Stomach Bugs of the Feudal Era 
(Sengoku jidai no hara no mushi)
Charming Demons of Sickness from the Harikikigaki (Written Account of Acupuncture)
(Harikikigaki no yukaina byouma-tachi)
edited by Hitoshi Nagano and Noboru Higashi

(all of these descriptions include Habitat, Special Traits, Symptoms, and Cure, but I'll only include the last two where they're interesting)
(it's worth noting that "worm" may be a better translation than "bug" in this context)
(technically that should be "Pathology," not "Symptoms," but even though it's not exact I feel like more people will understand what is meant by that)
(the Japanese text only ever uses the term "the possessed"--where it says "victim" or "host," that's me filling in where no noun or pronoun was provided at all, because that's how Japanese works)

p10 
Kitai
(Demon Womb)
Habitat:
Moves from the left side of the body to the uterus.
Special Traits:
Starts out as a blood clot the size of a cup, but gradually grows a bull-like head in the middle. It's pure red with black horns, and its body looks like something coiled up. If it reaches this point, it will be difficult to cure. Despite its violent nature, this creature can only move at the plodding pace of a slug, so it's always stressed. 
Symptoms:
Whenever it moves, it causes the symptoms of hysteria.


p12 
Jinshaku, aka Honton
(Kidney Mass, aka Running Pig(?) [it's an archaic kanji in Japanese with a few meanings, but this one seems most appropriate])
Habitat:
Kidneys. It lives below the navel, but is constantly moving up and down.
Special Traits:
Looks like a wild boar, with a white back and red belly. It has two long, red whiskers, a long tongue, and short legs and tail. It associates with white worms, charging along recklessly within the body. (The term for "reckless" here is actually written like "a boar charging," so we've got a pun.) Its associated direction is north, and its Wu Xing element is water, so in accordance with its flowing, water-like nature, this bug is endlessly running around.

p14 
Kishaku
(Spirit Mass)
Habitat
It's thought to inhabit the stomach.
Special Traits:
It has a mouth that forks in three, a red body with a white stripe, and a black tail. It loves oily foods and eats them frequently. If the possessed eats nothing but plain rice without chicken or fish sides, this bug will not be able to eat.

p15 
Hizou No Mushi
(Spleen Bug)
Habitat:
Lives in the spleen while doing harm to the liver and muscles.
Special Traits:
All red with fever, it has arms ending in sharp claws that it stretches to the left and the right while tottering around unsteadily. The possessed will take on the aspects of this bug.
Symptoms:
With both long arms stretching out from the spleen, it gets the liver in a tight grip and cause the victim's temperature to rise. Then, it grips the muscles and makes the victim as dizzy as though they were just hit on the head, causing their body to flush.

p18 
You No Kameshaku
(Yang Turtle Mass)
Habitat:
Thought to live in the stomach.
Special Traits:
Has a speckled spot on its carapace. It wears a blue hat, which protects it from whatever medicine the possessed may swallow.
Symptoms:
Steals and devours whatever the possessed eats. The possessed will become ravenous, but grow thin.
Cure:
Eating wild soybeans will wipe this bug out entirely.
How It Works:
The bug is protected from medicine but eats any food, so we can use that. The husk is removed from the wild soybean, and the bean retains the memory of that removal. The bean's zanryuu shinen (zanryuu shinen, or "residual thought" is a supernatural phenomenon that's similar to sympathetic magic in the West--this example explains it pretty well) enters the Kameshaku when it is eaten, and the shape and color of the hat are so similar to the bean's old husk that it acts upon and removes it. After this, medicine will be effective. This is a magic cure that works sympathetically on a similar object.

p19 
In No Kameshaku
(Yin Turtle Mass)
Habitat:
The abdomen.
Special Traits:
Its head and carapace are gray, its legs and tail are black, and white worms are wrapped around it.

p20 
Taibyou No Kesshaku
(Blood Mass of Great Sickness)
Habitat:
Stomach.
Special Traits:
This bug is born from the aftermath of a great sickness. The shape of its torso greatly resembles a stomach. Flexible and leek-shaped, with pectoral fins and a tail fin, it swims around inside the stomach. It's thought that its hammer-shaped head is used to pierce through the top of the stomach and into the heart to drink blood from it directly. If you smash a fattened bug, you'll see that it's full of blood. 

