi is usually kept at home in a pressurized tank.
A scaly, bell yokai with wide, toothy jaws. Due to the nature of its original form, they are typically seen only around abandoned shrines and temples.
The Waniguchi is a rather visually striking species of amphibian that is found far east, dwelling within the many rivers and ponds. While some may assume it a kind of lizard at first glance, these creatures are actually large salamanders, bearing wide round heads and damp scaleless skin. What may cause this confusion are the numerous hardened bumps that dot their hide, perhaps giving the impression of scales. Some of these hardened circles grow to bigger sizes, providing a sort of crude armor for the salamander. Also running along its body are notable crests, believed to aid the males in winning over mates. While they are quite flashy, most people are drawn more to the head of the Waniguchi, which is said to have quite the signature shape and markings to it. The locals have likened it to a special bell that they have, due to its rounded flat appearance. Thus this species gained their name from that very bell!
When it comes to their daily lives, Waniguchi pretty much spend their time either sleeping or waiting. They lurk on the bottom of water bodies, typically hiding in burrows, under rocks or tucked into crevices. They feed upon fish, crustaceans, worms and bugs, or any small aquatic critter that swims too close. Their mouths open wide to suck in prey, and then a multitude of tiny sharp teeth to grab hold! Anything they catch, they swallow whole, and then they either go back to waiting for more food, or simply fall asleep to digest the day's catch. Not a complicated lifestyle, but there is certainly beauty in simplicity! And I am sure there are some folk that are envious of an easy life of just eating and sleeping!
While the Waniguchi is by no means an utterly bizarre or crazy creature, what is interesting to note is its place in local culture. I mentioned before that the people have named it after a bell of theirs, but that isn't where things ended. These calm, simple amphibians are seen as protective spirits or guardians, which appears to be a common theme with salamanders in this region. They are also said to be wise, and their mere presence can bring about blessings. Thus, Waniguchi have been taken in as pets and shrine animals, given a place to live within sacred pools and ponds. If you find yourself at any shrine that has an ornamental water body near it, you can be sure a Waniguchi lives within it! The caretakers of these places feed them and ensure their ponds are in perfect condition, as it is vital to keep the salamanders happy! It should be noted that it is decades of breeding these salamanders that has led to the domesticated breeds having such beautiful head patterns. I can't imagine the amount of work it took to get them to have such a similar look to the bells themselves! That being said, the wild ones do not have nearly as intricate of a design to them, being much more muddled, mottled and dull. Regardless, they are treated with the same level of respect, and it is illegal to harass them or harm them in any way. I should point out that this includes throwing coins and random crap into their ponds! There are special fountains and boxes to put coins and donations, you clods! If you chuck that stuff into their pools, there is a chance they may swallow them, get sick or even die! So read the signs, respect the rules and keep your garbage out of their homes! Do know that if I catch you breaking that rule, than I too will partake in reckless stupid behavior and toss you into the pool too!
Chlora Myron
Dryad Natural Historian
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"Waniguchi"
Not much to really say with this one, as I was not able to learn much about the Waniguchi yokai, but it was kind of funny that descriptions often called the bell shape "crocodilian" meanwhile the giant salamander is just sitting right there with the roundish flat head.
Day 26 - Waniguchi
東方虚舟 ~ Sapphic Starseas Abyss has been in a bit of a slump. been trying to wrap up remaining ui graphic needs rather then getting lost in endless content art, but endless allergy rashes to a carpet beetle infestation and the outside wall of my apartment being nearly completely replaced both have rather wrecked me. thus, I revisited the well of monsters for some more immediately tangible and gratifying individual piece work.
the queer gamedev life is one's girlfriend looking at end results and being kissed as her "little gay Frankenstein", in my experience. the goal is to be hyper-specific and impossible to replicate.
Mumbling Jubokku
A ravenous sproutling grown in bloodsoaked battlefields. With sufficient time and distance, even anthologists' forgeries - from Mizuki to Borges - end up with lives of their own.
Sizzling Tengubi
The skydancer society has various elemental phenomena attributed to them in remote rivers and mountains. This curious river-wisp surveys upon these complicated affairs in such waterlogged times.
Dharmic Waniguchi
The Myouren Temple's attempts at fresh devil deification will take ages yet. In the interim, innately religious beasts, like this gong-headed crocodilian, have begun to propagate their peaceful doctrines.
Shoji Duet
These two haunting heralds on sliding doors have formed both sorts a partnership. Together, this kage-onna and mokumokuren shift and project themselves whenever unseen, wherever they so wish.
Languid Globster
An amorphous mess of salt strands and flesh tendrils hides its exact form under a cetacean skull. These carcass-scrapings of Rorschach blots congeal around the broader public's fears of the sea's mystique.
been planning on expanding the use of these npcs, not that I'll say which of any of these also doubles as fights. random events providing buffs that last across map nodes affecting different groups of node types, retreating before battle or creeping in after battle, additional materials for open-book timed quiz material on IRL lore (alongside all those length prior enemy descriptions), replacing wandering shopkeepers entirely to instead set up stalls in Chimata's markets, and the prior provisions of flavour of rest beyond campfires by eating / reading / brewing away. all sorts of attempts at non-generic worldsetting most (deckbuilder) roguelikes lack for these days…
(creditwork.)
The Sixth Entry for Inktober / Octobestiary is a Waniguchi. Man, yokai really are some of the most interesting creatures out there.
Waniguchi
Image © @nightmaresyrup, accessed at their blog here
Waniguchi CR 9 NG Construct (tsukumogami) This reptilian beast has a scaled body, a finned tail and a head comprised of an immense bell. It clashes its jaws together menacingly.
A waniguchi is a tsukumogami created from a bell left behind in an abandoned temple, shrine or other holy site. As such, they have a strong connection to the gods and to the alignment that correlated with the site that spawned them. All waniguchi, regardless of alignment, consider themselves to be protectors and custodians of their holy site and work to preserve its sanctity in the eyes of the appropriate god. Some waniguchi are content to act as lone sentinels, but they frequently corral other appropriate creatures into joining their vigil. They are typically knowledgeable about the history of their domains and the doctrine of their gods, and may remember old and forgotten information. Whether they are willing to share this information depends on their alignment, the attitude of their deity, and the nature of the supplicant.
Although waniguchi look more like a true flesh and blood being than most other tsukumogami, they are truly constructed creatures. Their scales are made of lacquer and metal, and their bell heads can deflect blows and ring violently in a cone of devastating sound. Despite their crocodilian forms, they sink in water and are rarely good swimmers.