Yokai Quiz
Yamabiko (Mountain Echo)
Unseen deep in the mountains, you answer whoever calls in a voice exactly like theirs.
If you shout out in the mountains or a valley, the same voice comes back a moment later. People long ago thought something living in the mountains was imitating their voice and calling it back, and named it “yamabiko” or “kodama.” In an Edo-period collection of yokai pictures by the artist Toriyama Sekien, there's a yokai written with characters meaning “echo of a deep valley” and read as “yamabiko.”
The yamabiko never speaks first. It just sends back the voice that called it, in the same tone. It shows itself to no one, and answers in tune with the voice it hears. Without coming forward, you listen closely to what people say and can reply in the same key.
The yamabiko answers not in town but in open nature, among mountains and valleys. In quiet places with few people around, your ears clear and you can really hear the other person. But because you're so good at answering in tune, you can hesitate over how to begin when you're the one who has to call out first.
Strengths
- You listen closely to someone's tone and can answer in the same tone
- Without standing out, you can create an atmosphere that makes people easy to talk to
- You can enjoy time alone out in nature where there are few people
Where you may stumble
- When you have to be the one to open a conversation, you hesitate over how to start
- Answering in tune with others, you miss the chance to say what you think
- After a long time in a busy town, your ears get tired
Sounds familiar, Yamabiko (Mountain Echo)?
- You've imitated a bird's call and had an actual bird call back
- At a campsite, you somehow end up being the one a stranger is pouring their heart out to
- Your voice on the phone changes so much depending on who it is, you sound like a different person
Where you shine
Time spent unhurriedly listening to someone in the mountains or by a river, far from the crowds, is when the Yamabiko's gift for listening tends to show.
Tips for “Yamabiko (Mountain Echo)”
- Before you answer, try adding just one thought of your own
- On days you've been somewhere busy, rest your ears somewhere quiet
- Once in a while, be the one to call out first, and wait for an answer
Matches
See every match in the Yokai Quiz compatibility chart →
Tengu (Mountain Goblin) — The Tengu also stays unseen deep in the mountains, letting the sounds it makes say it's there. You both love the same mountain stillness, so you leave each other be and share the feel of the mountains.
Rokurokubi (Long-Necked Yokai) — The Rokurokubi is also good at fitting in, changing its form to blend into a place. When the Rokurokubi, who lives in town, tells you what it saw with its neck stretched out, the Yamabiko can listen well and answer in the very same tone.
Kappa (River Imp) — The Kappa wants to grab hold on the riverbank and say “Let's wrestle!” To a Yamabiko who only sends back voices and never shows itself, that invitation is so direct it doesn't know how to answer, and to the Kappa, the Yamabiko seems like someone who will never step in and wrestle.
Close neighbors
These differ from this one on just 1 of the 3 axes. If one of your axes was near the middle, you may have their side too.
Which one are you? 18 everyday situations, about 3 minutes.
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