p21
Akuchuu
(Bad Bug)
Habitat:
Spleen.
Special Traits:
This is an extremely wicked bug. It swims around freely with its flexible torso and tail fin, stabbing the spleen of the possessed with its six sharp claws. 
Symptoms:
It steals whatever food the possessed eats, sucking out the essence with its pointed mouth. 

p22 
Sori No Kanmushi
(Spine-Warping Liver Bug)
Habitat:
Liver.
Special Traits:
This is an extremely wicked bug. It has googly eyes, a blue back, and a white belly. It has fin-like arms and a brush-like tail. A lover of spicy food, it bites into the spine of the possessed. (I guess spinal fluid is spicy??)
Symptoms:
As its name indicates, it is responsible for all spine-warping illnesses.

p24 
Hai Mushi
(Lung Bug)
Habitat:
Though it normally lives in the lungs, it will sometimes fly outside the body.
Special Traits:
Its red head has a three-forked mouth, and its maggot-like white body ends in a tail that looks like a tongue. It also has colorful wings. Eats the victim's food.
Symptoms:
It has a tendency to come out of the lungs from time to time. While flying in far-off places, it may become lost and unable to return, in which case the possessed will perish. If this happens, the bug will turn into a hitodama (a ball of fire, like a will-o'-the-wisp, but unlike the similar onibi, this one is a human soul) and burn into nothing.

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p25 
Koshinuke No Mushi
(a pun--literally "Back-Breaking Bug," but also works as "Coward Bug")
Habitat:
Lower back.
Special Traits:
With the vigor of a large dragonfly, it comes flying out of nowhere. On invading the body, it flies around the lower back, wrapping its long body around the spine and constricting. It then stings the spine with the barb on the end of its tail, slipping a disk.

p26
Gyouchuu
(this is literally just the Japanese word for "threadworm" or "pinworm")
Habitat:
Since the larva is sexually transmitted, it's thought to live on the genitals.
Special Traits:
On the Koushin night that occurs six times every year , it slips out from the body of the possessed. Since its tongue is so long it talks a lot, about things the host only dreamed of and never acted on, or the desires they have. It reports all of this to King Enma, trying to get the host thrown into hell.
Symptoms:
The larva is transmitted when men and women have sex on Koushin night. The possessed suffers illness as heavenly punishment and perishes.
Cure:
Stay up all night at a Koushin temple to keep the bug from slipping out, and avoid having sex on sex on that night to keep from picking up the larva. There is no other way to protect against it.
(NOTE: Koushin is when people try to stay up all night to keep the Three Worms from tattling on them about things they've done,  but this asshole doesn't even wait for you to do it! Since every Koushin is a big ol' party where you stay up all night, this is probably a cautionary tale to warn people not to get drunk and fuck on Koushin (apparently, some versions of the celebration are even gender-segregated). It's also worth noting that since this celebration was a Taoist practice borrowed from the Chinese, the Three Worms typically report to the Chinese "Heavenly Emperor," but Gyouchuu reports to the Japanese King Enma!)

p27 
Kage Mushi
(Shadow Bug)
Habitat:
The genitals of men and women.
Special Traits:
During intercourse between a man and woman, both may suddenly scream as their crotches gush forth. From the woman comes a bloody discharge, and from the man a white fluid, but both will spew the bugs from their mouths. During intercourse, the male bug and the female bug will intertwine one another with their wire-like legs and not let go. ((Apparently they're mentioned in a Buddhist sutra.)) 

p28 
Hizou No Kesshaku
(Blood Mass of the Spleen)
Habitat:
Spleen.
Special Traits:
Caterpillar-like, head and tail ends both round. The head is red encircled by blue, the torso is white, and the tail is red.

p30 Koshou
(Pageboy)
Name explanation: According to "The Zuo Tradition" ((ancient Chinese historical text)), it originates with an incident in 580 BC. In May of that year Duke Jing of the Jin Dynasty fell ill, and by June his condition was dire. Duke Huan, of the Zhou Dynasty state of Qin, sent the legendary physician Huan (written with a different character) to see him. While he waited for the physician to arrive, Duke Jing had a dream in which the sickness appeared before him in the form of two children. One child said "That physician will surely do away with us," but the other responded "As long as we hide above the fat and below the blind eye, he can do nothing." 
A word written "fat-blind" means "incurable illness, " and the Chinese word for "child" also means "pageboy." In other words, the Duke's dream was about a pageboy delivering the news that his sickness was incurable. ((This is another instance of puns having great power in Chinese tradition.)) 

