View source for Yōkai

{{Short description|Supernatural beings from Japanese folklore}}
{{Italic title}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2025}}
[[File:Kyosai, Yokai image.jpg|thumb|A {{transliteration|ja|yōkai}} print by [[Kawanabe Kyōsai]]]]
{{Jmyth infobox}}

{{Nihongo||[[wikt:妖怪|妖怪]]|'''Yōkai'''|{{ipa|ja|joː.kai}}<ref>{{cite book|script-title=ja:NHK日本語発音アクセント新辞典|publisher=NHK Publishing|editor=NHK Broadcasting Culture Research Institute|date=24 May 2016|lang=ja}}</ref>}} are a class of [[supernatural]] entities and [[Spirit (supernatural entity) | spirits]] in [[Japanese folklore]]. The [[kanji]] representation of the word {{transliteration|ja|yōkai}} comprises two characters that both mean "suspicious, doubtful",{{sfnp|Foster|2009|p=13 | ps = &nbsp; "[...] both of the graphs that signify yōkai, 妖, and 怪, carry the meaning of 'suspicious' or 'doubtful.'"}} and while the Japanese name is simply the Japanese transliteration or pronunciation of the Chinese term ''[[yaoguai|yāoguài]]'' (which designates similarly strange creatures), some Japanese commentators argue that the word ''yōkai'' has taken on many different meanings in Japanese culture,{{sfnp|Hirota|2021|p=332}} including referring to a large number of uniquely Japanese creatures. 

{{transliteration|ja|Yōkai}} are also referred to as {{nihongo||あやかし|[[Ayakashi (yōkai)|''ayakashi'']]}}, {{nihongo||物の怪|''[[mononoke]]''}} or {{nihongo||魔物|''mamono''}}. Some academics and [[Shinto]] practitioners acknowledge similarities within the seeming dichotomy between the natures of ''yōkai'' and most ''[[kami]]'', which are generally regarded as relatively beneficent in comparison, and class the two as ultimately the same type of spirits of nature or of a mythological realm.<ref>
{{cite book
 |last1                = Foster
 |first1               = Michael Dylan
 |author-link1         = Michael Foster (folklorist)
 |date                 = 14 January 2015
 |chapter              = Introducing Yōkai
 |title                = The Book of Yōkai: Mysterious Creatures of Japanese Folklore
 |url                  = https://books.google.com/books?id=BMRwDwAAQBAJ
 |publication-place    = Oakland, California
 |publisher            = University of California Press
 |pages                = 20–21
 |isbn                 = 978-0-520-27102-9
 |access-date          = 14 September 2024
 |quote                = [...] although it is tempting to think in terms of a simple opposition - kami good and yōkai bad - the line between the two is blurry. Yanagita Kunio, the father of folkloristics in Japan, suggested that yōkai are kami that have 'degraded' over time, an idea that suggests an intimate relationship between the two. [...] Folklorist-anthropologist Komatsu Kazuhiko has suggested that yōkai are 'unworshipped' kami and kami are 'worshipped' yokai. [...] Both kami and yōkai reflect a way of thinking often called animistic, meaning that the things in the world around us - rocks, rivers, even musical instruments - can possess animating forces or spirits. Within such an animistic world, we can imagine a continuum. On one end, where yōkai cluster, we have everything that seems troublesome, undesirable, unworshipped. The other end contains helpful, desirable, and worshipped things - generally called kami. But these are extremes, and any individual entity can move along this continuum. If a 'bad' yōkai does something 'good,' we might consider it a kami, and vice versa.
}} 
</ref>
Their behavior can range from malevolent or mischievous to benevolent to humans.

{{transliteration|ja|Yōkai}} often have animal-like features (such as the {{transliteration|ja|[[Kappa (folklore)|kappa]]}}, depicted as appearing similar to a turtle, and the {{transliteration|ja|[[tengu]]}}, commonly depicted with wings), but may also appear humanoid in appearance, such as the {{transliteration|ja|[[kuchisake-onna]]}} (口裂け女). Some {{transliteration|ja|yōkai}} resemble inanimate objects (such as the {{transliteration|ja|[[tsukumogami]]}}), while others have no discernible shape. {{transliteration|ja|Yōkai}} are typically described as having spiritual or supernatural abilities, with [[shapeshifting]] being the most common trait associated with them. {{transliteration|ja|Yōkai}} that shapeshift are known as {{nihongo||化け物|bakemono}} or {{nihongo||お化け|[[obake]]}}.

Japanese [[folkloristics|folklorists]] and historians explain {{transliteration|ja|yōkai}} as personifications of "supernatural or unaccountable phenomena to their informants".{{quote without source|date=February 2024}} In the [[Edo period]] (1603 to 1868), many artists, such as [[Toriyama Sekien]] (1712-1788), invented new {{transliteration|ja|yōkai}} by taking inspiration from folktales or purely from their own imagination. Today, several such {{transliteration|ja|yōkai}} (such as the {{transliteration|ja|[[amikiri]]}}) are mistakenly thought to originate in more traditional folklore.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.obakemono.com/obake/toriyama-sekien/ | title=Toriyama Sekien | publisher=The Obakemono Project |website=Obakemono | access-date=April 2, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130726080810/http://www.obakemono.com/obake/toriyama-sekien/ | archive-date=26 July 2013}}</ref>

==Concept==
The concept of {{transliteration|ja|yōkai}} varies greatly throughout Japanese culture and historical periods; typically, the older the time period, the higher the number of phenomena deemed to be supernatural and the result of {{transliteration|ja|yōkai}}.{{sfnp|Komatsu|2015|p=24}} According to Japanese ideas of [[animism]], spirit-like entities were believed to reside in all things, including natural phenomena and objects.{{sfnp|Komatsu|2011|p=16}} Such spirits possessed emotions and personalities: peaceful spirits were known as {{transliteration|ja|[[Mitama|nigi-mitama]]}}, who brought good fortune; violent spirits, known as {{transliteration|ja|ara-mitama}}, brought ill fortune, such as illness and natural disasters. Neither type of spirit was considered to be {{transliteration|ja|yōkai}}.

