DOROTABO

Lore

As is widely known, much of Japan’s landscape is dominated by rugged mountain ranges and stony soil, unsuited for farming. Families may save their entire lives to purchase even a small piece of precious farmland. Yet children do not always honor the labors of their forebears. If a prodigal son squanders his father’s hard-won fields by indulging in gambling or drink, he may return home only to find Dorotabo waiting: a restless spirit born from the very earth itself.

Dorotabo are the ghosts of elderly farmers who spent a lifetime toiling in rice paddies, only to watch helplessly—after their death—as their beloved land fell into disrepair. They appear as one-eyed, three-fingered humanoids rising from the mud at night. Legend says our five human fingers represent three vices (anger, greed, ignorance) and two virtues (wisdom, compassion). The Dorotabo appears with only three fingers, signifying the vices.

Dragging itself half out of the mud, this spirit can only spew curses and howl incoherently: “Give me back my land!” A Dorotabo is driven by rage and vengeance—fury at the ignorance and avarice that have spoiled the fruit of its life’s work. Though it manifests in a rice field, it is not bound to remain in just one spot; using its arms, it can crawl slowly along the muddy ground.