Habitat : "Above the fat and below the blind eye" (where no acupuncture needle or medicine can reach). 
Special traits : It has eyes, nose, and a mouth on its flesh-colored, childlike face, on which it grows a white beard. Its body is like that of a white snake, and its tail is yellow. It prattles on like a child, and loves sweet sake. ((There weren't age limitations on drinking at the time.)) 
Symptoms : Those possessed by this bug are seized by an incurable illness. 
Cure: Unknown. It could not be cured by even the legendary physician. No medical treatment proved effective, since its hat repelled medicine, and it hid in a place no needle could reach. ((Again with the damn hat!)) 

p32 
Hizou No Kasa Mushi
(Hat Bug of the Spleen)
Habitat:
Spleen.
Special Traits:
Wears a red hat on its head, with red hairs on its torso, and its tail forked in two. (Everyone knows about the nine-tailed fox, but it's a thing in Japanese myth that as an animal gets older and more powerful its tail forks more and more. This is a powerful little bug, and it has a hat to prove it!)
Symptoms:
The hat on this bug gets in the way of food going down, causing the possessed to look unwell. Rapidly losing and gaining weight is a sign this bug is at work.

p34 
Jinzou No Hige Mushi
(Bearded Kidney Bug)
Habitat:
Kidneys.
Special Traits:
Has a long beard. It has a dark body and a hump on the back of its neck. The white whiskers and hunchback are special traits associated with the elderly and aging. Is thought to cause hunchback (The text explicitly points out a pun here, with "semushi" meaning either "hunchback" or "back bug." Traditionally in both China and Japan, puns aren't just jokes, but can indicate good or bad portent. So, yes, this pun was seen as grounds for actually suspecting this bug of causing hunchback. Western sympathetic magic did similar things with visual similarities, it just never extended to puns that I'm aware of.)  

p35 
Hara Ita No Mushi
(Stomachache Bug)
Habitat:
Kidneys.
Special Traits:
Its back is black, its belly is blue. Its eyes are almond-shaped, and it bites with a large, X-shaped mouth.
Symptoms:
Normally causes the possessed to suffer stomachaches. (As advertised!) 

p36 
Kakuran No Mushi
(Heatstroke Bug)
Habitat:
Thought to live in the abdomen.
Special Traits:
It has a black head and red body, and short legs sprouting here and there.
Symptoms:
Even when it isn't summer, it will repeatedly cause severe vomiting and diarrhea from heatstroke. The pinprick eyes and strangely open mouth evoke the expression of someone vomiting.
Case: (the only one I've seen with this category)
Once there was a man whose mouth this bug stuck its head out of. When he grabbed it and tried to pull it out, he became woozy and came close to death. He released it and it returned to his stomach, and in the end the man died. When the corpse was inspected, the bug was found with its tail wrapped around his liver and could not be removed. 

----

p37 
Kutsuchi No Mushi
(Epilepsy Bug, with "kutsuchi" being an archaic term for it)
Habitat:
Lungs.
Special Traits:
It has a birdlike beak and white eyes that are wide open. Its white body is long and snakelike with a blue stripe along the back, and its tail splits in two.
Symptoms:
Those possessed by this bug will abruptly lose conscious and seem dead, foaming at the mouth, and it may take anywhere from two to four hours for them to regain consciousness. 
Cure:
No cure is mentioned (since it's epilepsy).

p45 
Akubi No Mushi
(Yawning Bug)
Habitat:
Heart.
Special Traits:
Its snakelike red body is covered in hair, and it seems to be yawning.

