Faceless bride with only a black-toothed mouth
Ohaguro-bettari
In the dusk shrine, a white nape sways. The bride turns, and there are no eyes, no nose, only a blackened mouth split wide with laughter.
Overview
Ohaguro-bettari is a female yokai drawn in Ehon Hyakumonogatari as Haguro-bettari. She has no eyes or nose, only a large mouth blackened with tooth dye, and startles people by turning her face toward them.
Encounter
At dusk near a deserted shrine or temple, a beautiful woman or bride appears with her head lowered. When someone speaks to her, she turns and reveals a face with no features except a wide black mouth.
Lore
The main source is the 1841 Ehon Hyakumonogatari by Toka Sanjin and Takehara Shunsensai. Related Bon-dance tales are told in the Taira area of Fukushima's Hamadori region.
Traits
She lures people with a beautiful bridal form and frightens them with a faceless grin. Direct harm is rarely recorded; explanations include a dead woman's regret or a failed fox or tanuki disguise.
When the woman turned, there were no eyes or nose, only a great mouth laughing.
Ehon Hyakumonogatari