One's ancestors and particularly respected departed elders could also be deemed to be {{transliteration|ja|nigi-mitama}}, accruing status as protective spirits who brought fortune to those who worshiped them. Animals, objects and natural features or phenomena were also venerated as {{transliteration|ja|nigi-mitama}} or propitiated as {{transliteration|ja|ara-mitama}} depending on the area.

Rituals for converting {{transliteration|ja|ara-mitama}} into {{transliteration|ja|nigi-mitama}} were performed, aiming to quell malevolent spirits, prevent misfortune and alleviate the fear arising from phenomena and events that otherwise had no explanation.{{sfnp|Miyata|2002|p=14}}{{sfnp|Komatsu|2015|pp=201–204}} The ritual for converting {{transliteration|ja|ara-mitama}} into {{transliteration|ja|nigi-mitama}} was known as the {{Nihongo3|{{lit|the calming of the spirits}} or 'requiem'|[[wikt:鎮魂|鎮魂]]|[[chinkon]]}}.{{sfnp|Komatsu|2011|pp=16–18}} {{transliteration|ja|Chinkon}} rituals for {{transliteration|ja|ara-mitama}} that failed to achieve deification as benevolent spirits, whether through a lack of sufficient veneration or through losing worshippers and thus their divinity, became {{transliteration|ja|yōkai}}.{{sfnp|Miyata|2002|pp=12–14}}{{sfnp|Komatsu|2015|pp=205–207}}

Over time, phenomena and events thought to be supernatural became fewer and fewer, with the depictions of {{transliteration|ja|yōkai}} in [[emakimono|picture scrolls]] and paintings beginning to standardize, evolving more into caricatures than fearsome spiritual entities. Elements of the tales and legends surrounding {{transliteration|ja|yōkai}} began to be depicted in public entertainment, beginning as early as the Middle Ages in Japan.{{sfnp|Komatsu|2011|pp=21–22}} During and following the [[Edo period]], the mythology and lore of {{transliteration|ja|yōkai}} became more defined and formalized.{{sfnp|Komatsu|2011|pp=188–189}}

<gallery widths="200px" heights="200px">
File:Katsushika_Hokusai_-_The_Lantern_Ghost%2C_Iwa_-_Google_Art_Project.jpg|{{transliteration|ja|[[Chōchin-obake|Chōchin-oiwa]]}} by [[Katsushika Hokusai]]
File:Kuniyoshi Kidomaru.jpg|{{transliteration|ja|[[Kidōmaru]]}} by [[Utagawa Kuniyoshi]]
File:Suushi Nekomata.jpg|{{transliteration|ja|[[Nekomata]]}} from the [[Hyakkai Zukan]] by [[Sawaki Suushi]]
File:Yoshitoshi_The_Ground_Spider.jpg|{{transliteration|ja|[[Tsuchigumo]]}} from the {{nihongo||新形三十六怪撰|[[Shinkei Sanjurokkai Sen]]}} by [[Tsukioka Yoshitoshi]]
File:Gamayoukai.JPG|{{transliteration|ja|Gama Yōkai}} from the {{transliteration|ja|Saigama to Ukiyo Soushi Kenkyu}} Volume 2, special issue {{transliteration|ja|Kaii}}<ref name="kondo&saeki" /> [[Tamababaki]]
File:SekienNarigama.jpg|{{transliteration|ja|[[Narikama]]}} from the [[Gazu Hyakki Tsurezure Bukuro]] by [[Sekien Toriyama]]
File:Kawanabe Kyōsai - Theatre Curtain of the Shintomi-za, with an Impromptu Sketch Monsters.jpg|Theatre Curtain with Yokai by Kawanabe Kyōsai (1880)
</gallery>

==Types==
The folklorist [[Tsutomu Ema]] studied the literature and paintings depicting {{transliteration|ja|yōkai}} and {{Nihongo3|{{lit|changed things/[[mutant]]s}}|変化|henge}}, dividing them into categories as presented in the {{transliteration|ja|Nihon Yōkai Henge Shi}} and the {{transliteration|ja|Obake no Rekishi}}:
* Categories based on a {{transliteration|ja|yōkai}}'s "true form":
** Human
** Animal
** Plant
** Object
** Natural phenomenon
* Categories depending on the source of mutation:
** Mutation related to this world
** Spiritual or mentally related mutation
** Reincarnation or afterworld related mutation
** Material related mutation
* Categories based on external appearance:
** Human
** Animal
** Plant
** Artifact
** Structure or building
** Natural object or phenomenon
** Miscellaneous or appearance compounding more than one category

In other [[folkloristics|folklorist]] categorizations, {{transliteration|ja|yōkai}} are classified, similarly to the [[nymph]]s of Greek mythology, by their location or the phenomena associated with their manifestation. {{transliteration|ja|Yōkai}} are indexed in the book {{Nihongo3|''A Complete Dictionary of Japanese Folklore''|綜合日本民俗語彙|Sogo Nihon Minzoku Goi}}<ref>{{cite encyclopedia|author=Minzokugaku kenkyujo <!--民俗学研究所--> |title=Sōgō nihon minzoku goi |script-title=ja:綜合日本民俗語彙 |volume=5 |publisher=Heibonsha<!--平凡社 --> |date=1956 |url= |pages=403–407}}</ref>{{efn|The index has the heading {{nihongo|reikai|霊怪|extra="spirits and monsters"}}, under which {{nihongo|reikai|霊怪}}, {{nihongo|yōkai|妖怪}}, {{nihongo|tsukimono|憑物|extra="possession by spirits"}}.}} as follows:
* {{transliteration|ja|dōbutsu no ke}} ({{lang|ja|動物の怪}}; animals, either real or imaginary)
* {{transliteration|ja|ki no ke}} ({{lang|ja|木の怪}}; trees)
* {{transliteration|ja|michi no ke}} ({{lang|ja|道の怪}}; paths)
* {{transliteration|ja|mizu no ke}} ({{lang|ja|水の怪}}; water)
* {{transliteration|ja|oto no ke}} ({{lang|ja|音の怪}}; sound)
* {{transliteration|ja|umi no ke}} ({{lang|ja|海の怪}}; the sea)
* {{transliteration|ja|yama no ke}} ({{lang|ja|山の怪}}; mountains)
* {{transliteration|ja|yuki no ke}} ({{lang|ja|雪の怪}}; snow)