p47 
Tonshi No Kan Mushi
(Liver Bug of Sudden Death)
Habitat:
Liver.
Special Traits:
Its flat head is black on top, and its tongue sticks out of its red mouth. Its yellow body is covered in black speckles, and it has a long white tail.
Symptoms:
If it bites the liver, the possessed will die suddenly.
(It looks like Peter Lorre, don't it?)

p49 
Hirune No Mushi
(Afternoon Nap Bug)
Habitat:
Thought to live in the space between the esophagus and the stomach.
Special Traits:
Vinelike, resembles a centipede. Which end is the head and which is the tail is not clear.
Symptoms:
If someone cannot swallow food and is always taking afternoon naps, that's a sign they're possessed by this bug. Those possessed will certainly die in the end.

p50 
Kamisubaku
(Biting Inch White)
Habitat:
Back side of the liver.
Special Traits:
A terribly wicked bug. Its snakelike white body has a mouth at every segment, with which it bites the insides of those it possesses. 
Symptoms:
Is thought to cause violent pain in the places it bites.
Cure:
Medicine having no effect, mix the finely minced hairs of a dapple-gray horse's tail with flour for soba noodles. Knead this with high-grade sake, and on eating the bug will be eradicated.
How It Works:
This is a magical cure packed with residual thought from the minced horse hairs, which causes the many-segmented bug to fall to pieces.

p52 
Ase No Mushi
(Sweat Bug)
Habitat:
Thought to live in the hearts of men and women.
Special Traits:
Two snakelike bugs intertwined, one black and one yellow.
Symptoms:
When a man and woman possessed by these bugs flirt and their body temperatures rise, they will begin to pour sweat uncontrollably.
Progression: (another unique category!)
When the man and woman calm down, and their temperatures have returned to normal, the bugs will calm down and stop the sweat on their own.

p56 
Hi No Ju
(Spleen Accumulation)
Habitat: spleen
Special traits : shaped like a bulky boulder, with an excessively large mouth. 
Symptoms : when someone is relaxing outside or getting drunk in places with lots of people, this bug will suddenly appear. This rough-surfaced bug rampages inside the body, rolling all around, so it becomes as though the afflicted fell on top of a hard boulder (as the amorphous bug rolls around the body, the afflicted becomes unsteady on their feet, falling down flat and banging themselves up badly all over). 
Cure : The knack for treating this with acupuncture is instructed orally. In particular, if the afflicted is taken to a rock garden with only the most splendid boulders, the become so overjoyed to meet its peers that beforehand ((before leaving I guess?)) it will put the spleen in proper order, leaving it healed. A terribly rough-surfaced bug will be difficult to heal from. 


p57 haishaku
lung mass
Habitat : lungs. It's born in the right armpit and migrates to the chest. ((interesting that they predicted parasites moving with age!)) 
Special traits : The small right - facing one is the larva, and the large front - facing one is the adult, who forms the eponymous mass when it crowds in the lungs. The lungs are the highest of the traditional five organs, and can be likened to a magnificent cap, and so the lung mass also sits here, high in the chest. Of the five organs it is the lungs associated with the "metal" element, which is symbolized by the color white, so the lung mass is also white. The nose is connected to the lungs, being the entryway to them, so the lung mass has a large nose and a sharp sense of smell. 
Symptoms : The skin of the possessed will become pale, and they will be repelled by all strong smells, whether good or bad. Despite this, they will find the smell of raw meat, and only raw meat, to be appealing. Moreover, spicy foods will become their favorite. Their personality will become gloomy and pessimistic, always worrying. This is because, as the cloudlike lung mass fills their lungs, so too does their heart cloud over, sunny no longer. Eventually they'll start to cry like rainfall, shedding tears over every little thing. 
cure : the acupuncture must be done very softly, the needles inserted very shallowly, so as not to inflict pain. If not, the patient will be unable to endure it and burst into tears. 

p58 kanshaku, aka "hiki"
liver mass, aka fat spirit/fertility spirit
Habitat : Liver. Born in the left armpit, it headbutts both sides of the chest (the pectoral muscles) fiercely as it climbs. 
Special traits: it's shaped like a woman's breast (the head is the nipple), and sports two whiskers. The left side of the guts is associated with the direction east, and the element of wood, whose symbolic color is blue (however, in the image its head and stomach are red, its back painted yellow). 
Symptoms : The face of the possessed will pale with anger, and soon they'll begin yelling at people. They'll come to love sour foods, and hate oily foods.
((so, it makes your boobs big and tender,  makes you moody , and of course the different cravings... Aren't these just symptoms of pregnancy?)) 


