are a Japanese yà Âkai that appear in several yà Âkai emaki, such as the Hyakkai Zukan by Sawaki Suushi and the Gazu Hyakki Yagyà  by Toriyama Sekien (1776).
In the Edo Period Hyakkai Zukan (1737, Sawaki Suushi), the Bakemonozukushi (Ã¥ÂÂç©ãÂ¥ãÂÂãÂÂ) (artist and date unknown, owned by Kagaya Rei), the Bakemono E (Ã¥ÂÂç©絵巻) (artist and date unknown, owned by the Kawasaki Citizen's Museum) and the Hyakkai Yagyà  Emaki (1832, Oda Gà Âchà Â, owned by the Matsui library), among other emaki, as well as the e-sugoroku, Jikkai Sugoroku (owned by the National Diet Library), the Gazu Hyakki Yagyà  among others, they are portrayed covered with long hair and with some hair hanging down in front of the face. There is no explanatory text besides their name, so it is unclear what kind of yà Âkai they were intending to depict.
In emakimono such as the Hyakkai Zukan and the Bakemono Emaki, as well as the Jikkai Sugoroku and Gazu Hyakki Yagyà Â, they go under the name of "otoroshi," while in the "Bakemonozukushi," they are called "odoro odoro," while in the Hyakki Yagyà  Emaki, they are depicted under the name of "Ke Ippai" (æ¯Âä¸Âæ¯, "much hair").
According to the Edo Period writing Kiyà « Shà Âran (å¬ÂéÂÂç¬Â覧), it can be seen that one of the yà Âkai that it notes is depicted in the Bakemono E (Ã¥ÂÂç©絵) drawn by Kà Âhà Âgen Motonobu is one by the name of "otoron."
Concerning the change in names such as "otoroshi" and "odoro odoro," the yà Âkai researcher Katsumi Tada posits that in the "Bakemonozukushi," the name written was actually "orodoku" (ãÂÂã©ãÂÂãÂÂ, to surprise) with the final ã (ku) written very long (refer to image), so "otoroshi" (ãÂÂã¨ãÂÂãÂÂ) could simply be a misreading of this. However, "odoro odoro" means "creepy, scary," as it is the adjective "odorodoroshii" (ãÂÂã©ãÂÂãÂÂã©ãÂÂãÂÂãÂÂ) turned into a noun, and "otorshi" is the Kamigata dialect way of saying "osoroshii" (æÂÂãÂÂãÂÂãÂÂ, terrifying), so there is not much difference in meaning either way. The yà Âkai researchers Tada and Kenji Murakami posit that the word "odorogami" (æ£Â髪), meaning extremely long growths of hair, is also contained in "odoro odoro". Furthermore, both the Hyakkai Zukan and the Gazu Hyakki Yagyà  put the otorshi alongside the waira, and "wai" (çÂÂ) can be understood to mean fear, so it can be interpreted that the "waira" (æÂÂãÂÂ, fear) and "otoroshi" (æÂÂãÂÂãÂÂãÂÂ, dread) are two yà Âkai that make up a pair.
The emakimono do not provide any explanatory text besides their name, and there is no written material that write about any related folk legends, so it is not clear where they ever appeared in legends.
In yà Âkai-related literature and children's illustrated yà Âkai reference books starting in the Shà Âwa and Heisei periods, it is often explained that when they find people who do imprudent or mischievous things at shrines, they would suddenly come falling from above. Also, in the Tà Âhoku Kaidan no Tabi (1974) by the author Norio Yamada, under the title of "Otoroshi," there is a story about how in Fukushima Prefecture, when the unfaithful who have never even once visited a temple go to their mother's funeral, upon passing under the temple gates, they would suddenly be seized by a thick arm and hoisted up. Kenji Murakami did not find any legends that followed this explanatory text and posits that this is nothing more than a made-up imagination based on Sekien's otoroshi picture in the Gazu Hyakki Yagyà  (where it perches atop a torii).
While it is unknown what relation this may have with the otoroshi in yà Âkai pictures, in Yuki no Idewaji (éªã®åº羽路) (1814) by Edo Period traveler Sugae Masumi, there is the following story about a hill road:
In the same book is written that the "Sae no Kamizaka" (éÂÂç¥ÂãÂÂç¥ÂÃ¥ÂÂ) is in the town of Sakuraguchi, Inaniwa, Ogachi District Dewa Province (now the town of Inaniwa, Yuzawa, Akita Prefecture).
Also, in the public archives of Akita Prefecture, there is a nikuhitsu book titled Kubota Jà Âka Hyakumonogatari thought to be created by a warrior of the Akita Domain (author and year unknown), there is a depiction of a human-like yà Âkai with a huge head called the "Naganozaka Hiyama Yashiki no Odoroshi" as one of the yà Âkai called forth by the hitotsume-kozà Â.
The Bakemonozukushi Emaki (Ã¥ÂÂãÂÂç©尽ãÂÂ絵巻) (from the Edo Period, now in private possession and entrusted to a museum of the Fukuoka Prefecture), considered to be a yà Âkai emaki that was made for putting captions on previously existing yà Âkai pictures seen in emakimono, the otoroshi was introduced under the name of "shishitori" (ãÂÂãÂÂãÂÂãÂÂ) (for unknown reasons, all the yà Âkai in this emaki had their names changed). In this caption, they have a height of about 8 shaku (about 1.8 meters), and a size of about 8 jà  in area, and its mouth was 1 jà Â, 1 shaku in length (about 3.3 meters). They appear in a town called Narabayashi, Buzen Province (perhaps now Narabayashi, Tsunawaki, Iizuka, Fukuoka Prefecture), and they eat horses and cattle in one gulp. It is said that the end of a mountain hunt, it tried to hide in a cave, when it was finished off with a bamboo spear.
The Otoroshi's name comes from a regional corruption of the word osoroshii meaning scary, frightening or disheveled. The Otoroshi is a rare and mysterious creature that resembles a hunched creature that is covered in a messy mane, has blue or red skin, and large tusks. It is a master of disguise and only appears when its wants to appear. The Otoroshi is often sighted perching on top of roofs, and temple gates. It will often pounce on anyone who has a wicked soul where it will tear them to shreds and eat their remains outside of their usual food of small birds. The Otoroshi may seem like a vengeful monster, but they are only there to protect the temple gateways. They are the protectors of the Torii gates. "Nothing is known of its origins; it is speculated to be related to a similar yà Âkai, the waira, due to their common habits and environment." Despite their frightful appearances, the Otoroshi is loyal to the guardian deities.