Yokui

The Yokui are a species of monkey found on the island of Sazanami, inhabiting the forests that cover the central mountains. They are similar to the snow monkeys found elsewhere in the Empire of Wamato, but tend to be larger and significantly more intelligent. According to legend, the Yokui are a breed descended from the small Kami of the mountains, and they are considered sacred by the Watali people.
The Yokui are known for their troublesome and mischievous nature. The Watali leave out food for them, in order to prevent them from breaking into their homes to retrieve their own dinners. Stories abound about Yokui defeating every security measure they encounter - the Watali claim that the Yokui can untie knots, undo latches and locks, and fit through impossibly tight spaces. When they are given their offerings freely, the monkeys are easy to live with - they even leave gifts behind for their benefactors, including colorful feathers, precious stones, and in one notable occasion, they tied up a particularly obnoxious tax collector and left him for the Watali to do as they wished.
Trouble arises when the Yokui are not given the treatment they expect. For as long as Sazanami has been a part of the Empire, Yanjin officials have been trying to control the monkeys and force them to be decorous part of the environment. They have met with abject failure in this regard. When they attempt to keep the monkeys away, they find their defenses dismantled, and sometimes rebuilt into new forms that mock their original purpose. One official was dismayed to find that the monkeys had reconstructed his 'foolproof' cage around his storehouse into a device the Yokui used to launch ripe melons through the windows of his house.  
However, the worst thing to do is to kill one of the Yokui. When this happens, they cease to be amusing and playful, and their pranks turn deadly. An early daimyo of Sazanami prefecture thought that he could drive them away by shooting several of the monkeys with arrows. While they initially dodged the missiles, one of them struck and killed a young Yokui. The monkeys froze at this, and then abruptly withdrew, vanishing into the trees. The daimyo thought he had succeeded, but was dismayed when the Watali servants abandoned his house that very day, fleeing before the vengeance of the Yokui could descend. When morning came, the daimyo was found hanging upside down from the tree outside his house. The building had been taken apart in the night, every component of it left scattered throughout the city. The daimyo himself had been pelted with rocks and feces, and then had them crammed into his mouth and nose until he suffocated. The Watali have made certain that each daimyo since has heard the story, and so far none have chosen to antagonize the Yokui again.

Geographic Distribution

• Sazanami