p59 shinshaku, aka bukuryou
heart mass, aka bending support beam
Habitat : extends from above the navel to the heart. 
Special traits : The upper portion of the abdomen extending to the heart (diaphragm to navel) is the seat of the soul, its associated direction is south, its element is fire, and its color is red. Accordingly, the heart produces and sends out vivid red blood, and it is here that the bug grows into a large adult. 
Symptoms : The possessed favors burnt smells and bitter flavors. They're always laughing foolishly, their mind weakens, and both cheeks flush red. 
((not explicitly said that the parasite is like this, but given the others and the way its face is drawn, we can assume. God it looks like Meatwad)) 
-----

p60 keishaku
Katsura tree mass
Habitat : abdomen. 
Special traits : Like a katsura tree spreading its limbs, it grows creepingly inside the stomach. 
Symptoms : As it wraps around every organ, they begin to malfunction, and the possessed loses their life. 
Cure: ((Just eat some wild soybeans and that gets rid of it, apparently! Kind of anticlimactic for something so sinister)) 


p61 kekkai
blood clot ((literally, just blood clot)) 
Place it exists in ((not habitat, I guess because it isn't alive itself)) : thought to be the  abdomen.
Special traits : Its surface is white (blue in the image), extremely hard clotted blood. The inner portion contains as many as 400 little bugs, swollen like chestnuts. According to Buddhist scripture (Pali Canon), this is the "tochuu" or "kimikura, " both roughly translating to "house bug." This is because as many people as may be living in a house, there are that many and more bugs living inside this bug.
Symptoms : The bugs inside are thought to cause various illnesses.
Cure : Boil frankincense and administer, driving the chestnut - shaped bugs from the blood clot. Once they're outside the body, cover them in frankincense infusion, which will cause them to flee to the outdoors as quickly as they can. 

p63 shichuu
death bug
((there's a special section for this and the jug bug explaining the kanji used in their names, but that seems like it might not be as relevant to an English - speaking audience)) 
Habitat : thought to live in the depths of the abdomen. 
Special traits : Egglike, with two feet at its base. The surface is red, the center white. Sequestered deep within the abdomen, it will sometimes move, as though it just remembered to. 
Symptoms : Gives rise to tuberculosis. 

p64 yuuchuu
jug bug
Habitat : thought to be the abdomen. 
Special traits : They radiate heat and are bright red from all the flesh and blood they're packed with.  They flock together in great numbers. 
Symptoms : To make up for all the water this bug consumes, the possessed will drink and drink cold water. 


p66 baby bugs 
Shouni no mushi
((seems to be both that they infest babies and are babies)) 
Habitat : various places. 
Special traits: they come in various shapes. 
Symptoms : Sometimes they make the baby's eyes twitch, sometimes they make its stomach bloat, sometimes they make it distend. They've also been known to cause sudden death, as well as gradual sickness. They can also cause nighttime colic, mouth sores, and swollen gums. In particular, they can make the baby drink too much milk and spit it back up. 
Cure : Because they cause so many different illnesses, the acupuncture method must be taught orally. Depending on what illness the adult bug causes, it may be difficult to cure. 


p67 chest bugs
Mune mushi
Habitat : chest region. 
Special traits: they come in various shapes. ((yes, same description)) 
Symptoms : As they climb, they cause violent pain beyond description, so unbearable that the afflicted loses consciousness. 
((most of the entry is dedicated to describing how to insert and remove the needles, repeatedly, in detail)) 

p68 chouman
((this is just the term for tympanites)) 
Habitat : spreads from the abdomen across the entire body. 
Special traits : Its red chest portion sits in the abdomen, while it's white tentacles stretch to the tips of the host's fingers and toes. 
Symptoms: It fills not just the stomach, but every part of the body to bursting, the host's arms and legs losing all strength. The afflicted becomes nauseous, unable to swallow anything apart from tea and water, and cold and sour foods, liking nothing but things that are bad for them.