Kodama (spirit)

Kodama (木霊, 木魂 or 木魅) are spirits in Japanese folklore that inhabit trees.

The phenomenon known as yamabiko, when sounds make a delayed echoing effect in mountains and valleys, is sometimes attributed to this kind of spirit and may also be referred to as "kodama".

A kodama's outer appearance is very much like an ordinary tree, but if one attempts to cut it down, one would become cursed, etc., and it is thus considered to have some kind of mysterious supernatural power.

[2][5] In the collection of yōkai depictions, the Gazu Hyakki Yagyō by Toriyama Sekien, under the title 木魅 ("kodama"), an aged man and woman are depicted standing alongside the trees and here it is stated that when a tree has passed a hundred years of age, a divine spirit would come dwell inside it and show its appearance.

[6] According to the 13th century Ryōbu Shinto manual Reikiki, kodama can be found in groups in the inner reaches of mountains.