Ittan-momen
Region of origin: Kagoshima, Japan
A possessed bolt of cotton cloth, the ittan-momen is a tsukumogami, a spirit born of a disused or forgotten household items, who glides silently through the night sky looking for victims to prey upon. Unlike most tsukumogami or yokai who have a tendency to be mischievous but harmless to people, the ittan-momen is particularly vicious and will wrap itself around a person’s head, smothering them to death.
Oboroguruma
Region of origin: Kyoto, Japan
Originally included in images as a part of yokai processions, the faced oxcarts persisted as a visual element without any real lore attached to them until the 18th Century when Toriyama Sekien added them to his yokai bestiaries. By his writings, the rich patrons (and their drivers) of Kyoto would clash constantly over parking their carts, until their rage over being denied prestigious spots would inhabit the cart itself and manifest as a tsukumogami. These living carts would roll up outside homes on foggy nights and beckon the residents to go for a ride.
Originally posted on Tumblr on May 3, 2016
Mokumokuren
Region of origin: Japan
A staple of Japanese haunted houses, the Mokumokuren are dilapidated shoji doors that, as they fall apart with age and grow holes, become infested by pairs of ghostly, staring eyes. The eyes will act as spies for the other yokai denizens of the house but otherwise are considered largely harmless. However, some stories tell of those daring to sleep under the gaze of the Mokumokuren waking up to find their own eyes missing, possibly added to the door’s collection.
Originally posted on Tumblr on May 2, 2016
Biwa-Bokuboku
Region of origin: Japan
A genial sort of spirit, the Biwa-Bokuboku is a tsukumogami born of a discarded Biwa lute given anthropomorphic form. Stories place him wandering around as a busker, living a solitary life in abandoned buildings or partying it up with other yokai, usually heard at nights playing himself, dancing loudly and singing songs about the neglect he felt from his former owners.
Originally posted on Tumblr on May 1, 2016
Kurayarou
Region of origin: Japan
When a mounted warrior falls in battle, his saddle may carry on the fight in his stead. A consumate warrior, the kurayarou (literally “saddle rascal”), either in deference to or directly inhabited by the spirit of its fallen owner, will pick up sticks or anything else handy and continue fighting whatever crosses it’s path.
Originally posted on Tumblr on April 30, 2016
Bakezori
Region of origin: Japan
A tsukumogami of a sandal, at age 100 the footwear gains limbs, a mouth and a single eye, and out of boredom or spite it tends to utilize it’s newfound motility primarily to annoy; running around its home at night stomping, yelling, and nipping at the human inhabitants. Alternatively it may decide to set out on its own and, as most footwear is wont to do, go missing.
Originally posted on Tumblr on April 29, 2016
Minowaraji
Region of origin: Japan
A tsukumogami of an animated mino straw raincoat. It is often depicted in the outdoors holding agricultural tools, perhaps in its new life it retained aspects of the peasant or farmer who had originally owned it and carries on with their work.
Originally posted on Tumblr on April 28, 2017
Chochin-Obake
Region of origin: Japan
A tsukumogami, the class of yokai who are inanimate objects given life, the chochin-Obake is a paper lantern that after 100 years of existence gains a soul and sentience. As with most yokai, they are harmless pranksters, reveling in spooking humans but not out to inflict any real injury.
Originally posted on Tumblr on April 27, 2016
Waniguchi
Region of origin: Japan
One subset of yokai is the concept that when inanimate objects reach a certain age, they will magically be imbued with life and become creatures known as tsukumogami. One such tsukumogami is the waniguchi, a type of gong hung at shrines, who will grow a reptilian body to compliment it’s crocodile’s-mouth-shaped opening.
Originally posted on Tumblr on October 30, 2015
The Compendium of Arcane Beasts and Critters 