Youkai, ghosts and Japanese monsters

The other land of ghosts

Yokai, or Japanese ghosts, are supernatural creatures from Japanese folklore. The word youkai can also refer to strange or inexplicable phenomena.

Illustration du manga "Kitaro le repoussant" de Shigeru Mizuki

Illustration from the manga "Kitaro pushing him away" by Shigeru Mizuki

Manga Gegege no Kitaro

 

Do you meet a funny big raccoon statue? He is a tanuki, a spirit of the forest.

Do you see a representation of an animal reminiscent of a turtle? It is a kappa, a being that feeds on cucumber and lives in ponds.

A character with a huge Cyrano-like nose? A tengu is a winged demon ( oni ) particularly terrifying for children. The list is impossible to complete.

Young men must beware of beautiful strangers, they can be kitsune, or vixens, who are setting a trap for them!

An object preserved for more than 100 years will come to life to become a tsukumogami.

In the evening, at a street bend, you might cross paths with the terrifying Kuchisake-onna, a woman with a carnivorous smile.

 

Read: The Setsubun Festival

 

 

 

Statues de Kappa à Oita

Kappa statues in Oita

George Alexander Ishida Newman

Statues de tanuki

Tanuki Statues

Meredith Kahn

Le fantôme lanterne, par Katsushika Hokusai

The Lantern Ghost, by Katsushika Hokusai

Wikimedia Commons

La terrifiante Kuchisake-onna, une femme au sourire carnassier.

The terrifying Kuchisake-onna, a woman with a carnivorous smile.

Manga "Kitaro Repelling Him" by Shigeru Mizuki

Latest Articles

Japan Visitor - stone-lantern-2.jpg

Stone Lanterns in Japan: A Journey Through History, Culture, and Design

Stone lanterns, or ishidoro in Japanese, are iconic elements of Japanese gardens, temples, and shrines.

Punk Rock in Japan: A thriving subculture of rebellion and precision

In the land of the rising sun, a rebellious undercurrent has been pulsing through the veins of Japanese society since the 1970s.

Kenzo Tange, the influential Japanese architect who shaped modern architecture

Kenzo Tange (丹下 健三) is widely considered one of the most influential and honored Japanese architects of the 20th century.