Yamawaro

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Yamawarau (山わらう) from the Hyakkai Zukan by Sawaki Sūshi
Yamawarawa (山童) from the Gazu Hyakki Yagyō by Toriyama Sekien
Yama warō (山わらう) from Bakemono no e (化物之繪) (c. 1700), Harry F. Bruning Collection of Japanese Books and Manuscripts, Brigham Young University

Yamawaro or yamawarawa (山童) is a yōkai (spirit) said to appear in mountains in Western Japan, starting in the Kyushu region. According to mythology, it is sometimes said that they are kappa that have come to dwell in the mountains.

Yamawaro are known by a number of different, similar terms; in Ashikita District, Kumamoto Prefecture, they are also known as yamawarō, yamamon, yamanto, yaman wakkashi (山の若い衆, "young person of the mountain") and yaman ojiyan (山の伯父やん, "mountain uncle"). In Kuma District in the same prefecture, they are also known as yaman-tarō (山ん太郎) or yamanbo (山ん坊).[1]

The kanji for 'yamawaro' can also be written as 山