Demon of the Week 018
"Kasha" from the Gazu Hyakki Yagyō by Toriyama Sekien, ca. 1781.
This comes a day late. Sorry for the delay.
The kasha (火車, translates literally to "burning chariot" or 化車, "changed wheel") is a Japanese yōkai that "steals" corpses from cemeteries, especially targeting those who died as a result of an over-accumulation of evil deeds.
In many cases the kasha's true identity is actually a cat yōkai, and it is also said that cats that grow old may turn into kasha. There are tales of the kasha in many Japanese classics (the Kiizō Danshū, the Shin Chomonjū, and others).
As a method of protecting corpses against kasha, in Fujikawaguchiko—at a temple that a kasha is said to live near—a funeral is often performed twice, and it is said that by putting a rock inside the coffin for the first funeral, this protects the corpse from being stolen away by a kasha. Also, in Ehime prefecture, it is said that leaving a razor on top of the deceased's coffin can prevent the kasha from stealing the interred corpse.
