KARURA

Lore

Karura is not regarded as a demon or an ordinary yokai; it is a divine being of deva rank, a member of the celestial legions that guard moral order. These heavenly predators accompany anyone who has sworn to protect the Buddha’s teaching and will savagely wipe out anything that threatens spiritual purity.

Karura most often appears as a giant with a human torso and an eagle’s head; its skin is red, its feathers shimmer gold, and its wingspan reaches 30—60 feet. One trait never changes—the power to spew sacred flame, Karura-en. This purifying fire symbolically burns away spiritual pollution. A beat of Karura’s wings is accompanied by a thunder-like crash and air currents strong enough to topple trees.

Karura dwells atop Mount Shumisen. Its diet is snakes and dragons, which in Japanese tradition carry symbolic weight: serpents are associated with greed, anger, and ignorance. Therefore each dragon consumed by Karura is seen as an act of cleansing evil. This makes the creature a traditional protector against epidemics, venomous snakes, and water-borne disasters.