Bakezōri

Bakezōri are presented in the tsukumogami tradition: ordinary household implements that, after long service and prolonged neglect (traditionally around a century), acquire life and consciousness. As a zōri worn and then forgotten or aged over many years, a sandal transforms into a Bakezōri and takes its place among animated household things. Sources classify Bakezōri explicitly as members of Tsukumogami (付喪神), the grouping of erstwhile objects turned yōkai.

The Bakezōri is depicted as a wandering straw zōri sandal given animate limbs: it runs on two legs and is said to have two arms, but only one eye. Its form remains clearly based on the traditional braided rice-straw zōri, retaining the recognizable sole and thong while anthropomorphized into a small, mobile creature. As part of its nightly activity it runs about the household chanting a distinctive refrain and is sometimes portrayed in accounts as mocking or resenting more "noble" footwear such as geta.

Bakezōri are mainly described as mischievous rather than dangerous. They run through inhabited houses at night and continuously chant the refrain recorded in sources: "Kararin, kororin, kankororin, managu mittsu ni ha ninmai!" (カラリン、コロリン、カンコロリン、まなぐ三つに歯二ん枚), translated as a taunting line about "three eyes and two teeth." Motivated by boredom, frustration, revenge, or jealousy (for example toward higher-status footwear like geta), they pester inhabitants, make noises, and in some accounts may rip or damage people’s belongings. They often group with other animated household items or leave the home to wander.