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japanese yokai

Yokai : Legendary creatures from Japan

2020-08-10 by Taka

Every country has some kind of scary folktales, and Japan is no exception. 妖怪/Yokai, are Japanese supernatural monsters, demons, and spirits often appear in Japanese folktales. They have emotions and personalities, and can also be called Obake, Mamono, Mononoke or Ayakashi. While most Yokai are considered evil for making troubles, there are a few that are believed to bring good fortune to those who encounter them (Good Yokai/Spirits are called Nigi-mitama. They are believed to be the spirits of respected ancestors and animals or sacred objects, and often appear with greenish aura around them. Evil spirits are called Ara-mitama. They could be turned into good ones by calming them down). Yokai usually have spiritual/supernatural abilities and some could possess people, animals, and objects. It is also believed that most Yokai can change their appearance (this is called 変化/Henge).

Famous Yokai

Above is Tengu

鬼/Oni

Oni are demons with horns and fangs. They are usually in red, blue, or green and look musculine like armies of hell. Each of them has a heavy hammer to kill humans to eat.

天狗/Tengu

Tengu are a kind of legendary creature/demon that takes the forms of birds of prey. In many stories, they have a human-like appearance with wings and red faces with long noses. They are dangerous spirits of mountains and forests, and it is also believed that evil people turn into Tengu after death to disturb the peace causing troubles such as attacking humans, robbing temples, and possessing women to seduce holy men.

かっぱ/Kappa

Kappa are human-like turtles living in rivers, swamps, or lakes, and they are excellent in swimming. It is said that they have the powers to control water and can cause river floods. They can be aggressive and may attack humans and eat them. However, if you show some respect by offering their favorite food like cucumbers, they will be friendly.
Cucumber sushi is called Kappa-maki by the way.

酒呑童子/Shuten douji

Shuten douji was a leader of demons and the strongest Oni of Japan that lived in Kyoto abducting a lot of young women. Shuten douji means “Sake-drinking lad”. Knowing that this Oni loved Sake, a hero Minamoto Raiko offered a poisoned Sake and killed him.

玉藻御前/Tamamo-no-Mae

According to a legend, Tamamo-no-Mae was the nine-tail fox that appeared in Japan as the most favored courtesan of Emperor Toba (1103 – 1156, 74th Emperor of Japan). She made the Emperor to be ill and caused chaos (It is also believed that this nine-tail fox first appeared in China as a concubine and ended many dynasties in China and also in India and later came to Japan). An astrologer, Abe no Yasuchika was called there to find the cause of the emperor’s illness and he found the evil fox disguising as the lady. The nine-tail fox acted violently but was killed a few years later in Nasu in Tochigi prefecture.

座敷童/Zashiki Warashi

Zashiki Warashi are good Yokai. If you see footprints or hear footsteps of a child inside or around your residence, that may be because of Zashiki Warashi. They are guardians of the house and believed to bring good fortune. This Yokai looks like a child and it enjoys playing harmless tricks like making noises or music to surprise people, just like a real child playing.

Yokai is said to be created as personifications of supernatural phenomena. In the Edo period, many artists made new Yokai by taking inspiration from tales or using their own imagination. A lot of Yokai were painted in Ukiyo-e art at that time. It’s really fun to enjoy the artworks and study legends about invisible monsters of the past … or maybe there are a lot of Yokai still here living with us. 


Today’s words and phrases
今日の単語/フレーズ

・Folktale 民話
・Possess 持つ、憑依する
・Rob 奪う
・Act violently 暴れる
・Residence 住居
・Supernatural 超自然的


Thank you for reading today’s post!
Until next time.
Taka

*I’m a professional composer by the way.
You can listen/download my music below.

Filed Under: Culture Tagged With: creatures from japan, demons in japan, ghost of japan, ghosts in japan, japan yokai beast, japanese culture, japanese yokai, mononoke, supernatural, the nine-tail fox, what is yokai, yokai, 日本語で紹介

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Taka/原貴浩

Taka吉祥寺出身の元大手英会話学校教務主任、作曲家、コンテンツ開発/編集者。高校生の時に出会ったアメリカ人の英語の先生がきっかけで英語や海外文化に興味を持つようになり、18歳で単身アメリカのフロリダ州へ音楽留学、主席で卒業。帰国後は舞台や楽曲制作などエンタメ業界に関わりながら長年英会話の講師として務め、英語関連の書籍や音声/動画コンテンツの制作、編集なども行っている。コロナ禍前に岐阜県の高山に移住し、同市の英語講師、通訳案内士やゲストハウスの立ち上げを行いながら、外国人移住者と地域住民との架け橋となる多文化共生支援団体、Family Planet Japanの代表としても活動。英語や音楽を通した人とのつながり作りや、まちづくりにも精力的に関わっている。 Introduction

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