Ayakashi (yōkai)

Ayakashi (アヤカシ) is the collective name for yōkai that appear above the surface of a body of water.

[1] In western Japan, ayakashi are said to be the vengeful spirits of those who died at sea and that they are attempting to capture more people to join them.

[4] There is also the folk belief that if a live sharksucker were to get stuck to the bottom of a boat, it would not be able to move, so ayakashi is used as a synonym for this type of fish.

[5] In the Konjaku Hyakki Shūi by Sekien Toriyama, the ayakashi are represented by a large sea snake, but this may actually be an ikuchi.

[1] In the Kaidanoi no Tsue, a collection of ghost stories from the Edo period, there was as stated above.