Mōryō

In classical Chinese texts cited in the sources, mōryō appear as a class of animate non‑human beings associated with landscape and with the dead; the Huainanzi furnishes a physical description while the Compendium of Materia Medica (Bencao Gangmu) supplies behavioral notes linking them to corpses. Japanese folkloric usage absorbs and adapts these Chinese descriptions: by the Edo period mōryō appears in anecdotal collections (e.g., Mimibukuro by Negishi Shizumori) where the term is applied in accounts of corpse‑stealing and other uncanny occurrences. The term functions as a flexible collective category rather than a single uniform entity across periods and sources.

A Classical Chinese description preserved in cited sources (Huainanzi) says mōryō have the shape of a three‑year‑old child, are dark red in color, have red eyes, long ears, and beautiful hair. Compendial texts summarized in the sources focus less on visual detail and more on behavior (for example, corpse‑eating) rather than providing alternate standardized appearances.

According to the Compendium‑derived summary cited in the sources, mōryō are said to 'like to eat the innards of the dead' and to go underground to consume the brains of corpses; this behavioral characterization underlies later Japanese conflations of mōryō with corpse‑stealing yōkai. Japanese anecdotal material (Edo‑period Mimibukuro) uses the label in stories of corpses disappearing at funerals. The sources do not provide evidence of cosmic or deity‑scale powers; descriptions emphasize grave‑afflicting and nature‑tied agency.