Konaki-Jiji Crying Old Man T-Shirt | Japanese Yōkai Tee

Deep in the mountains, travelers sometimes hear it before they see it: the unmistakable cry of an abandoned baby, coming from somewhere in the trees. Follow the sound, and what you find is stranger and older than any infant — a wizened old man's face on a small, wrapped bundle, wailing exactly like a child. This is Konaki-jiji, one of Japanese folklore's more insidious yōkai.

The danger isn't in the crying itself, but in kindness. Pick the creature up to comfort it, as instinct demands, and it grows heavier by the second — some tellings have it crushing the person outright, pinning them to the ground under weight that shouldn't be possible for something so small. It's a story built around a genuinely uncomfortable idea: that the most natural human impulse, to help something that sounds like it's suffering, can be the very thing that gets you killed.

This design places him on a lonely mountain path at dusk, straw cloak and conical hat soaked with rain, staff and bell in hand, tears streaming beneath a heavy red sun. Rendered with more character-illustration detail than some of the collection's looser ink pieces, closer to a folklore storybook plate than a ghost story sketch.

For anyone who wants a yōkai design built on dread rather than gore — the fear of doing the right thing and being wrong.

Printed on demand. Available in multiple sizes and colours. Ethically sourced, made to order — nothing printed until you buy it, so nothing goes to landfill on our end.

Product Features
Material: 100% Cotton | Pattern: Graphic Print
100% Cotton Medium-weight 5.3 oz/yd² (180 g/m²), tubular knit construction,
ribbed collar and shoulder tape
Dual printing: DTF (sleeves/inner neck) + DTG (main design) for crisp detail
Tear-away label, OEKO-TEX® STANDARD 100 certified

Care Instructions
Machine wash cold (max 30°C/90°F), non-chlorine bleach as needed, tumble dry low heat, do not iron, do not dry-clean

General Product Safety Regulation (GPSR)
EU representative: HONSON VENTURES LIMITED,
 gpsr@honsonventures.com, 3 Gnaftis House Flat 102,
Mesa Geitonia, 4003, Limassol, CY

Product: Gildan 5000. Made in Nicaragua. For adult use.
Covered by a 2-year warranty in the EU and Northern Ireland per Directive 1999/44/EC.