Jatai

蛇帯
じゃたい

TRANSLATION: snake obi (a kimono sash)

APPEARANCE: The jatai is a kimono sash which becomes animated and slithers around like a giant snake during the night.

ORIGIN: An old folk belief from Ehime and other parts of Japan says that if you lay your obi out near your pillow while you sleep, you will have dreams about snakes. Because the word for a snake’s body (jashin) is the same as the word for a wicked heart, it is said that the obi itself can manifest a tsukumogami and turn into a murderous agent of jealousy. This snake obi hunts after men, strangling them in their sleep.