Gashadokuro
[ranking: 9]
Gashadokuro are giant skeletons that rattle around the countryside in the darkest hour of the night, bones clacking together. The Japanese onomatopoeia for the sound these yokai make, "gachi gachi," is the origin of their name.
Gashadokuro don't go looking for victims, but will kill whomever they find as they wander about. They crush victims with their giant hands, then bite off their heads. These yokai are formed when hundreds of unburied dead with grudges against the living fuse together into one monster. They usually form after large battles or famines. Fans of anime will recognize gashadokuro from various films, including Pom Poko.
Jikininki
[ranking: 15]
Jikininki are ghosts of the Zen tradition. Much like the western ghoul, jikininki seek out and feed upon corpses. They are reincarnated selfish people, and despise their cursed existence. A zen story about a wandering priest named Muso Kokushi tells the tale of his encounter with a jikininki.
Nuribotoke
[ranking: 17]
Nuribotoke are zombie-like creatures that creep out of butsudan (home altars) left open at night. They are black, and their eyes dangle out of their sockets. They can be kept at bay with salt, but it is better just to make sure the butsudan is closed when its time to go to bed. Nuribotoke don't do much other than scare the crap out of families, but it's so easy to keep them at bay, it seems silly to suffer terror at their hands.
Yamauba
[ranking: 8]
Yamauba are old hags living in the mountains and forests. They offer shelter to weary travelers, then eat their unsuspecting guests. Yamauba were initially human, but were corrupted over time, and turned into monsters. Most look like normal elderly women until they attack, at which point they turn into monstrous hags, sometimes with horns or fangs. They possess powerful magic, which aids them in killing and consuming guests.
Yuki-Onna
[ranking: 18]
Yuki-onna is a female yokai (literally "snow woman") who preys upon travelers lost in heavy snow storms. She is similar to a succubus, and sucks the life force from her victims with her icy breath. Stunningly beautiful, she has long black hair and pure white skin. Sometimes, such as in the story of yuki-onna in the Kwaidan, they fall in love with humans and even marry them. Fans of Japanese cinema will recognized the yuki-onna from both Masaki Kobayashi's Kwaidan and Akira Kurosawa's Dreams.
Datsue-ba
[ranking: 6]
Datsue-ba is a demon that takes the form of an old hag, or, more specifically, the Old Hag of Hell. In Buddhist folklore, she rips the clothes off those entering the underworld. People who arrive without clothes have their skin ripped off instead.
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