Hiderigami, from Japan: what it is and what people believe

The Hiderigami is a mythical yōkai or yaoguai known for causing droughts in East Asian folklore. It originated as the goddess Hanba in ancient China before evolving into a ghostly or vampire-like entity in later traditions.

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Hanba helped Huang Di win a war but was cursed to cause droughts.
Emperor Zhenzong prayed for Guan Yu to defeat a drought spirit.
Toriyama Sekien drew Hiderigami as a one-eyed, one-armed beast.
The spirit was originally a goddess named Ba who lost her power.

What it is

The Hiderigami is a supernatural being found in Japanese and Chinese folklore. In Japan, it is called Hiderigami, which translates to the god of drought. The creature is classified as a yōkai, a type of monster or spirit. Its Chinese counterpart is known as Hanba, a yaoguai with similar powers. These entities are believed to possess the ability to cause severe droughts by removing water from the land. They represent the destructive side of weather phenomena in traditional storytelling.

Where it comes from

The legend begins in ancient China during a war between Huang Di and Chiyou. Huang Di summoned Yinglong, a dragon that controlled floods, to fight Chiyou. Chiyou used weather wizards to create storms. To counter this, Huang Di sent the goddess Ba. She wore black clothes and was bald, radiating intense heat that dissipated the storm. After helping Huang Di win, Ba lost her divine power. Unable to return to heaven, she stayed in the north where droughts occur. Cursed everywhere she went, she became known as Hanba, the drought spirit.

Hiderigami, drawn and placed

Emblem black, with the feather shape. Drawn from this page, not a photograph.

Living
Revived
Fading
Historical
Legendary
Performed

Standing: Legendary Known from myth, story and legend rather than from recorded practice. This says whether people still do it, not whether it works.

A feather: used in cleansing and blessing in some traditions, worn as a sign of office, and carried as a charm.

Lineage: East Asian yōkai and yaoguai traditions

Where it sits The tradition it belongs to, and when it is done.

What it is for

The Hiderigami and Hanba are associated with harm through environmental destruction. They are said to cause droughts, stripping areas of water. In some stories, people tried to drive them away using tigers or floods to bring rain back. Later traditions involved rituals to banish these spirits. For example, Emperor Zhenzong sought help from Guan Yu to defeat a hanba that had drained Yanchi lake. This led to celebrations on the thirteenth day of the fifth lunar month to pray for rain and banish demons.

Peoples and places

The concept started in China and spread to Japan. In China, the figure evolved over time. Early texts described Hanba as a goddess in black. By the mid-Han period, she became more like a ghost. After the Ming dynasty, she took on vampire-like traits. In Japan, the Hiderigami appears in illustrated demon books. Toriyama Sekien depicted it as a one-eyed, one-armed beast. Another source describes it as small, moving quickly like the wind, with eyes on top of its head. Nüba is mentioned as a related female counterpart in Chinese lore.

At a glance: who, where and when

Peoples

Chinese Japanese

Belief worlds

Folk and village custom

What people believe

These beings reflect ancient fears of unpredictable weather and famine. The original story explains droughts as the result of a fallen deity's curse. Over centuries, the divine aspect faded, replaced by images of monsters and ghosts. This shift mirrors a decline in nature worship and a rise in fear of the unknown. The spirits are seen as forces of imbalance that must be contained or driven away to restore harmony and rainfall.

Questions people ask about Hiderigami

What is the Hiderigami?

It is a mythical drought spirit from Japanese and Chinese folklore. In Japan, it is called Hiderigami, while in China, it is known as Hanba. Both are believed to cause dry weather by removing water from the land.

How did the Hiderigami originate?

The legend starts with the goddess Ba, who helped Huang Di defeat his enemy Chiyou. After losing her divine power, she was cursed to stay on earth. Her presence caused droughts, turning her into the spirit known as Hanba.

What does the Hiderigami look like?

Descriptions vary. Early Chinese texts show a goddess in black. Later versions depict a ghost or vampire. Japanese illustrations show a small, fast-moving creature with eyes on its head, or a one-eyed, one-armed beast.

Good reading and sources

Where this page comes from

The facts on this page come from the Wikipedia article "Hiderigami", written by its contributors and used under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence, and from its Wikidata record (CC0). EveryJaadu rewrote the text in its own words, with AI assistance, and compares every page with the article to make sure no passage is copied. It may be reused under the same CC BY-SA 4.0 licence with a link back.

It may contain mistakes. Names and customs differ from one community to the next, and some knowledge is closed to outsiders and left out here. This page describes belief and practice. It does not say that any of it works, it is not a how-to, and it is not medical advice. If something is wrong, tell us. Last refreshed 2026-10-12.

Photo credits on this page

The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.