Kenmun

Kenmun (or Kijinuma in the southern regions) this is a mysterious creature from Japanese folklore. Most often it was observed on the island of Oshima in the northern part of the Ryukyu Archipelago.

Kenmun's height is 1 meter or 1.3 meters, about the size of a five-year-old child, but the creature is not frail at all, but with developed muscles and is covered from head to toe with curly reddish or black hair that looks dirty and tangled. Kenmun's face is described as ape-like, but sometimes as canine. It is reported that this creature hunts at night and its eyes burn red. It walks on two legs, while the arms are much stronger and longer compared to the legs (about like an orangutan).

The creature is described as very strong and able to deftly climb trees. In general, according to the description, kenmun looks like an undiscovered species of a large primate, but he not only deftly climbs trees, but also likes to swim in the ocean, which not every monkey knows and loves. Kenmun lives because of his love of water in the coastal zone and hunts octopuses, crabs and fish while swimming. Kenmun's dwelling is said to be easy to find by the piles of shells under the trees, he likes to eat clams while sitting on a tree and throw empty shells down. Kenmun is not considered dangerous to humans, but he has a reputation as a disgustingly fetid creature.

He likes to challenge people to a sumo wrestling match, and also steals their fishing rods from fishermen. Sometimes he is aggressive and can start throwing stones at a person.

His smell has been described variously as the smell of a goat, the smell of a horse or rotten yams. With this smell, presumably kenmun scares other animals away from himself.

Description from another source:

Hairy water and wood spirits from the Amami Islands in southern Japan. They look like a cross between a mouthguard and a monkey. They are also very similar to kijimuna. Their bodies are covered with dark red or black hair, and they have long, thin legs and arms. They are slightly larger in size than a human child. They have pointed mouths, and there is a saucer-shaped depression on the top of their heads, which contains a small amount of oil or water. Their bodies smell like yams, but their drool smells terrible.

Kenmun builds his houses on banyan trees and spends his days playing in the mountains or by the water in his family groups. They especially like sumo wrestling, in which they are very skilled. As the seasons change, they migrate back and forth from the mountains to the sea.

Kenmun has a number of strange abilities. They can change their shape. They often disguise themselves as people, horses or cows. They can turn into plants and merge with the surrounding vegetation, or even completely disappear. 

Kenmun can also create light. Their drool glows eerily, as do their fingertips. They have the ability to create fire from their fingertips. Sometimes they use this fire to light the oil in their plates. When mysterious lights are seen in the mountains or on the shores of the Amami Islands, the locals call it "kenmun machi".

Kenmun likes to hunt at night, lighting himself with his fingertips to look for food in the dark. They mainly feed on fish, small mollusks, slugs and snails.

Kenmun tries to stay away from populated areas and run away when there are large groups of people nearby. Sometimes they will help lonely loggers and people collecting firewood, carrying heavy loads for them. They remember those who treat them kindly or do them a favor. A fisherman who saves kenmun from an octopus attack will surely earn his eternal gratitude.

Kenmuns don't usually harm people. They, however, love sumo competitions. When their head is full, they have supernatural power and cannot be defeated. However, Kenmuns like to imitate people, so if the challenger stands on his head or bows very low, his plate will be empty and he can be defeated.

Although the Kenmuns are not evil, they like to make fun of people from time to time. They can turn into animals and try to scare people