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Ittan-Momen
Img character 08
2018 anime art
Name
Japanese 一反木綿
English Roll of Cotton
Rollo Cloth
Profile
Species Yōkai
Gender Male
Abilities Flight
Constriction
Affiliation Kitarō Family
47 Yōkai Warriors
Other Information
Weaknesses Scissors
Fire
Water
Accent Kagoshima
Likes Pretty women
Beautiful kimonos
Dislikes Being worn as a loincloth
Washers and dryers
Marital status Single and looking
First Appearance
Manga The Great Yōkai War (1966)
Anime Series 1 Episode 10 (1968)
Portrayals
see Cast
[v · t · e]

Ittan-Momen (一反木綿, Roll of Cotton) is a flying yōkai made of cotton and a member of the Kitarō Family. Kitarō and friends often ride on him when traveling.

Cast[]

Appearance[]

Img charadetail 08

2018 anime design.

Ittan-Momen resembles a strip of white cloth with arms and a pair of thin pointy eyes that lack discernible pupils. His body gets thinner towards the tail and he has no mouth. His body is roughly 10 meters long, though he has been depicted much shorter. He can also stretch his body to some extent to become longer. His appearance relatively stays the same throughout the different anime series with small differences. Despite the lack of a visible mouth, Ittan-Momen is capable of eating and drinking.

In the manga, Ittan-Momen is noted that he has a bone at the front edge of his head and thus his head is the hardest part of his body.

In the 1968 anime, Ittan-Momen has very few, if none at all, creases across his body being rather smooth. His eyes are a darker shade than the rest of his body and his arms have four digits per hand, each having round edges.

Within the 1971 anime, his body is a darker shade of white and still rather smooth. His eyes are black with round edges on opposite sides and his hands are noticeably smaller.

In the 1985 anime, Ittan-Momen is pale white in color and has a few noticeable creases across his body. His eyes have blue sclerae and his arms are thinner with smaller hands both having five digits, which is carried over to the next few series.

Within the 1996 anime, Ittan-Momen's body is bright white with several noticeable creases. His eyes are cyan in color, his arms are slightly longer and wider with his hands becoming thinner making it indiscernible from his arms and his fingers end in sharp points.

In the 2007 anime, Ittan-Momen is dull white with several marks spread across on his body. His eyes have orange sclerae with small shadows beneath them and his arms are longer with his fingers having sharper edges.

Within the 2018 anime, Ittan-Momen is bright white in color with his body being mostly smooth. His eyes have dark blue sclerae with several marks underneath them and his fingers have sharper edges. He also has a pair of "ears" that are placed on slightly lower than his eyes on the edges.

History[]

Ittan-Momen first appeared in the Shonen Magazine story The Great Yōkai War, and his first anime appearance was in the adaptation of the story in episode #10 of the first anime adaptation. In both the manga and anime version of The Great Yōkai War, he dies during the battle with the Western Yōkai when he fights the Witch. He tries to suffocate her in a mid-air battle, but she pierces his heart with a poison needle. He later reappears in the story Yōkaijū without any explanation as to how he was revived. From then on he was a recurring character.

About[]

Unlike the character of legend, Ittan-Momen is a good yōkai who often helps Kitarō in his cases and battles. Although he's normally used for transportation, he is also a competent fighter and has even been asked by Medama-Oyaji to lead troops into battle before. Nezumi-Otoko has even referred to him as a "war hawk", always preferring to fight first and talk later. As he is made of cotton, he is weak against fire and scissors. In the manga, he has blood and can bleed, though this is not true in most anime adaptations. In the fifth anime, he is shown to be fearful of vampires and is even sucked dry by the Vampire Tree. He also appears to have a heart, as he was killed in The Great Yōkai War when the Witch pierced his heart with a poison needle. Whenever his body gets torn, he only needs to be sewn back together to recover. He is always careful to keep himself clean.

Because the original Ittan-Momen is from Kagoshima, in most adaptations he speaks with a Kagoshima dialect. This started with the third anime, where he was voiced by Jōji Yanami, who grew up near Kagoshima in Fukuoka and incorporated the accent into his performance (however, in the third anime he spoke more of a Hakata dialect). Since then, many other voice actors have used the dialect for him as well.

He does not appear to have a mouth but is often shown eating with Kitarō and the others. In the third anime opening, he is depicted as playing the trumpet, and in Ep. 96 he is seen drinking juice.

Legend[]

From Shigeru Mizuki's "Japanese Yōkai Encyclopedia":[1]

A white cloth about a meter long (one tan, or ittan) that flutters through the sky during the evening or night times. In the old days, this was a yōkai who would rise from Mt. Gongen near the Shibashi Bay in Kagoshima Prefecture, and in particular it frightened children.

It's appearance isn't too terrifying, and in fact slower people would probably assume it's just laundry that flew off in the wind. Hwoever, since it attacks people anyway, it doesn't matter if it doesn't look like a yōkai.

One night, a lone man was rushing home. Suddenly, a white cloth fell from the sky right in front of him. The man stopped in surprise, and suddenly the cloth began strangling him.

The man then took out his short sword and cut the cloth. The cloth promptly vanished, but the man found a splash of blood on his hand.

The Ittan-Momen strangles people to death like this, or covers their face until they suffocate.

There is also a theory that it is not a spirit creature. But as for what it is exactly, I have no idea.

Image Songs[]

Trivia[]

  • His favorite food is chocolate and his favorite alcohol is sweet potato shochu.
  • In the 2002 Kodansha International Bilingual Comics edition, he is referred to as Rollo Cloth.
  • In the Drawn & Quarterly English translations, his name is for some reason shortened to Itta Momen.
  • In the past, Ittan-Momen had been painted red on occasions.
  • In the 2005 film, The Great Yōkai War (2005 film), the Kappa tries to reason with an Ittan-Momen by saying "You were always brave for Kitaro!"

References[]

  1. "Japanese Yōkai Encyclopedia Final Edition: Yōkai, Other Worlds and Gods", by Shigeru Mizuki, pg. 82

Navigation[]

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See also
47 Yōkai Warriors
v  e
Yōkai Rally
Manga
1968 Anime
1985 Anime
1996 Anime
2007 Anime
(GeGeGe no Kitarō: Yōkai Japan Rally 3D)
v  e
Yōkai Baseball Team
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1968 Series Yōkai and other Mystical Beings
Kitarō and Allies
Threats
Others
v  e
1971 Series Yōkai and other Mystical Beings
Kitarō and Allies
Threats
Others
v  e
1985 Series Yōkai and other Mystical Beings
Kitarō and Allies
Threats
Jigoku
Others
v  e
1996 Series Yōkai and other Mystical Beings
Kitarō and Allies
Threats
Others
Amefuri-KozōBaby DorotabōDai-TenguEnma-DaiōGama-SenninIwanabōzuKaruraKashaboKawausoKawazaruKubinashi-UmaKuchisake-OnnaMt. Kurama Karasu-TenguNeko-SenninMermaid ChildObariyonShisaYakanzuruYama-WarawaZashiki-Warashi
Akaname & Shiro-UneriAkashitaAmamehagiFukuro-SageKaminariKashaKeukegen & Gasha-DokuroMizu-Sennin
Xú FúYōkaChiisuttā no Kami
v  e
2007 Series Yōkai and other Mystical Beings
Kitarō and Allies
Threats
Others
v  e
2018 Series Yōkai and other Mystical Beings
Kitarō and Allies
Threats
Others
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