Ō-nyūdō 大入道

Ō-nyūdō (大入道), the “Great Monk,” is a diverse class of giant apparitions that haunt the dark roads and abandoned temples of Japan, manifesting as enormous, bald-headed priests of terrifying size.

Meaning and Origin

The name means “Great Monk” or “Giant Priest” (ō - great, nyūdō - a lay priest or monk).

Despite the name, an Ō-nyūdō is not always a Buddhist spirit. The term serves as a general category for any giant, humanoid phantom that appears in clerical robes. Many are believed to be shape-shifting animals—foxes, tanuki, or otters—that have grown large enough to mimic the most respected and authoritative figures in Japanese society to better intimidate their human victims.

Characteristics

An Ō-nyūdō can range from a slightly oversized human (about 2 meters) to a gargantuan entity as large as a mountain. They are almost always depicted with a shaved head and the heavy, flowing robes of a monk. Their most striking features are their eyes—huge, bulging, and glowing with a cold, supernatural light.

Unlike the Mikoshi-nyūdō, who grows taller as you look at it, the Ō-nyūdō is often seen as a static, massive shadow that blocks the path of a traveler. They are known for their intense, soul-crushing glares that can cause a human to faint or even fall into a terminal illness from the sheer weight of the spirit’s spiritual pressure.

Legends

Legends of the Ō-nyūdō are divided between those who are malicious and those who are strangely helpful. In Hokkaido, stories told of an Ō-nyūdō by Lake Shikotsu whose glare was so powerful that travelers who saw him would lose their minds.

However, in other prefectures, there are tales of “Waterwheel Ō-nyūdō” who would emerge from the woods at night to help a poor farmer operate a heavy mill or move a blocked boulder. These helpful giants always vanished at dawn, and it was said that if you ever tried to thank them or speak to them, they would turn into a pile of leaves or a small, wet weasel. They represent the overwhelming scale of the supernatural world, where even a “holy” form can hide a monstrous and unpredictable power.