Home › Glossary › Letter G

Gashadokuro

Folklore
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

Want to hear it? Click the Listen button to hear the browser speak the word using text-to-speech!

The pronunciation guide uses the ARPABET phonetic system—the same system used in speech recognition and text-to-speech applications.

Vowel Examples:
AE1 = cat, bat
EH1 = bed, head
IY1 = see, me
OW1 = go, boat
UW1 = boot, do
Stress Numbers:
0 = no stress (unstressed)
1 = primary stress (loud)
2 = secondary stress (medium)
Example:
AH0 TH IY1 N AH0
= a-THEE-na (Athena)

The stressed syllable (marked with 1) is pronounced louder and clearer than others.

Quick Definition

A giant skeletal yōkai in Japanese folklore formed from unburied war dead

Detailed Definition
The Gashadokuro appears at night, clattering bones and seeking vengeance. It embodies unresolved trauma and collective guilt. In poetry, it symbolizes historical memory, the cost of war, and the hunger for justice, often used in postwar or pacifist verse.
Example
Example in poetry:
Gashadokuro, the giant skeleton of famine, stalks apocalyptic verse: "Gashadokuro rattles in the drought—its hunger echoes through the bones"; Poets use it to confront historical trauma: "Born of war and wasted fields—Gashadokuro drinks the moon’s pale light"; In climate poetry, it symbolizes ecological collapse: "When rivers run with dust, not rain—Gashadokuro wakes again"; Its silence is more terrifying than sound: "No scream, just clatter—Gashadokuro’s step means no one’s left to pray"
Additional Notes
Gashadokuro: A giant skeletal yōkai from Japanese folklore, formed from the bones of people who died of starvation. It appears at night, clattering its teeth, seeking vengeance. In poetry, it embodies collective trauma, famine, and unresolved death. Rare in classical texts but popular in modern manga; effective in post-apocalyptic or socially conscious verse addressing historical suffering.
Also Known As
Gashadokuro (starving skeleton) Odokuro
Skip to main content