==History==

===Ancient history===
* 772 CE: in the {{transliteration|ja|[[Shoku Nihongi]]}}, there is the statement "[[Shinto]] purification is performed because {{transliteration|ja|yōkai}} appear very often in the imperial court", using the word {{transliteration|ja|yōkai}} to not refer to any one phenomenon in particular, but to strange phenomena in general.
* Middle of the [[Heian period]] (794–1185/1192): In ''[[The Pillow Book]]'' by [[Sei Shōnagon]], there is the statement "there are tenacious {{transliteration|ja|mononoke}}", as well as a statement by [[Murasaki Shikibu]] that "the {{transliteration|ja|mononoke}} have become quite dreadful", which are the first appearances of the word {{transliteration|ja|mononoke}}.
* 1370: In the {{transliteration|ja|[[Taiheiki]]}}, in the fifth volume, there is the statement, "Sagami no Nyudo was not at all frightened by {{transliteration|ja|yōkai}}."

[[File:Susanoo-no-Mikoto-slays-Yamata-no-Orochi-in-Izumo-By-Tsukioka-Yoshitoshi.png|right|thumb|upright=1.25|[[Yamata no Orochi]] from the {{transliteration|ja|Nihon-ryakushi: Susanoo}} by [[Tsukioka Yoshitoshi]]]]

The ancient times were a period abundant in literature and folktales mentioning and explaining {{transliteration|ja|yōkai}}. Literature such as the {{transliteration|ja|[[Kojiki]]}}, the {{transliteration|ja|[[Nihon Shoki]]}}, and various {{transliteration|ja|[[Fudoki]]}} expositioned on legends from the ancient past, and mentions of {{transliteration|ja|[[oni]]}}, {{transliteration|ja|[[Yamata no Orochi|orochi]]}}, among other kinds of mysterious phenomena can already be seen in them.{{sfnp|Komatsu|2011|p=20}} In the Heian period, collections of stories about {{transliteration|ja|yōkai}} and other supernatural phenomena were published in multiple volumes, starting with publications such as the {{transliteration|ja|[[Nihon Ryōiki]]}} and the {{transliteration|ja|[[Konjaku Monogatarishū]]}}, and in these publications, mentions of phenomena such as {{transliteration|ja|[[Hyakki Yagyō]]}} can be seen.<ref>{{Citation|chapter=Sonshō darani no genriki ni yorite oni no nan wo nogaruru koto |script-chapter=ja:尊勝陀羅尼の験力によりて鬼の難を遁るる事 |trans-chapter=Escaping the oni by the spiritual power of the Vijaya Dharani |title=Konjaku monogatarishū |script-title=ja:今昔物語集 |year= |at=Book 14, No. 42 |language=ja}}</ref>

The {{transliteration|ja|yōkai}} that appear in this literature were passed on to later generations.{{sfnp|Komatsu|2011|p=78}} Despite the literature mentioning and explaining these {{transliteration|ja|yōkai}}, they were never given any visual depictions. In Buddhist paintings such as the [[Hell Scroll (Nara National Museum)]], which came from the later Heian period, there are visual expressions of the idea of {{transliteration|ja|oni}}, but actual visual depictions would only come later in the Middle Ages, from the Kamakura period and beyond.{{sfnp|Komatsu2011|p=21}}

[[Yamata no Orochi]] was originally a local god but turned into a {{transliteration|ja|yōkai}} who was slain by [[Susanoo-no-Mikoto|Susanoo]].{{sfnp|Komatsu|2015|p=46}} Yasaburo was originally a bandit whose vengeful spirit ({{transliteration|ja|[[onryō]]}}) turned into a poisonous snake upon death and plagued the water in a paddy, but eventually became deified as the "wisdom god of the well".{{sfnp|Komatsu|2015|p=213}} {{transliteration|ja|[[Kappa (folklore)|Kappa]]}} and {{transliteration|ja|[[inugami]]}} are sometimes treated as gods in one area and {{transliteration|ja|yōkai}} in other areas. From these examples, it can be seen that among Japanese gods, there are some beings that can go from god to {{transliteration|ja|yōkai}} and vice versa.{{sfnp|Miyata|2002|p=12}}{{sfnp|Komatsu|2015|p=200}}

