Iwanabōzu (岩魚坊主, meaning Char Monk) is a char fish yōkai.
Appearance[]
A different Iwanabozu in the 2007 anime.
Iwanabozū is a yokai that resembles a humanoid char fish that dresses in a Buddhist priest robes.
Personality[]
In both the third and fourth anime, Iwanabōzu is an ally of Kitarō, often recruited to help him defeat enemies, often by chanting sutras. In the latter, he also acts as a guide for souls on their way to the afterlife.
In the fifth anime. He is shown as a strict and serious warrior who had a hard time training and giving discipline to Nami-Kozo, but he shown to care for him due to him being a orphan and him offering fish to eat.
In the sixth anime, not much is known about Iwanabozū, other than that he is a harmless yōkai and is rather calm. He is shown having an interest in Shogi, as he played a match against Akaname.[2]
History[]
1985 Anime[]
Iwanabōzu appears in episode #53 of the third anime adaptation, Yōkai Mōryō of Dish Mansion. He is recruited by Ittan-Momen to defeat Mōryō, and chants sutras to make him explode. As everyone else cheers for him, he simply says it's nothing for him.
1996 Anime[]
2007 Anime[]
Iwanabōzu as a member of the 47 Yōkai Warriors.
He is the 18th of the chosen 47 Yōkai Warriors and the representative of Gifu Prefecture. Along with Nami-Kozō, Iwanabōzu appears and becomes one of the 47 Yōkai Warriors in episode #92 of the fifth anime adaptation, Violent!! Yōkai Waterwheel!! Good Luck Nami-Kozō.
In that episode, he was tasked to train Nami-Kozo in order to defeat the Mōrei-Yassan.
2018 Anime[]
A group of Iwanabozu in the episode 28.
An Iwanabōzu appears in episode #23, The Yōkai Apartment Secret Story. In this episode, he becomes one of the new tenants of the Sokai Apartment, where he plays shogi with Akaname.[2]
Five Iwanabōzu appear in episode #28, The Great Yōkai War. They appear along with several other yōkai of the GeGeGe Forest to help Kitarō fight off the Western Yōkai. Three saw Victor Frankenstein coming towards them, when his monster comes down, consuming two of them as one fell backwards to Hyōsube. He and two more are later seen witnessing the fight between the monster with Nurikabe. After Backbeard's army retreats, the three are seen recuperating from their injuries along with the others.[3]
One is among the crowd gathered around the GeGeGe House, trying to drive Agnès out of the forest. He listens to Medama-Oyaji's warning that if they drive her out then the tragedy Malay yōkai will repeat somewhere else. Soon followed by Kitarō as he explains how grave the consequences are if Japan becomes a part of Backbeard's empire. Causing the crowd to look at one another, until Kitarō draws their attention as he stands on his resolve to fight.[4]
Powers and Abilities[]
Taimatsumaru's fireball turned into a boulder by Iwanabōzu in the 2007 anime.
Another World Travel: He can freely travel from this world to another world to guide spirits to heaven.
Elemental Conversion
- Petrification
Legend[]
Illustration of Iwanabōzu by Shigeru Mizuki.
Iwanabōzu are char that have gained magical abilities and become yōkai. They take on the form of a monk and appear to berate fishermen who overfish or use cruel methods for fishing.
Once, a monk confronted a group of fishermen for using poison to capture fish, stating that they would end up poisoning themselves and ordering them to stop. To get rid of him, the fishermen offered him some dango, which he took before parting. With him gone, they continued using the poison to fish, even catching a large char around 1.8 meters. When they returned to their village and prepared to cook the giant char, they found to their surprise that when cutting it, in it was the dango they gave to the monk.