Senbiki Okami

Senbiki okami is a supernatural phenomenon relating to large packs of wolves that is found throughout Japanese folklore. This strange yokai occurrence tends to involve travellers being chased at night by wolves where they find that their only option to save themselves is to climb up a very tall tree. What happens next is that the wolves climb on top of each other's backs to form a living ladder. However, regardless of how high the wolves go, they are always one wolf short of reaching the traveller.

'Moon at Kitayama'- Tsukioka Yoshitoshi, 1886

The wolves then call for their leader, who is actually an evil bakemono, who climbs up the wolf ladder to meet the traveller. Against the odds, the traveller uses a sword to defend himself, injures the bakemono and flees to safety. The next day the bakemono is discovered in human form with the sword inflicted injury and at this point his killing days are over.