===Post-classical history===
[[File:Hyakki-Yagyo-Emaki Tsukumogami 1.jpg|right|thumb|upright=1.25|The {{transliteration|ja|Hyakki Yagyo Emaki}}, author unknown, [[Muromachi period]]]]
Medieval Japan was a time period where publications such as {{transliteration|ja|[[emakimono]]}}, {{transliteration|ja|[[Otogi-zōshi]]}}, and other visual depictions of {{transliteration|ja|yōkai}} started to appear. While there were religious publications such as the {{nihongo||寺社縁起|Jisha Engi}}, others, such as the {{transliteration|ja|Otogizōshi}}, were intended more for entertainment, starting the trend where {{transliteration|ja|yōkai}} became more and more seen as subjects of entertainment. For examples, tales of {{transliteration|ja|yōkai}} extermination could be said to be a result of emphasizing the superior status of human society over {{transliteration|ja|yōkai}}.{{sfnp|Komatsu|2011|pp=21–22}} Publications included:
* The {{transliteration|ja|[[Shuten-dōji|Ooe-yama Shuten-doji Emaki]]}} (about an {{transliteration|ja|oni}}), the {{transliteration|ja|Zegaibou Emaki}} (about a {{transliteration|ja|tengu}}), the {{nihongo||俵藤太絵巻|[[Tawara Tōda Monogatari|Tawara no Tōda emaki]]}} (concerning serpent/dragon-folk oppressed by a giant centipede ''yōkai''), the {{nihongo||土蜘蛛草紙|[[Tsuchigumo Zoshi]]}} (about {{transliteration|ja|tsuchigumo}}), and the {{transliteration|ja|[[Kiyohime|Dojo-ji Engi Emaki]]}} (about a giant snake). These {{transliteration|ja|emaki}} were about {{transliteration|ja|yōkai}} that come from even older times.
* The {{transliteration|ja|Kitano Tenjin Engi Emaki}}, in which [[Sugawara no Michizane]] was a lightning god who took on the form of an {{transliteration|ja|oni}}, and despite attacking people after doing this, he was still deified as a god in the end.{{sfnp|Komatsu|2011|pp=21–22}}
* The {{transliteration|ja|Junirui Emaki}}, the {{transliteration|ja|Tamamono Soshi}}, (both about [[Tamamo-no-Mae]]), and the {{transliteration|ja|Fujibukuro Soushi Emaki}} (about a monkey). These {{transliteration|ja|emaki}} told of {{transliteration|ja|yōkai}} mutations of animals.
* The {{transliteration|ja|[[Tsukumogami Emaki]]}}, which told tales of thrown away none-too-precious objects that come to have a spirit residing in them planning evil deeds against humans, and ultimately get exorcised and sent to peace.
* The {{transliteration|ja|[[Hyakki Yagyō Emaki]]}}, depicting many different kinds of {{transliteration|ja|yōkai}} all marching together
In this way, {{transliteration|ja|yōkai}} that were mentioned only in writing were given a visual appearance in the Middle Ages. In the {{transliteration|ja|Otogizōshi}}, familiar tales such as [[Urashima Tarō]] and [[Issun-bōshi]] also appeared.

The next major change in {{transliteration|ja|yōkai}} came after the period of warring states, in the Edo period.

===Modern history===
==== Edo period ====
* 1677: Publication of the {{transliteration|ja|[[Shokoku Hyakumonogatari]]}}, a collection of tales of various monsters.
* 1706: Publication of the {{transliteration|ja|Otogi Hyakumonogatari}}. In volumes such as {{transliteration|ja|Miyazu no Ayakashi}} (volume 1) and {{transliteration|ja|Unpin no Yōkai}} (volume 4), collections of tales that seem to come from China were adapted into a Japanese setting.<ref name="otogihyoku">{{Cite book|last=Tachikawa |first=Kiyoshi |author-link=<!--太刀川清--> |title=Hyakumonogatari kaidanshū |script-title=ja:百物語怪談集成 |year=1987|publisher=Kokusho Kankokai<!--国書刊行会-->|pages=365–367}}</ref>
* 1712: Publication of the {{transliteration|ja|[[Wakan Sansai Zue]]}} by Terajima Ryōan, a collection of tales based on the Chinese {{transliteration|zh|[[Sancai Tuhui]]}}.
* 1716: In the specialized dictionary {{nihongo||世説故事苑|[[Sesetsu Kojien]]}}, there is an entry on {{transliteration|ja|yōkai}}, which stated, "Among the commoners in my society, there are many kinds of {{transliteration|ja|kaiji}} (mysterious phenomena), often mispronounced by commoners as {{transliteration|ja|'kechi.'}} Types include the cry of weasels, the howling of foxes, the bustling of mice, the rising of the chicken, the cry of the birds, the pooping of the birds on clothing, and sounds similar to voices that come from cauldrons and bottles. These types of things appear in the {{transliteration|ja|[[Shōseiroku]]}}, methods of exorcising them can be seen, so it should serve as a basis."<ref>{{cite web|title=Sesetsu kojien 3 |script-title=ja:世説故事苑 3巻 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=AWVw3Grzl5AC&pg=PA105 |access-date=2015-12-16| year = 1716 }}</ref>
* 1788: Publication of the {{transliteration|ja|Bakemono chakutocho}} by Masayoshi Kitao. This was a {{transliteration|ja|[[kibyoshi]]}} diagram book of {{transliteration|ja|yōkai}}, but it was prefaced with the statement "it can be said that the so-called {{transliteration|ja|yōkai}} in our society is a representation of our feelings that arise from fear",<ref>{{Cite book|last=Kabat  |first=Adam |author-mask=[[:ja:アダム・カバット|Kabat, Adam]] ed., tr. |title=Edo bakemono zōshi |script-title=ja:江戸化物草紙 |publisher=[[Shogakukan]] |date=February 1999 |page=29|isbn=4-09-362111-X}}</ref> and already in this era, while {{transliteration|ja|yōkai}} were being researched, it indicated that there were people who questioned whether {{transliteration|ja|yōkai}} really existed or not.

It was in this era that the technology of the printing press and publication was first started to be widely used, that a publishing culture developed, and was frequently a subject of {{transliteration|ja|kibyoshi}} and other publications.{{efn|Picture books classed as a ''[[kusazōshi]]'' included further subcategories named after the colors of their jackets. A ''kibyōshi'' (yellow) referred to those catering to adult audiences; there were also ''akabyōshi'' (red)  and ''aobyōshi'' (blue).}}

As a result, {{transliteration|ja|[[kashi-hon]]}} shops that handled such books spread and became widely used, making the general public's impression of each {{transliteration|ja|yōkai}} fixed, spreading throughout Japan. For example, before the Edo period, there were plenty of interpretations about what the {{transliteration|ja|yōkai}} were that were classified as {{transliteration|ja|kappa}}, but because of books and publishing, the notion of {{transliteration|ja|kappa}} became anchored to what is now the modern notion of {{transliteration|ja|kappa}}.<ref name="tada&kyogoku2008" />

Also, including other kinds of publications, other than {{transliteration|ja|yōkai}} born from folk legend, there were also many invented {{transliteration|ja|yōkai}} that were created through puns or word plays; the {{transliteration|ja|[[Gazu Hyakki Yagyō]]}} by [[Toriyama Sekien]] is one example. When the {{transliteration|ja|[[Hyakumonogatari Kaidankai]]}} became popular in the Edo period, it is thought that one reason for the appearance of new {{transliteration|ja|yōkai}} was a demand for entertaining ghost stories about {{transliteration|ja|yōkai}} no one has ever heard of before, resulting in some that were simply made up for the purpose of telling an entertaining story. The {{transliteration|ja|[[kasa-obake]]}} and the {{transliteration|ja|[[tōfu-kozō]]}} are known examples of these.<ref name="tada&kyogoku2008" />

They are also frequently depicted in [[ukiyo-e]], and there are artists that have drawn famous {{transliteration|ja|yōkai}} like [[Utagawa Kuniyoshi]], [[Tsukioka Yoshitoshi|Yoshitoshi]], [[Kawanabe Kyōsai]], and [[Hokusai]], and there are also {{transliteration|ja|[[Hyakki Yagyō]]}} books made by artists of the [[Kanō school]].

