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Konaki-Jijii
Img character 06
2018 anime art
Name
Japanese 子泣き爺
English Crybaby Geezer
Crying Old Man
Profile
Species Yōkai
Gender Male
Age 3100
Height 140cm
Weight Anywhere from 25kg to 2 tons
Home Yōkai Apartments, GeGeGe Forest
Abilities Weight changing
Stone skin
Affiliation Kitarō Family
47 Yōkai Warriors
Other Information
Body type A rather large baby
Face type A drunken old man
Likes Sake
Sleeping
Shogi
Closest friend Sunakake-Babaa
Marital status Ask Sunakake-Babaa
First Appearance
Manga A Walk to Hell (1961)
Anime Series 1 Episode 7 (1968)
Portrayals
see Cast
[v · t · e]

Konaki-Jijii (子泣き爺 or 子泣きじじい, Crybaby Geezer) is an old man yōkai and a member of the Kitarō Family. He is one of Kitarō's strongest allies and is often seen with Sunakake-Babaa.

Cast[]

Appearance[]

Img charadetail 06

2018 anime design.

Konaki-Jijii has a head shaped like a baby's with the face of an old man with a mustache and drooping eyebrows. He typically wears a Kintarō apron and a mino.

In some adaptations, his front tooth is blackened.

History[]

Konaki-Jijii first appeared in a cameo in the rental manga story A Walk to Hell and made his official debut in the Shonen Magazine story The Great Yōkai War. His first appearance in the 1st anime was in Ep. 7. In both the manga and anime version of The Great Yōkai War, he dies during the battle with the Western yōkai. In the manga version his cause of death is unknown, but his corpse is seen after he was lead to the enemy lair by the Witch. In the anime version he is killed by Dracula. In both versions, however, he defeats one of the enemies by weighing them down on the raft and drowning him (Frankenstein in the manga, Wolfman in the anime). He later reappears without any explanation as to how he was revived (Ep. 25) and became a recurring character.

About[]

Konaki-Jijii is a comic, absent-minded old man yōkai who attacks enemies by clinging to them and turning himself to stone, increasing his weight and mass immensely and pinning them down. He works a lot with Sunakake-Babaa and they are often seen together, leading fans to speculate they may be a couple or even married. Whether or not they are has never been clarified in either the manga or anime, but they are some instances implying they maintain some form of a relationship, such as Sunakake-Babaa getting jealous when Konaki-Jijii fights against other women. In the 2nd anime, Konaki-Jijii implies he actually has a wife, but she is never shown. However, in Yōkai Sen Monogatari he is in love with Sunakake-Babaa.

On occasion he has been shown to have a lot of money saved up, such as the stories Sumo and Witch Lon Lon. In the 4th anime, he even owns fancy clothes and a personal computer he uses to look up information. In Kitarō Kunitori Monogatari, he is distantly related to the human politician Deputy Prime Minister Kinkaku. Kinkaku himself is aware of their relation and even writes him a letter.

He has lived a long time, and as a result his endurance is weak and he sleeps a lot, particularly in the 5th anime. He is also quite a drinker, and Sunakake-Babaa frequently scolds him for getting drunk. In The Great Yōkai Trial, Nezumi-Otoko gives him sake laced with sleeping potion to prevent him from testifying on Kitarō's behalf. There are many other instances of his drinking getting him in trouble, such as when Neko-Shō was able to steal his youth while he was drunk (4th anime, Ep. 108).

Legend[]

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

Deep in the mountains where not many people wander, sometimes a traveler might hear the cry of a baby. The traveler will enter the mountains, wondering why a baby would be there, and pick up the infant in their arms, only for it to grab onto them and refuse to let go.

The traveler will try to run, but the infant will suddenly increases it's weight (to at least 188 kg, and possibly 100s of times more) until the traveler can't move anymore. Eventually the infant becomes so heavy that the traveler is crushed to death. This is the work of the Konaki-Jijii from the mountains of Tokushima Prefecture.

It is also known as the Gogya-Naki (ごぎゃ啼き, Gogya Cryer). This version of the creature wanders the mountains crying "Gogya, Gogya" and his crying seems to cause earthquakes. He is also sometimes said to have only one leg.

There is also the Konaki-Babaa (児啼婆, Crybaby Hag), who has the body of an infant but the face of an old woman, and like the Konaki-Jijii increases it's weight when picked up. In one story, an old man will come across the creature and take it home and try to cook it in a pot, only for it to suddenly change into a pumpkin.

The story may be related to the Notsugo from around Uwajima in Ehime Prefecture, in particular both are stories about a baby heard in the mountains who turns out to be a yōkai.

Image Songs[]

Trivia[]

  • In the 2002 Kodansha International Bilingual Comics edition, he is referred to as Old Man Crybaby.
  • In the 2007 anime version, he's the 3rd of the chosen 47 Yōkai Warriors of Japan. He's the representative of Tokushima Prefecture. And his mark is located behind his the upper left side of his head.
  • In the 1980s Shonen Magazine manga, he suffers from rheumatism.

References[]

  1. "Japanese Yōkai Encyclopedia Final Edition: Yōkai, Other Worlds and Gods", by Shigeru Mizuki, pg. 305

Navigation[]

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Kitarō Family
Main
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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
v  e
Hakaba Kitarō Characters
v  e
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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