shadow of a large tree, and its neck has become long, but since this is its appearance to people looking from behind, it does not mean that it is emphasizing the length of its neck like that of a rokurokubi. While mikoshi-nyūdō depicted as a yōkai with giant characteristics exists, the mikoshi-nyūdō that brings to mind the long-necked rokurokubi depicted in play images in the Edo period are certainly not strange. There are those who think that they are related to the rokurokubi, and since the rokurokubi of legends are frequently female, they are sometimes pointed out as examples of male rokurokubi. The length of its neck has been exaggerated over the passage of eras, and in the late Edo period, it has become standard for its neck to be long and thin, and for its face to have three eyes. In many kusazōshi that had a theme on yōkai, they are also depicted as having a characteristic long neck, and from having an appearance with such impact, they almost always appear as the chief yōkai. There is the opinion that these kinds of things give a glimpse on the varied and complicated influences that went into forming the world of yōkai. See also Rokurokubi Takaonna List of legendary creatures from Japan Notes Yōkai Japanese giants Japanese folklore Fictional Buddhist monks