Mimori

Mimori or Mimo is an awakened scarecrow yokai. She is short, the size of a young girl. Her face is relatively simple, rough canvas with large black oval eyes and circular red blush both dabbed on with paint, with no mouth to be seen. Her body is stuffed with straw. She wears a pointed hat with a red ribbon wrapped around the bottom of the crown, tied in a bow, and her body and dress are made of rough canvas and cotton fabric, patched in places with colorful cloth scraps, with buttons running down the center line. She has a small rope belt at her waist. She has a red bandanna wrapped around her neck. She has no hands or feet, only a bunch of straw sticking out of her tied off arms and legs, so she has a hard time holding things and frequently drops them. Her hair is long and made of straw as well, it sticks out haphazardly from under the brim of her hat.

Mimori was crafted by the local shrine maiden, Ayumi, to keep away birds and small animals. She was once a normal scarecrow who stood out in the field near the shrine, but over time, as she watched the shrine maiden and learned her duties, a desire to help awoke inside of her. She would enter the shrine at night after the shrine maiden left to clean and tidy up the space.

She continued to do this for several years. Folks in the nearby village would speak of the spirit that haunts the shrine, unsure if it was the God inside or something else, but only the shrine maiden knew the truth. She never told anyone to keep Mimori safe. At some point Ayumi began bringing a man around. He would watch her work before walking her back home. One day Ayumi went to Mimori and tied a red bandanna around her neck as a gift. She checked her body to make sure Mimori was doing well, then said that she would have to go soon. A few days later the Shrine maiden left and did not return. Unknown to Mimori she had married the man and had to give up her position.

The shrine has been without a shrine maiden for almost a year, but Mimori continued to maintain it. The villagers stories about the spirits continued to spread. People still come to pray, finding the shrine clean and well cared for, but they never found an explanation for it. Mimori was careful to stay in the field or out of sight whenever late night time visitors tried to solve the mystery.

Mimori has a very innocent personality, like that of a young girl. When she speaks she always refers to herself in third person, using either Mimori or Mimo.

The shrine is a traditional shinto shrine. The road passes under a torii on the way towards the shrine itself, and to one side of the structure is a small natural Chōzuya, or water basin, for visitors to wash their hands before praying. Inside there is a bell hanging from the ceiling that can be rung with a rope hanging down and a small altar with an offering box.