Name Meaning
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.