In this period, toys and games like {{transliteration|ja|[[karuta]]}} and {{transliteration|ja|[[sugoroku]]}}, frequently used {{transliteration|ja|yōkai}} as characters. Thus, with the development of a publishing culture, {{transliteration|ja|yōkai}} depictions that were treasured in temples and shrines were able to become something more familiar to people, and it is thought that this is the reason that even though {{transliteration|ja|yōkai}} were originally things to be feared, they have then become characters that people feel close to.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Yumoto |first=Kōichi |author-link=:ja:湯本豪一 |editor=Kōdansha Comic Create<!--講談社コミッククリエイト編--> |title=DISCOVER yōkai: nihon yōkai daihyakka |script-title=ja:DISCOVER妖怪 日本妖怪大百科 |publisher=Kodansha<!--講談社--> |year=2008 |series=KODANSHA Official File Magazine |volume=10 |isbn=978-4-06-370040-4|pages=30–31|chapter=Asobi no naka no yōkai |script-chapter=ja:遊びのなかの妖怪}}</ref>{{clear|left}}

==== Meiji and Taishō periods ====
[[File:Yoshitoshi The Heavy Basket.jpg|right|thumb|''The Heavy Basket'' from the {{transliteration|ja|Shinkei Sanjurokkei Sen}} by Tsukioka Yoshitoshi, 1892]]
* 1891: Publication of the {{transliteration|ja|Seiyuu Youkai Kidan}} by [[Shibue Tamotsu]]. It introduced folktales from Europe, such as the Grimm Tales.
* 1896: Publication of the {{transliteration|ja|Yōkaigaku Kogi}} by [[Inoue Enryō]]
* 1900: Performance of the kabuki play {{transliteration|ja|Yami no Ume Hyakumonogatari}} at the [[Kabuki-za]] in January. It was a performance in which appeared numerous {{transliteration|ja|yōkai}} such as the {{transliteration|ja|Kasa ippon ashi}}, skeletons, {{transliteration|ja|[[yuki-onna]]}}, {{transliteration|ja|osakabe-hime}}, among others. [[Onoe Kikugorō V]] played the role of many of these, such as the {{transliteration|ja|osakabe-hime}}.
* 1914: Publication of the {{transliteration|ja|Shokubutsu Kaiko}} by [[Mitsutaro Shirai]]. Shirai expositioned on plant {{transliteration|ja|yōkai}} from the point of view of a plant pathologist and herbalist.

With the [[Meiji Restoration]], Western ideas and translated western publications began to make an impact, and western tales were particularly sought after. Things like {{transliteration|ja|[[binbōgami]]}}, {{interlanguage link|yakubyōgami|ja|疫病神|lt=''yakubyōgami''}}, and {{transliteration|ja|[[shinigami]]}} were talked about, and {{transliteration|ja|shinigami}} were even depicted in classical {{transliteration|ja|[[rakugo]]}}. Although the {{transliteration|ja|shinigami}} were misunderstood as a kind of Japanese {{transliteration|ja|yōkai}} or {{transliteration|ja|kami}}, they actually became well known among the populace through a {{transliteration|ja|rakugo}} called {{transliteration|ja|Shinigami}} by [[San'yūtei Enchō]], which were adoptions of European tales such as the Grimm fairy tale "Godfather Death" and the Italian opera {{lang|it|[[Crispino e la comare]]}} (1850). Also, in 1908, [[Kyōka Izumi]] and {{interlanguage link|Chikufū Tobari|ja|登張竹風}} jointedly translated [[Gerhart Hauptmann]]'s play ''The Sunken Bell''. Later works of Kyōka such as {{interlanguage link|Yasha ga Ike|ja|夜叉ヶ池 (戯曲)|lt=''Yasha ga Ike''}} were influenced by ''The Sunken Bell'', and so it can be seen that folktales that come from the West became adapted into Japanese tales of {{transliteration|ja|yōkai}}.

==== Shōwa period ====
Since {{transliteration|ja|yōkai}} have been introduced in various kinds of media, they have become well known among people from all walks of life. The {{transliteration|ja|[[kamishibai]]}} from before the war, the [[manga]] industry, {{transliteration|ja|[[kashi-hon]]}} shops that continued to exist until around the 1970s, and television all contributed to the public knowledge and familiarity with {{transliteration|ja|yōkai}}. {{transliteration|ja|Yōkai}} play a role in attracting tourism revitalizing local mecca regions such as [[Tōno, Iwate|Tōno]] in [[Iwate Prefecture]] (where stories in [[Kunio Yanagita]]'s ''{{transliteration|ja|Tono Monogatari}}'' were collected) or [[Tottori Prefecture]] ([[Shigeru Mizuki]]'s birthplace).

In this way, {{transliteration|ja|yōkai}} are spoken about in legends in various forms, but traditional oral storytelling by the elders and the older people is rare, and regionally unique situations and background in oral storytelling are not easily conveyed. For example, the classical {{transliteration|ja|yōkai}} represented by {{transliteration|ja|tsukumogami}} can only be felt as something realistic by living close to nature, such as with {{transliteration|ja|tanuki}} ([[Japanese raccoon dog]]s), [[fox]]es and [[weasel]]s. Furthermore, in the suburbs, and other regions, even when living in a primary-sector environment, there are tools that are no longer seen, such as the [[inkstone]], the {{transliteration|ja|kama}} (a large cooking pot), or the {{transliteration|ja|tsurube}} (a bucket used for getting water from a well), and there exist {{transliteration|ja|yōkai}} that are reminiscent of old lifestyles such as the {{transliteration|ja|[[azukiarai]]}} and the {{interlanguage link|dorotabō|ja|泥田坊|lt=''dorotabō''}}.

