Junji Ito’s The Licking Woman is remembered for one thing and one thing alone, the image of a grotesquely bloated tongue stretching from an unnaturally warped face. It’s an image that’s frequently shared online for how absurd and visceral it is.
The story itself, however, has much more to offer than this single panel. Below its surface lies a disturbing tale of bodily invasion, trauma and the horror of losing your own agency.
Plot Overview – A Deathly Lick
The story begins with Miku’s fiancé, Tsuyoshi. On his way home, he’s licked by a strange woman. At first, he laughs it off, but shortly after, he falls ill and eventually dies. At the hospital, a toxic substance is found in his bloodstream.
Before long, reports of more victims surface, and the story of a mysterious ‘Licking Woman’ begins spreading. A grief-stricken Miku joins the local neighborhood watch and manages to subdue the woman. The Licking Woman is hospitalized, but no toxins are found on her tongue.
Years later, Miku meets a woman named Nagaoka, who claims to have been another victim of the Licking Woman. When they learn of the Licking Woman’s release, they form a plan to kill her using potassium cyanide.
When new cases surface, Miku confronts the Licking Woman once more. As the story draws to a close, however, it takes an unexpected turn. It’s not only revealed that Nagaoka might have been the Licking Woman, but that her tongue might have had its own agency. Even worse, Miku, who thought she’d left it all behind, eventually succumbs to the same horror when a giant, bloated and poisonous tongue barges from her mouth.
What Makes the Licking Woman So Good?
The Licking Woman is one of Ito’s shorter tales, but it’s amongst his most iconic and uniquely unsettling. It begins with an almost laughable premise, a woman licking random strangers, but it soon turns terrifying.
The visuals are stunning, and once again showcase Ito’s mastery of the craft. We witness a disgustingly swollen tongue that’s both wet and entirely alien. The Licking Woman’s face is distorted, her eyes both wild and lifeless at the same time.
Yet it’s not just the visuals that make this story a stand out, it’s the ambiguity. What exactly is the tongue? Is it a parasite? A disease? We never truly find out, and as so often, this ambiguity is the real genius of the story. There’s also Nagaoka. We have to wonder, how much was she the Licking Woman, and how much was she controlled by something else? When the tongue vanishes after Nagaoka’s death, and later bursts from Miku’s mouth, we’re left with more questions than answers.
That’s why the story lingers. It’s not just disgusting or disturbing, but deeply unsettling.
Deeper Themes – Bodily Invasion, Trauma and Parasitic Horror
At its most literal, The Licking Woman is a tale about the horror of unwanted physical content. Being licked by a stranger isn’t merely unsettling, it’s disgusting and a clear violation of personal boundaries.
Normally, licking is associated with affection and intimacy, but here it’s invasive, predatory and eventually fatal. Even worse, it touches on our fear of disease transmission and contamination.
The story also heavily plays into psychological trauma and the shattering of intimacy. Those who survive the Licking Woman’s attack are never the same. They develop an aversion to being licked by pets, and even being kissed or touched by loved ones. It shows how trauma reshapes not only our body but also our mind.
The tongue is the story’s most interesting element. If it truly is a sentient organism with a life of its own, it gives the story yet another layer. This change The Licking Woman from a tale about a human-shaped monster, to one of parasitic horror.
The tongue distorts and warps its host, takes control and drives it to do abhorrent things. Seen through that lens, Nagaoka’s plan of killing the Licking Woman could be interpreted as her fighting her own parasitic infection. It’s her wish to free herself from the other that lingers inside her body, ready to break free at any moment and take control of her.
Final Verdict – Grotesque, Uncomfortable and Visually Stunning
The Licking Woman is a deeply unsettling story. Its imagery is unforgettable, but so is the intimacy of its horror. It’s not merely a tale of bodily invasion and its dire consequences, but one of parasitic horror and being controlled against your own will.
If you’re looking for a short, but deeply disturbing Junji Ito story, The Licking woman is an essential read.
Looking for more Junji Ito? Check out my reviews of Dissection Girl and Fashion Model, or my long list of the best 40 Junji Ito stories.
You can find it in Junji Ito’s Venus in the Blind Spot collection, available on Amazon.
