Satori (folklore)

Satori are extremely dangerous mind-reading demons (or yokai) from Japanese folklore and are one of innumerable animal-spirits, however they are somewhat greater in scale than most as they have roots with ancient monkey-worshipping cults native to many regions of the Far East prior to the advent of Buddhism and Taoism, as such the Satori and many other ape-like yokai spirits are seen as the memories of ancient deities and spirits who have since been resigned to the wilds and become more antagonistic to humans as a result.

Satori are among the most dangerous of these monkey-spirits as they can read a victim's mind and are vicious man-eaters as well as prolific rapists, if they encounter a human female they will try and drag her off for mating and should they encounter a hunter or male traveler they delight in showing their incredible mind-reading skills so as to evade any attempts by said human to trick or evade them, after showing their superiority over their victims the monsters are said to kill and devour their victims.

The only way to defeat the Satori is to completely block out one's thoughts, this causes the prideful Satori to panic and flee - unused to facing an opponent it cannot overpower, this tactic is partly why the monster earned its name, with Satori meaning "enlightened" - a core principle in many Eastern faiths is to learn to clear the mind of all thoughts as part of reaching said enlightenment and in many ways the confrontation with the Satori is a symbolism of such dedication and faith (much as many demons and devils are said to be foiled by prayers).