As a result, even for those born in the first decade of the [[Shōwa era|Shōwa period]] (1925–1935), except for some who were evacuated to the countryside, they would feel that those things that become {{transliteration|ja|yōkai}} are "not familiar" and "not very understandable". For example, in classical {{transliteration|ja|rakugo}}, even though people understand the words and what they refer to, they are not able to imagine it as something that could be realistic. Thus, the modernization of society has had a negative effect on the place of {{transliteration|ja|yōkai}} in classical Japanese culture.{{opinion|date=March 2022}}

On the other hand, the {{transliteration|ja|yōkai}} introduced through mass media are not limited to only those that come from classical sources like folklore, and just as in the Edo period, new fictional {{transliteration|ja|yōkai}} continue to be invented, such as scary school stories and other [[urban legend]]s like {{transliteration|ja|[[kuchisake-onna]]}} and {{transliteration|ja|[[Hanako-san]]}}, giving birth to new {{transliteration|ja|yōkai}}. From 1975 onwards, starting with the popularity of {{transliteration|ja|kuchisake-onna}}, these urban legends began to be referred to in mass media as "modern {{transliteration|ja|yōkai}}".<ref name="Gendai">{{Cite book|last=Yamaguchi |first=Bintarō |author-link=:ja:山口敏太郎 |title=Hontō ni iru nihon no 'gendai yōkai' zukan |script-title=ja:本当にいる日本の「現代妖怪」図鑑|year=2007|publisher=Kasakura<!--笠倉出版社--> |isbn=978-4-7730-0365-9 |page=9}}</ref> This terminology was also used in recent publications dealing with urban legends,<ref>{{Cite book|title=DISCOVER妖怪 日本妖怪大百科|volume=10 |page=2 |chapter=Toshi densetsu to yōkai |script-chapter=ja:都市伝説と妖怪}}</ref> and the researcher on {{transliteration|ja|yōkai}}, {{interlanguage link|Bintarō Yamaguchi|ja|山口敏太郎}}, used this especially frequently.<ref name="Gendai" />

During the 1970s, many books were published that introduced {{transliteration|ja|yōkai}} through encyclopedias, illustrated reference books, and dictionaries as a part of children's horror books, but along with the {{transliteration|ja|yōkai}} that come from classics like folklore, {{transliteration|ja|Kaidan}}, and essays, it has been pointed out by modern research that there are some mixed in that do not come from classics, but were newly created. Some well-known examples of these are the {{transliteration|ja|[[gashadokuro]]}} and the {{transliteration|ja|[[jubokko]]}}. For example, Arifumi Sato is known to be a creator of modern {{transliteration|ja|yōkai}}, and [[Shigeru Mizuki]], a manga artist of {{transliteration|ja|yōkai}}, in writings concerning research about {{transliteration|ja|yōkai}}, pointed out that newly created {{transliteration|ja|yōkai}} do exist,<ref name="to-gakkai">{{Cite book|author=To gakkai [Academy of Outrageous Book]<!--と学会--> |title=Tondemo hon no sekai|script-title=ja:トンデモ本の世界 |year=2007 |publisher=Rakkosha<!--楽工社--> |isbn=978-4-903063-14-0|pages=226–231}}</ref><ref name="yokaio2003">{{Cite book|author=Yōkaiō (Yamaguchi Bintarō) Group<!--妖怪王（山口敏太郎）グループ--> |author-link=:ja:山口敏太郎 |title=Shōwa no kodomo: Natsukashi no yōkai zukan |script-title=ja:昭和の子供 懐しの妖怪図鑑 |year=2003 |publisher=Art Book hon no mori<!--アートブック本の森--> |series=<!--コスモブックス--> |isbn=4-7747-0635-3|pages=16–19}}</ref> and Mizuki himself, through {{transliteration|ja|[[GeGeGe no Kitaro]]}}, created about 30 new {{transliteration|ja|yōkai}}.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Mizuki |first=Shigeru |author-link=Shigeru Mizuki |title=Yōkai nandemo nyūmon |script-title=ja:妖怪なんでも入門|year=1974 |publisher=Shogakukan |series=<!--小学館入門百科シリーズ--> |isbn=4-09-220032-3|page=17}}</ref>

There has been much criticism that this mixing of classical {{transliteration|ja|yōkai}} with newly created {{transliteration|ja|yōkai}} is making light of tradition and legends.<ref name="to-gakkai" /><ref name="yokaio2003" /> However, since there have already been those from the Edo period like Sekien Toriyama who created many new {{transliteration|ja|yōkai}}, there is also the opinion that it is unreasonable to criticize modern creations without doing the same for classical creations too.<ref name="to-gakkai" /> Furthermore, there is a favorable view that says that introducing various {{transliteration|ja|yōkai}} characters through these books nurtured creativity and emotional development of young readers of the time.<ref name="yokaio2003" />
== Comparison with yaoguai ==
Both the Chinese [[yaoguai]] ({{lang-zh|c=妖怪|p=yāoguài}}) and Japanese yōkai include strange, supernatural beings with shapeshifting tendencies. In the Chinese version, the emphasis is often on the first character, {{lang|zh|妖}} ({{tlit|zh|ISO|yāo}}, {{tlit|ja|ISO|yō}}), which connotes bewilderment, enchantment, or supernatural affliction — for example, their ability to take on human form in order to seduce and to enthrall human beings. In Japanese yōkai, the emphasis appears to be on the {{lang|zh|怪}} ({{tlit|zh|ISO|guài}}, {{tlit|ja|ISO|kai}}), referring to their monstrous and aberrant nature and anatomy. Depictions of Japanese yōkai in popular culture often include elements of the cute, the comical, the goofy, and the bizarre.

