Compiled by the Imperial Tsukumo Institute
Catalogue of Tsukumogami
Catalogus Tsukumonbiotae
Tsukumon are a kind of tsukumogami, said to dwell in things that have endured through many years. This catalogue records the species confirmed so far. Each looks like something you have surely seen before, yet most of them are mimics. Orders are divided by body plan, and families by distinctive features. The first species listed in each family is its type species.
Determiner: Dr. Toshiro Tsuzura
Director of the Imperial Tsukumo Institute, D.Sc. The foremost authority on tsukumogami taxonomy, he identified every species in this catalogue. His works include “Phylogeny and Mimicry of Vessel Spirits” and the twelve-volume “Illustrated Tsukumogami”.
Contents
Bird-forms Pseudaviformes
Spirits that appear in the guise of birds. All bear a beak. · 5 families · 10 species
Flipper-hands Pinnimanidae
Stand upright with flipper-like arms.
Horned owls Cornistrigidae
Bear large projections that could be ears or horns.
Crested birds Cristavidae
Wear a coloured crest or covering on the head.
Little birds Passerulidae
Small-bodied, with necks or tails that flow outward.
Petal-wrapped Floricapsidae
Wrapped in a cloak of petals (monotypic family).
Coral-crowned Corallicapitiformes
Spirits that sprout coral-like clusters of grains on the body. · 2 families · 6 species
Coral-heads Corallicomidae
The cluster grows on top of the head.
Coral-cloaked Corallamictidae
Wear the clusters on the chest or flanks.
Beast-forms Pseudotheriiformes
Spirits that take the shape of beasts to slip into human villages. · 4 families · 22 species
Three-eyes Triophthalmidae
Have three or more ring-shaped eyes.
Cat-deceivers Pseudofelidae
Mimic cats. They have triangular ears but are not cats.
Four-legs Quadrupedidae
Stand on four legs and borrow the shape of beasts.
Face-borrowers Prosopocollidae
Paste parts of faces borrowed from other beasts onto their bodies to disguise themselves.
Wraiths Phantasmiformes
Legless spirits that drift with their hems trailing. · 3 families · 12 species
Bell-wraiths Campanoididae
Bodies shaped like a temple bell.
Droplets Guttidae
Shaped like a droplet with a pointed top.
False jellyfish Medusoididae
Spread their hems wide and flat.
Orbs Globiformes
Round spirits without legs that float in the air. · 2 families · 9 species
Will-o'-wisps Animulidae
Smooth and round. They keep the shape of the soul-lights that float over night roads (hitodama).
Spiked orbs Echinoglobidae
Covered in projections.
Vessel-forms Vasiformes
Spirits that still clearly keep the shape of the vessel or tool they once were. · 3 families · 13 species
Open-mouthed vessels Urceolidae
Shaped like vessels with open mouths.
Angular things Quadratidae
Angular in shape.
Netsuke Netsukeidae
Bear a loop for a cord (monotypic family).
Face-forms Anthropoformes
Spirits that imitate human faces, or statues that are prayed to. · 2 families · 6 species
Statue-mimics Simulacridae
Pass themselves off as statues or ornaments.
Masks Personidae
Only the face rises to the surface.
Horn-forms Cornuformes
Spirits whose horns make up most of the body. · 3 families · 5 species
Two-horns Bicornidae
Bear two horns.
Guising horns Larvicornidae
Disguise their horns as ears or tails to mimic other creatures.
One-horns Unicornidae
Bear a single horn (monotypic family).
Veiled Ones Velatiformes
Spirits that live hidden beneath a cloth or covering. · 2 families · 3 species
Sheet-wearers Linteovelidae
Wear a sheet over the head.
Roof-wearers Tectovelidae
Wear a roof (monotypic family).
Tsukumon Keeping Permit
Only keepers with a permit may submit keeping records for a tsukumon.