Home › Glossary › Letter R

Rokurokubi

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

Japanese yōkai women whose necks stretch at night to feed or spy

Detailed Definition
Rokurokubi reveal hidden desires or vampiric tendencies. In poetry, they symbolize duality, the secret self, and the danger of unchecked curiosity, often used in psychological or horror contexts.
Example
Example in poetry:
Rokurokubi, the long-necked Japanese yokai, haunts surreal poetry: "Rokurokubi’s neck unspools at night—her head floats near your sleeping face"; Poets use her to explore voyeurism and fear: "She watches dreams you never shared—Rokurokubi’s gaze is cold and close"; In psychological verse, she symbolizes anxiety: "Is it real, or sleep’s own trick? Rokurokubi blurs the line"; Her ambiguity inspires uncanny imagery: "By day, a maid; by night, a head—Rokurokubi’s secret stays untold"
Additional Notes
Rokurokubi: A Japanese yōkai whose neck stretches enormously at night while her body sleeps, often to spy or feed. Sometimes conflated with nukekubi (detachable heads). In poetry, she represents surveillance, dissociation, or the uncanny separation of mind and body. Useful in surrealist or feminist verse exploring female agency, invisibility, or nocturnal autonomy; contrast with Western neck-stretching myths like the Nukekubi for comparative folklore studies.
Also Known As
Nukekubi
Skip to main content