More precisely, he is called "児泣き爺 (Konaki Jijii)", a yokai said to have appeared deep in the mountains of Awa, or what is now Tokushima Prefecture.
It is said that it looks like an old man but cries with the voice of a baby, and if someone were to take pity on it and pick it up, it would cling to the and not let go, becoming heavier and heavier, gradually siphoning the life of the person who is carrying it.
Some say that when it cries, it takes the form of a baby, but that is apparently a fabrication.
It is believed to be another name for the one-legged yokai "Gogyanaki", said to cause earthquakes when it cries. ['Gogya' likely is an old Japanese onomatopoeia for the ground shaking, which when put together with 'naki (crying)' makes 'earth-quaking cry']
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