Some creatures appear as both Chinese yaoguai and Japanese yōkai, such as the scaly "water tiger" {{lang|zh|水虎}} ([[shuihu|{{tlit|zh|ISO|shuǐhǔ}}]], [[suiko (folklore)|{{tlit|ja|ISO|suiko}}]]), the wilderness demons {{lang|zh|魑魅魍魎}} ({{tlit|zh|ISO|chīmèi wǎngliǎng}}, [[chimimōryō|{{tlit|ja|ISO|chimimōryō}}]]), and the [[nine-tailed fox]]es {{lang|zh|九尾狐}} ({{tlit|zh|ISO|jiǔwěihú}}, {{tlit|ja|ISO|kyūbiko}}; also called {{lang|ja|九尾の狐}} ({{tlit|ja|ISO|kyūbi no kitsune}}) in Japanese).

Some yōkai, such as the [[nekomata]] (cat yōkai) and [[bake-danuki|tanuki]] (raccoon yōkai), resemble Chinese yaoguai, which encompass any number of shapeshifting animals and plants who have learnt to cultivate human form and other supernatural arts. For example, the nekomata resembles the Chinese {{tlit|zh|ISO|xiānlí}} ({{lang|zh|仙狸}}, {{gloss|leopard cat immortal}}; [[Japanese language|Japanese]]: {{tlit|ja|senri}}).

Yet others are uniquely Japanese, such as the [[kappa (folklore)|kappa]], ambivalent and occasionally cute,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Japanese Yokai Meaning & List with Pictures of these Demons |url=https://japan-avenue.com/blogs/japan/yokai |access-date=2024-07-19 |website=Japan Avenue |language=en}}</ref> the haradashi, with its belly on its face,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Haradashi – Yokai.com |url=https://yokai.com/haradashi/ |access-date=2024-07-19 |website=yokai.com}}</ref> and the mumashika, a comical-looking yokai with a horse head and a deer body.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Mumashika – Yokai.com |url=https://yokai.com/mumashika/ |access-date=2024-07-19 |website=yokai.com}}</ref>

==In popular culture==
{{Further|Category:Yōkai in popular culture}}

{{transliteration|ja|Yōkai}} are often referred to as Japanese spirits or East Asian ghosts, like the {{transliteration|ja|[[Hanako-san]]}} legend or the story of the "[[Slit-Mouthed Woman|Slit-mouthed girl]]", both of which hail from Japanese legend. The term {{transliteration|ja|yōkai}} can also be interpreted as something strange or unusual.

[[Lafcadio Hearn]]'s collection of Japanese [[kwaidan|ghost stories]] entitled ''[[Kwaidan: Stories and Studies of Strange Things]]'' includes stories of [[yurei|yūrei]] and ''yōkai'' such as [[Yuki-onna]], and is one of the first Western publications of its kind.

Yōkai remain prevalent in modern works of fiction. [[Shigeru Mizuki]], the manga creator of such series as ''[[GeGeGe no Kitaro]]'' and ''Kappa no Sanpei'', keeps ''yōkai'' in the popular imagination.  Other popular works focusing on yōkai include the ''[[Nurarihyon no Mago]]'' series, ''[[Yu Yu Hakusho]]'', [[Inuyasha|''Inuyasha: A Feudal Fairy Tale'']], ''[[Yo-kai Watch]]'' and the 1960s ''[[Yokai Monsters]]'' film series, which was loosely remade in 2005 as [[Takashi Miike]]'s ''[[The Great Yokai War]]'' and more recently [[Yukinobu Tatsu]]'s ''[[Dandadan]]''. They often play major roles in Japanese fiction.

==See also==
{{Portal|Japan}}'''Japanese supernatural beings''' 
* [[Kappa (folklore)|Kappa]] – a type of yōkai
* [[Oni]] – a type of yōkai
* [[Tengu]] – a type of yōkai
* {{Annotated link|Yōsei}}, distinct from the yōkai
* {{Annotated link|Yūrei}}, distinct from the yōkai
'''Japanese museums on the supernatural'''
* [[Miyoshi Mononoke Museum]]
* [[Shodoshima Yokai Art Museum]]
'''Other supernatural beings from East Asian folklore'''
* {{Annotated link|Dokkaebi}}
* [[Ghosts in Chinese culture]] – Some Chinese ghosts are identical to the Japanese yūrei in character or nature
* {{Annotated link|Ryukyuan religion#Magical creatures|Kijimunaa}} (legendary beings from the [[Ryukyu Islands]])
* [[Mogwai (Chinese culture)|Mogui]] – A class of Chinese demons from Buddhism
* [[Yaoguai]] – A class of Chinese supernatural beings with shapeshifting abilities and other supernatural powers. 
'''Lists of supernatural creatures from East Asian folklore'''
* {{Annotated link|List of legendary creatures from Japan}}
* [[List of supernatural beings in Chinese folklore]] – Legendary creatures and entities in Chinese folklore, many of which also recur in Japanese lore

==References==
===Notes===
{{notelist}}

===Citations===
{{Reflist|30em|refs=
<ref name="kondo&saeki">{{citation|last1=Kondō |first1=Mizuki |author1-link=<!--近藤瑞木-->  |last2=Saeki  |first2=Takahiro<!--佐伯孝弘--> |title=Saikaku to Ukiyoe zōshi kenkyū: dai-2-gō furoku. Kaiibutsu sashie taizen |script-title=ja:西鶴と浮世草子研究 第二号付録 怪異物挿絵大全 |publisher=Kasama shoin<!--笠間書院--> |year=2007 |url= |page= |isbn=978-4-305-60202-2}}</ref>

<ref name="tada&kyogoku2008">{{citation|editor1-last=Kyogoku |editor1-first=Natsuhiko |editor1-link=<!--京極夏彦--> |editor2-last=Tada  |editor2-first=Katsumi |editor2-link=<!--多田克己--> |title=Yōkaigahon kyōka hyakumonogatari |script-title=ja:妖怪画本 狂歌百物語 |publisher=Kokusho Kankokai<!--国書刊行会--> |year=2008 |url= |pages=272–273|isbn=978-4-3360-5055-7}}</ref>
}}

