The Legend of O Kome no Inu (お米の犬)

Long ago, deep in the mountains of Japan, there was a mystical yōkai known as O Kome no Inu, or "The Rice Dog."
This yōkai appeared as a large, friendly dog with fur as white as snow.
It wore a traditional rice farmer's hat, giving it a comical, somewhat absent-minded appearance.
Despite being a bit ditzy, O Kome no Inu was beloved by the villagers for the prosperity it brought.

O Kome no Inu would descend from the mountains each night, wandering aimlessly through the rice fields.
The villagers would smile fondly as they noticed the dog tripping over stalks of rice or getting its hat askew.
But wherever O Kome no Inu roamed, bountiful crops followed.
The yōkai was always seen with a slight tilt to its hat, which would sometimes fall over its eyes, causing it to walk in circles.

Although the Rice Dog was a bit clumsy, its presence was a sign of good fortune.
Wherever it passed, the rice would grow tall and plentiful.
The villagers knew that O Kome no Inu was watching over them, even if it sometimes got lost or distracted by a butterfly.

However, the Rice Dog was more than just a bringer of harvests.
Its true purpose was to remind the villagers of the importance of kindness and gratitude.
If the people of the village became selfish or began to take more than their share, O Kome no Inu would wander off, never to return.
With the dog’s departure, the fields would begin to wither, and famine would follow.

O Kome no Inu also had a quirky habit of collecting lost grains of rice.
It would bumble through the fields, picking up each grain with great care and clumsily returning it to the earth, allowing new life to sprout.
The villagers would often chuckle at its antics, but they knew that the yōkai was teaching them a lesson—to value every grain and always be thankful.

Though a bit scatterbrained, O Kome no Inu is a yōkai with a pure heart, spreading joy and abundance to those who keep their spirits humble and kind.
To this day, there are those who claim to hear the sound of shuffling footsteps in the night,
knowing that the Rice Dog is still watching over the fields.