What areYokai?
Japanese folklore is full of interesting and mysterious creatures called Yokai.Yokai can be a hard word to translate into English because it encompasses so many different kinds of creatures. According to jisho.org, a great online Japanese dictionary, Yokai means ghost, apparition, phantom, spectre (specter), demon, monster, or goblin; however, even this definition is a bit lacking and doesn’t cover all types of Yokai. The easiest way to think about them is just like any other cultures folklore. There are many different stories with many different kinds of creatures. Japan was just kind enough to categorize all those creatures into one generalized word. Just like the West has werewolves, mermaids and the boogeyman in its folklore; Japan has Obake, Tengu and Kappa.
History ofYokai
The origin story for Yokai comes from a piece of ancient Japanese literature written in the 8th century called the Kojiki (古事記), which translates to “Records of Ancient Matters”. Isolated stories of folklore were present long before Japan was a nation, and each village and kingdom had their own stories about creatures that existed. It wasn’t until the 3rd century when the Yamato clan unified much of the nation. Once unified, information spread more easily. Then, as time passed, folklore that was created in isolation was shared across the country.
Fast forwarding to the Edo period, the tales of yokai have reached their peak in popularity. Sano Toyofusa, better known by his pen name of Toriyama Sekien, was a scholar, an artist and a poet. Toriyama traveled across Japan and recorded every story and piece of folklore he could find. From the common legend to the most obscure of tale, Toriyama made sure he collected them all so that he could fill his illustrated encyclopedia of Yokai. With the help of ukiyo-e printmaking, he was able to mass produce his encyclopedia, which proved to be very popular and allowed him to create three more sequels.
After the Edo period, the popularity of Yokai dropped dramatically as Japan tried shifting its image to a more Western style in an attempt to modernize. Things like the supernatural and superstitions found in Yokai folklore seemed embarrassing to share to the rest of world according to the Meiji government’s perspective. Even though Yokai were forgotten by the government, they were not forgotten by all of its citizens who still passed down the stories and legends. One such person who inherited those stories is Mizuki Shigeru. Mizuki was born in 1922 and he learned about yokai from his village elders. Mizuki was drafted into the war in 1942 and it wasn’t until 1960 that he would use his knowledge of Yokai to create a manga called Hakaba Kitarō, which was later renamed in 1967 to GeGeGe no Kitarō.
GeGeGe no Kitarō is a story about Kitarō (the last survivor of his Ghost tribe) and the adventures he has with other supernatural beings. The manga became fairly popular in Japan and helped bring yokai and their stories back into Japan’s mainstream culture. Many children grew up reading about Kitarō’s adventures and some would go on to create their own works about Yokai. One example is the popular video game Yo-kai Watch. Thanks to Mizuki, Yokai have made a resurgence in popularity throughout Japanese culture.
Examples ofPopular Yokai
There are hundreds of different Yokai to learn about, butbelow are three examples of commonly known Yokai.
Oni
An Oni is essentially a demon/ogre. They are stronger than any normal human and are sometimes even sorcerers. They are typically either red or blue skinned with horns and fangs. According to the Buddhist faith, Oni are born when humans that were extremely evil die and go to one of the hells. Made to serve Lord Enma (Ruler of Hell), they were tasked with torturing other humans in the hells who weren’t quite evil enough to be turned into Oni’s themselves.
The Oni is a classic and iconic yokai in Japanese mythology. Oni was originally meant to describe almost all ghosts or monsters, but as the Japanese language evolved, the word became more specific to the demon described above. There are countless stories involving Oni as villains terrorizing humans and their villages.
Kappa
Kappa are aquatic and reptilian-like creatures. They are about the same size as a child and have a turtle like shell and beaked mouth. There is a small indent on the top of their heads that holds water. That spot must be kept wet at all times as it is the source of their power. Kappa are mischievous and sometimes dangerous. Although they are small, they are stronger than an adult human. They have been known to drown people in rivers. They will eat almost anything, but prefer humans innards and cucumbers. Many dangerous parts of rivers in Japan have Kappa warning signs, this helps to prevent people, mainly children, from playing in rivers for fear of drowning.
Kitsune
Kitsune are very intelligent foxes that possess supernatural powers like shape-shifting. The foxes are normally portrayed as either good and servants of the Shinto deity of rice, Inari, or wicked tricksters that cause mischief and sometimes worse. Kitsune’s shape-shifting powers allow them to take on the form of humans and look identical to a person. They can even transform into monsters to scare and prank unwitting humans.
Where toFind More
As mentioned before, there are literally hundreds of different yokai, all with their own individual stories and character traits. You can find a yokai encyclopedia on Amazon or check out sites like yokai.com that have cataloged information about different yokai.
