Samebito

The best-known narrative form of the Samebito appears in Lafcadio Hearn's retelling "The Gratitude of the Samebito," which Hearn indicated derives from an earlier tale called "Kōjin" by Kyokutei Bakin. In Hearn's literary account the Samebito is a sea-dweller expelled from the dragon-king's service and forced into exile in a human's garden pond; Hearn frames this within a broader kōjin category of sea-creatures. There is no wider cosmogonic origin or ritual cult documented in the supplied sources beyond this literary-folkloric transmission.

Sources following Hearn describe the Samebito as a humanoid shark-creature: human-sized and human-shaped but with inky-black/scaly skin, emerald-green eyes, a face described as "like a demon's," and a beard likened to a dragon's. These descriptive elements come from Hearn's retelling and are echoed in modern summaries of that tale.

In Hearn's narrative the Samebito sheds tears (described as tears of blood) that, upon striking the ground, become precious rubies — a central supernatural motif in the story. Hearn also situates the Samebito within the kōjin class, which he describes as creatures whose tears become jewels and who are associated with weaving at looms; the weaving note is presented by Hearn as a general attribute of kōjin rather than a specific ability demonstrated by the Samebito in the tale.