=== Works cited ===
{{refbegin}}
* {{cite book|last=Foster |first=Michael Dylan |author-link=Michael Foster (folklorist) |title=Pandemonium and Parade: Japanese Monsters and the Culture of Yōkai |publisher=University of California Press |date=2009 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Z5WQy5Q6Hj4C |page=|isbn=978-0-520-25361-2}}
* {{cite journal|last=Hirota |first=Ryūhei |author-link=<!--廣田龍平--> |title=Traversing the Natural, Supernatural, and Paranormal: ''Yōkai'' in Postwar Japan |journal=Japanese Journal of Religious Studies |volume=48 |number=2, Religion and Identity in Japan since 1940 |date=2021|url=https://nirc.nanzan-u.ac.jp/journal/6/article/2314/pdf/download |pages=321–340|doi=10.18874/jjrs.48.2.2021.321-339 |jstor=27039930|s2cid=237709697 |doi-access=free }}
* {{Cite book|last=Komatsu |first=Kazuhiko |author-link=:ja:小松和彦|title=Yōkaigaku no kiso chishiki |script-title=ja:妖怪学の基礎知識 |year=2011 |publisher=Kadokawa gakugei shuppan |isbn=978-4-04-703487-7 |language=ja}}
* {{Cite book|last=Komatsu |first=Kazuhiko |author-link=:ja:小松和彦 |title=Yōkaigaku shinkō: Yōkai kara miru nihonjin no kokoro |script-title=ja:妖怪学新考 妖怪からみる日本人の心|year=2015|publisher=Kodansha |isbn=978-4-06-292307-1 |language=ja}}
* {{Cite book|last=Miyata |first=Noboru |author-link=:ja:宮田登 |title=|script-title=ja:妖怪の民俗学 |year=2002 |publisher=Chikuma shobo |isbn=4-480-08699-4 |language=ja}}
{{refend}}

== Further reading ==
{{refbegin}}
* {{cite book |author-link=Rosalind Ballaster |last=Ballaster |first=Ros |year=2005 |title=Fables of the East |publisher=Oxford University Press |ref=none |url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780199267354 |url-access=registration |isbn=0-19-926735-9}}
* {{cite journal |last=Fujimoto |first=N. |url=https://www2.uni-hamburg.de/oag/noag/noag2008_5.pdf |title=''Yôkai'' und das Spiel mit Fiktion in der edozeitlichen Bildheftliteratur |language=de |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220219135025/https://www2.uni-hamburg.de/oag/noag/noag2008_5.pdf |archive-date=2022-02-19 |journal=Nachrichten der Gesellschaft für Natur- und Völkerkunde Ostasiens |publisher=[[University of Hamburg]] |volume=78 |issue=183–184 |year=2008 |pages=93–104 |ref=none}}
* {{cite book |last=Hearn |first=L. |year=2005 |title=[[Kwaidan: Stories and Studies of Strange Things]] |publisher=Tuttle Publishing |ref=none}}
* {{cite book |author-link=:ja:小松和彦 |last=Komatsu |first=K. |year=2017 |title=An Introduction to Yōkai Culture: Monsters, Ghosts, and Outsiders in Japanese History |publisher=Japan Publishing Industry Foundation for Culture |isbn=978-4-86658-049-4 |ref=none}}
* {{cite book |last=Meyer |first=Matthew |year=2012 |title=The Night Parade of One Hundred Demons |publisher=Matthew Meyer |isbn=978-0-9852-1840-9 |ref=none |url=https://archive.org/details/the-night-parade-of-one-hundred-demons-a-field-guide-to-japanese-yokai-pdf-room}}
* {{cite book |last=Phillip |first=Neil |year=2000 |title=Annotated Myths & Legends |publisher=Covent Garden Books |ref=none |url=https://archive.org/details/annotatedmythsle0000phil |url-access=registration |isbn=0-7513-3097-3}}
* {{cite book |last=Tyler |first=Royall |year=1987 |title=Japanese Tales |series=Pantheon Fairy Tale & Folklore Library |publisher=Random House |isbn=0-394-52190-0 |ref=none |url=https://archive.org/details/japanesetales0000tyle}}
* {{Cite book |last=Williams |first=S. |trans-title=Silver Crossed Skies |title=妖怪の民俗学 |year=2018 |publisher=Frosty Snow Monk Publishing |isbn=978-4-480-08699-0 |language=ja |ref=none}}
* {{cite book |last1=Yoda |first1=Hiroko |last2=Alt |first2=Matt |year=2012 |title=Yokai Attack! The Japanese Monster Survival Guide |publisher=Tuttle Publishing |isbn=978-4-8053-1219-3 |ref=none |url=https://archive.org/details/yokaiattackjapan0000yoda |url-access=registration}}
* {{cite book |last1=Yoda |first1=H. |last2=Alt |first2=M. |year=2016 |title=Japandemonium Illustrated: The Yokai Encyclopedias of Toriyama Sekien |publisher=Dover Publishing |isbn=978-0-4868-0035-6 |ref=none}}
{{refend}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Yōkai}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20101217155637/http://k-i-a.or.jp/kokusai/jigyou/english-lesson/ts-report/r-report.pdf ''Yōkai'' and ''Kaidan''] (PDF; 1.1&nbsp;MB)
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20090417015138/http://www.rekihaku.ac.jp/e-rekihaku/106/index.html The ''Ōishi Hyōroku Monogatari'' Picture Scroll]
* [https://db.nichibun.ac.jp/sp1/en/category/yokai.html Database of images of Strange Phenomena and ''Yōkai'' (Monstrous Beings)]{{Dead link|date=August 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}
* [https://exchange.umma.umich.edu/resources/25752 Collection: Supernatural in Japanese Art] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210224184113/https://exchange.umma.umich.edu/resources/25752 |date=24 February 2021 }}, from [[University of Michigan Museum of Art]]

{{Japanese folklore long}}
{{Fantasy fiction}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Yokai}}
[[Category:Yōkai| ]]
[[Category:Japanese words and phrases]]