Tenjō-Name

Tenjō-Name
Name
Japanese	天井なめ
Rōmaji	Tenjōname
Meaning	Ceiling Licker
Profile
Species	Yōkai
Gender	Male
Abilities	Extendable Tongue
First Appearance
Manga	Kamanari (1971)
Anime	Series 3 Episode 106 (1988)
Portrayals
1985 anime	Kazumi Tanaka
2018 anime	Takashi Matsuyama
The Great Yōkai War	Tetsuta Yoshida

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

Appearance

Tenjō-Name consistently appears as a human-sized yōkai with an elongated snout, pointy ears, big nose, sharp teeth, long tongue, and whose eyebrows, back, and pelvic area are covered in strips of paper resembling a matoi, a type of paper flag used by firemen in the Edo Period.

His Shonen Sunday design is in line with his appearance in Toriyama Sekien's Gazu Hyakki Tsurezure Bukuro, however in Shinpen GeGeGe no Kitarō, Tenjō-Name is redesigned with softer features, with a less angular snout and bigger pupils.

In the 1985 anime, Tenjō-Name resembles his Shinpen design, but has smaller pupils. His skin is a light, lime green, while his lips are a light pink. His "hair" is a dark green.

In the 1996 anime, Tenjō-Name looks more like Shigeru Mizuki's illustration of him, with a more long snout, red pupils, yellow "hair", and bluish-gray skin.

Another type of Tenjō-Name in the 2018 anime adaptation.

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.

In the 1985 anime, Tenjō-Name's personality is close to the one in the manga, with some changes. When he realizes Nezumi-Otoko is in danger, he actually stops his game of shogi, unlike his fellow players, Konaki-Jijii and Gangi-Kozō, whom the former needed to be convinced to help Nezumi. When he arrives to lick Nezumi-Otoko, Tenjō-Name offhandedly mentions that he knows how smelly the hanyō is. He also jokes along with Ittan-Momen about how Nezumi-Otoko looks better when covered in mold. He can also be proud of his fellow yōkai's abilities, shown when he nods in approvement after Shisa saves Yumeko. He also likes scaring humans into submission if they disrespect nature.

In the 1996 anime, since Tenjō-Name only appears briefly, not much can be inferred from his personality. What is known is that he dislikes others encroaching upon his territory, looking a lot more visibly angry.

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.

1996 Anime

Tenjō-Name appeared in the 1996 anime as the inhabitant of a lost village, appearing in episode # 88, Kura-Bokko's Lost Home. In this episode, he appears from the ceiling to lick three men who were encroaching upon their territory.

2007 Anime

Tenjō-Name appears in episode 25 as part of an audience for the Yokai Games event

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.

Another Tenjō-Name appears in episode #61, Tofu-Kozō's Mold Pandemic. He appeared in Sokai Apartment where Sunakake-Babaa introduce Kitaro and Medama-Oyaji to him after he helped out clean off the mold on the ceiling, He later appear to help Tofu-Kozo & Kana to clean off all the Yokai Mold that was covering the city

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.

The Great Yōkai War

Tenjō-Name appears after Yasunori Katō is defeated, listening to the words of the Yōkai Grand Elder.

The Great Yōkai War: Guardians

Tenjō-Name appears appears in the army Nurarihyon gathered to fight the Yōkaijū.

Powers and Abilities

Extendable Tongue: Tenjō-Name can extend his tongue to lick mold off 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

Illustration of Tenjō-Name

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 staring at these stains may lead to insanity and possibly death.

Tenjō-Name was created by Toriyama Sekien 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, Sekien 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.