White cotton cloth flying over Osumi nights
Ittan-momen
A white strip falls from the dusk sky. The one who laughs that it is only laundry feels it tighten soundlessly around the neck.
Overview
Ittan-momen is a white bolt of cotton cloth from the Osumi region of Kagoshima. It flies at dusk or night and wraps around a person's neck or face. It is known from modern folklore records rather than old picture scrolls.
Encounter
On roads near Mount Gongen or the Kimotsuki River, a pale cloth drifts like laundry in the wind, then silently drops from overhead. It was also used as a warning to send children home before dark.
Lore
It appears in Yanagita Kunio's Yokai Meii and Nomura Denshi's Osumi Kimotsuki-gun Dialect Collection. The tale depends on local Osumi oral records, with variation in the exact transmission area.
Traits
Taking the form of a single tan of cotton, it glides through the sky and wraps around a victim's head or throat. If cut with a blade, it may vanish while leaving blood behind.
A cotton-like thing, one tan in length, flutters at night and attacks people.
Osumi Kimotsuki-gun Dialect Collection