Tenjō-Name

Tenjō-Name
Name
Japanese	天井なめ
Rōmaji	Tenjō-Name
Meaning	Ceiling Licker
Profile
Species	Yōkai
Gender	Male
Abilities	Extendable Tongue
First Appearance
Manga	Kamanari (1971)
Portrayals
1985 anime	Kazumi Tanaka
2018 anime	Takashi Matsuyama
The Great Yōkai War	Tetsuta Yoshida

Tenjō-Name (天井なめ Tenjō-Name) is a reptilian yōkai and a resident of the Yōkai Apartments. He first appears in the Shonen Sunday story Kamanari.

Personality

Tenjō-Name's favorite food is mold. He is also quite skilled at shogi and even once made to the finals of a tournament against Abura-Sumashi.

History

Manga

Tenjō-Name appeared primarily during the Shonen Sunday run as a resident of the Yōkai Apartments, usually only as a background character.

He made a much more prominent appearance in the Shinpen GeGeGe no Kitarō chapter Tofu-Kozō, where he is brought in to lick up the mold outbreak caused by Tofu-Kozō. When this proves too much even for him, a spoonful of his gastric acid is mixed with a tubful of water to create a mold-removing elixir to save the day.

2018 Anime

Tenjō-Name appears in episode #28, The Great Yōkai War. He appears along with several other yōkai of the GeGeGe Forest to help Kitarō fight off the Western Yōkai.

Non-Kitarō appearances

Showa

In Showa: A History of Japan, NonNonBa tells young Mizuki about the Tenjō-Name when they spend the night at her hometown.

Powers and Abilities

Extendable Tongue: Tenjō-Name can extend his tongue to lick mold off of any surface.

Mold Dissolving Elixir: Mixing only a spoonful of his gastric acids with a tubful of water can create an elixir that can dissolve any mold.

Legend

Tenjō-Name is a yōkai that appears at night to lick the ceiling, leaving a noticeable stain there. It appeared in mansions and halls when no one was around, using its long tongue and body to reach the ceiling to lick it. If one finds a stain on the ceiling, it is said to be Tenjō-Name's doing. Modern stories tell that these stains may contain monstrous faces and starting at these stains may lead to insanity and possibly death.

Tenjō-Name was created by Toriyama Seiken in the Gazu Hyakki Tsurezure Bukuro, inspired by an entry from Yoshida Kenkō's Tsurezuregusa, which advises that building high ceilings in homes will make for a cold and dimly lit winter, Seiken wrote that this is not because of a house policy, but rather Tenjō-Name is preventing light from reaching the room.

Additionally, his appearance originated from the Hyakki Yagyō Emaki, which in turn would become the basis for Isogashi.