Katawa-guruma (片輪車)

Name Meaning

Overview

Katawa-guruma (片輪車) means "crippled wheel" or "incomplete wheel," a reference to the yokai’s haunting appearance as a flaming wheel carrying a tormented woman.

Origin

• Appears in Edo-period ghost stories and illustrated yokai scrolls.
• Considered a soul punished for sins in life, particularly adultery or deceit.
• Stories of this yokai were used to scare people into moral behavior.

Appearance

• A giant, single burning wheel with a woman’s upper body emerging from its center.
• The woman’s hair is wild and her face is twisted in agony or vengeance.
• The wheel leaves scorch marks as it rolls through dark roads at night.

Behavior & Myths

• Appears on deserted roads, shrieking as it passes travelers.
• Seen as a restless spirit condemned to ceaseless motion.
• Sometimes tries to lure the living into joining her eternal torment.

Symbolism

• Represents karmic punishment and spiritual suffering.
• Used in religious tales to warn of the consequences of moral failure.
• A chilling embodiment of cyclical, inescapable fate.