Wikipedia
Ayakashi may refer to:
- ayakashi (yōkai), the collective name for yōkai (supernatural monsters) that appear above water
is a 2005 visual novel developed by Crossnet. An eroge sequel was later released in 2006 with the name Ayakashi H. A twelve-episode anime adaptation was aired in 2007. A bundle release of the game called Ayakashi Pack was released on December 14, 2007 to celebrate the release of the anime, containing both Ayakashi and Ayakashi H.
is the collective name for yōkai that appear above the surface of some body of water.
In the Nagasaki Prefecture, the kaika that appear above water are called this, and in the funayūrei in the Yamaguchi Prefecture and the Saga Prefecture are also called this. In the western part of Japan, they are said to be those who died at sea and are attempting to capture people to join them. In Tsushima, they are also called "kaika of ayakashi (ayakashi no kaika)," and appear on beaches in the evening, and it would look like as if a child were walking in the middle of the fire. On coasts, kaika would appear as mountains and obstruct one's path, and are said to disappear if one doesn't avoid the mountain and tries to bump into it intently.
There is the folk belief that if a live sharksucker, an actual fish, gets stuck to the bottom of the boat, it would not be able to move, so ayakashi is a synonym for this type of fish.
In the Konjaku Hyakki Shūi by Sekien Toriyama, the ayakashi is represented by a large sea snake, but this may actually be an ikuchi.