Kurobōzu

Kurobōzu (黒坊主 Kurobōzu, lit. Black Monk) is an animal-like yōkai.
==Appearance==
In the manga, he usually stayed in a mist-like form when he is not staying in the painting as the woman on it.
In the 2007 anime, Kurobōzu has black fur and a head similar to a panther's, with several pale red marks over his forehead and cheeks. His eyes have red sclerae with tiny yellow pupils, a brown nose, and a pair of round ears. He wears a long, pale olive robe that covers his entire body.
Within the 2018 anime, Kurobōzu has black fur and a head similar to a rat, but has a long snout with a prominent pair of front teeth, with three red marks over his forehead. His eyes have red sclerae and small yellow pupils. He wears a dark robe that covers his entire body. His true form is a painting of a woman in a kimono.
==Personality==
==History==
===Shinpen GeGeGe no Kitarō===
Kurobōzu was sealed away into a painting of a woman about two or three centuries ago when he tried to suck the life force of a high priest. As the painting was delivered from one to another throughout the centuries, the sealing was weakening and he broke free. He went on a rampage, stealing the life force of others including Nezumi-Otoko, but was defeated by Nurikabe's water gun.
===Saishinban GeGeGe no Kitarō===
He appears in Chapter #23 of Saishinban, titled Nurarihyon's Counterattack. He was under Nurarihyon's control. He sucked industrial waste and became a large entity called Kuro-Kumo-Nushi (黒雲主, Black Cloud Boss). He attacked a squad of Tengu Police and took their life force. Kitarō lured Kuro-Kumo-Nushi and Nurarihyon to the Mihara-Yama volcano, causing them to be engulfed in an eruption.Saishinban GeGeGe no Kitarō: Chapter 23
===2007 Anime===
He appears in episode #20 of the fifth anime adaptation, Voice From the Dark! Ghost Spot.GeGeGe no Kitarō (2007): Episode 20
===2018 Anime===
He appears in episode #62 of the sixth anime adaptation, The Four Generals of Jigoku: Kurobōzu's Trap.GeGeGe no Kitarō (2018): Episode 62
==Powers and Abilities==
The Kurobōzu is a recurring yōkai in the series and often a powerful adversary.
Water Pollution: In the 2018 anime, Kurobōzu has the ability to pollute water, making it red-black in color, smell foul, and, while not toxic for drinking, will cause stomach pains. He is able to undo this at well, as seen via special purifiers.
Black Blob: Kurobōzu can generate and manipulate a dark slimy substance similar to tentacles. He uses it to slap away at his targets or capture them with it, and unleash a discharge of dark electrical yōkai energy on them. He is shown to make at most, four separate growths from his back.
Portrait Body: In the manga, he is usually in the figure of the woman painted on the sealing. As he intakes more life forces, the number of babies the woman is holding in the paint increases one by one. He can also fight in this form such as breathing fire, but he revealed his true form when Shisa bit on throat. Within the 2018 anime, Kurobōzu's true form is the painting that he carries around, from which he can manifest his more mobile form. It is for obvious yet ironic reasons, that it is weak to the same kind of water he can pollute. Both the painting and his proxy body need to be in close proximity, meaning Kurobōzu cannot maintain his proxy body too far away.
Fire Breath: In the manga, Kurobōzu is capable of expelling fire from his mouth.
Immense Strength: In the 2007 anime, Kurobōzu was shown to have great physical strength, easily lifting a car while in his mist form and stomping on Kitarō with enough force to cause a crater to form.
Energy Sucking:
Enhanced Air Suction:
Air Pollution Intake
Lightning
Invulnerability: In GeGeGe no Kitarō 2: Yōkai Gundan no Chōsen, Kuro-Kumo-Nushi was depicted to be invulnerable. In the manga, he was also described to be physically invulnerable when he became Kuro-Kumo-Nushi.
==Other Media==
===GeGeGe no Kitarō: Ibun Yōkai Kitan===
He paired with a Mujina to take life forces out of humans.
===GeGeGe no Kitarō 2: Yōkai Gundan no Chōsen===
Kurobōzu makes an appearance as Kuro-Kumo-Nushi. Here, he's depicted as a powerful boss.
==Legend==
Kurobōzu is a yōkai from the folklore in the Meiji era. He looks like a black monk, but blurry to the human eye. Kurobōzu would come into a woman's room when she is asleep and sucks her breath or licking her mouth.
In an illustration by Yoshitoshi Tsukioka which Shigeru Mizuki based his illustration, Kurobōzu resembled a large-sized feline.
==Trivia==
*The plot of Chapter #23 of Saishinban GeGeGe no Kitarō may be a homage to that of the 1984 film Godzilla.
==References==
==Navigation==
vi:Kurobōzu
Category:Characters
Category:Males
Category:Yōkai
Category:Animal-like Yōkai
Category:Antagonists
Category:Spirit-like Yōkai
Category:Nurarihyon Minions
Category:Four Treasonous Generals
Category:Water Yōkai
Category:Electric Yōkai
Category:Flying Yōkai
Category:Fire Yōkai
Category:Japanese Mythology
Category:Feline Yōkai
Category:Rodent Yōkai
Category:Jūjin
Category:Antagonist (2007)
Category:Antagonist (2018)
Category:Paint Yōkai