Yuki-Onna

Encyclopedia Entry:
An ice spirit possessing blue skin and a chilly cold body that lives in snowy mountains. They have the power to control blizzards. They cause men who enter snowy mountains to get lost and then invite them to their homes.



Men invited back to their homes are treated to home-cooked meals, and will probably receive a warm reception. Then, in order to gain the man’s spirit energy and warmth, she’ll seek intercourse with that man. If he rejects her advances, she’ll use her “ice breath” on him. Their breath is concentrated with their magical energy and has the power to freeze the human heart. With a frozen heart, the man will yearn for another’s warm touch the same as she does, and then he probably won’t be able to help but have sex with her to create warmth. Furthermore, once they’ve known the warmth of human skin, they won’t easily let a man go. If one tries to escape, he’ll likely be sent back to her home by the power of the blizzard she controls.

Also, when they are young, they visit human villages in a child form called “yukiwarashi.” It is said that they mix in and play with human children. The yukiwarashi themselves are not particularly dangerous, but when a young boy has interacted with one of them and caught her interest, she will likely return back to the village after becoming a “yuki-onna” to come get him and make him her husband.