Search results
118 results, page 1 of 3
New Kickstarter!
Hey everybody! I am launching a Kickstarter in just a few days! The Palace of the Dragon King is my fifth illustrated yokai encyclopedia. Following in the footsteps…
A-Yokai-A-Day: How Genshin of Mt. Hiei Saw Hell and Came Back
🦇 Happy Halloween!!! 🦇 Tonight's is the final story in this year's A-Yokai-A-Day. Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed these stories and my paintings (and my…
A-Yokai-A-Day: How Hashii Yasaburō Ferried a Ghost
Tonight's story is one of my favorites in Shokoku hyakumonogatari. Something about the ghost being upside-down is so creepy and visually striking. Not only that, it's part love…
A-Yokai-A-Day: How A Wager Led to a Child’s Decapitation
With only three stories left in this year's A-Yokai-A-Day, it's time for me to plug my Patreon again. If you like these stories and illustrations, I do this…
A-Yokai-A-Day: How the Obsession in Love Letters Became an Oni
Tonight's story features another oni and another chigo. The chigo here is presented as a sex symbol, the embodiment of the ideal male youth. The oni is born…
A-Yokai-A-Day: The Tanuki Who Transformed into an Old Woman at Nabari, Iga Province
Tonight's story is another one featuring a tanuki, and like the one from last week, it has a bloody ending. This time, though, the yōkai is a lot…
A-Yokai-A-Day: Watanabe Shingorō’s Daughter and Her Affection for a Chigo in Wakamiya
Tonight's story is another one dealing with attachment. And once again, snakes are used as a symbol for that attachment. One term that might be unfamiliar to some…
(My Wife Draws) A-Yokai-A-Day: How Hating a Stepdaughter Backfired in Shimōsa Province
I'm resting my broken arm today to make sure I don't over-stress it, so my wife has kindly taken over for the illustration again. Tonight's story features a…
A-Yokai-A-Day: The Arrogance of Ukita of Bizen Province’s Widow
Tonight's story describes the workings of one of the most popular yokai there is: a tengu. But first, there's a few cultural terms to talk about in this…
A-Yokai-A-Day: The Elder of Saikōji in Bungo Province Who Was Attached to Gold
Tonight's story is another example of a problem caused by attachment to material things -- the core sin of Buddhism. That this story takes place at a temple,…
A-Yokai-A-Day: The Bakemono of Iga Province During the Keichō Era
Tonight's story is a short and strange collection of happenings that occurred at the house of "a certain samurai" in Iga Province during the Keichō era. Iga was…
A-Yokai-A-Day: The Old Tanuki Disguised as a Samurai’s Wife
Tonight's story features a tanuki, a yokai that is beloved by almost everyone. I have to wonder what the tanuki was thinking when it decided to do what…
A-Yokai-A-Day: The Illness of Lord Ikeda Sanzaemon of Harima Province
Tonight's story is based on events that took place in 1611 in one of the most haunted locations in Japan: Himeji Castle. But first, two vocabulary words that…
A-Yokai-A-Day: The Ao Oni of Kaga Province
Tonight's story is rather brief, but it's rather funny. The idea of all the bravest samurai from the three provinces of Kaga, Etchū, and Noto (comprising all of…
A-Yokai-A-Day: The Three-Way Magic Contest in the Presence of Michinaga
Tonight's story features several famous figures from Japanese history: Fujiwara no Michinaga (966 – 1028), Kanshū (945－1008), Abe no Seimei (921 – 1005), and Tanba no Shigemasa (946－1011).…
A-Yokai-A-Day: How Okushima Kengyō Climbed the Bureaucracy Thanks to a Mountain God
Tonight's story doesn't feature a yokai, but a yama no kami (mountain spirit/god) instead. Well, that sort of begs the question of what is a yokai vs what…
A-Yokai-A-Day: The Mayoinomono That Was Afraid of the Go’ō of Nigatsudō
Tonight's story features a great word that I haven't heard in other stories: mayoimono! This is another word for ghost, and literally means "lost/wandering thing." I love it.…
(My Wife Draws) A-Yokai-A-Day: The Man Who Had His Bones Pulled Out by a Bakemono
Today's illustration was once again done by my wife, to give my arm a day's rest while it heals. I'll be back to painting again tomorrow though. Tonight's…
A-Yokai-A-Day: The Onryō of Abe Sōbei’s Wife
Tonight's story features an onryō, the most terrifying of all Japanese monsters. (Yes, even more terrifying than the toilet stroker!) The fear of ghosts that come back from…
A-Yokai-A-Day: The Attachment of Shirai Sukesaburō of Gōshū’s Daughter, and How She Became a Daija
Tonight's story is a sad one, with tragedy upon tragedy piling up. The yokai is called a daija, which literally means "giant snake." However, when looking at Edo…
A-Yokai-A-Day: Ōishi Matanojō and the Blessing From the Chijin
I've recovered enough movement in my arm to start painting again, which is a much more pleasant way to spend the day than sitting around and doing nothing.…
(My Wife Draws) A-Yokai-A-Day: The Bakemono of the Outhouse in Kasamari, Ōmi Province
Tonight's story is a tale that pops up time and time again in almost every prefecture. It's the story of kurote, or the hairy hand that reaches up…
(My Wife Draws) A-Yokai-A-Day: The Tengu Disguised as a Zatō in Iga Province
My wife is continuing to pull weight for me with her illustrations. Today's yokai is a tengu, and he behaves in a typically tengu way: by punishing those…
(My Wife Draws) A-Yokai-A-Day: The Corpse That Came Back to Life in Echizen Province
I took it easy and rested my arm today, while my wife did another illustration. She was very happy to read all of your comments! The good news…
(My Wife Draws) A-Yokai-A-Day: The Bakemono That Lived in the Pond on Lord Mori Mimasaka’s Estate
Well, my elbow has swollen up from the break and it was too painful to paint today. I'll likely be out of commission for another day or two…
A-Yokai-A-Day: The Ōbōzu Bakemono at Lord Ogasawara’s House
After painting tonight's yokai, I slipped on the stairs and broke my drawing arm... Which is pretty upsetting on top of being painful. It's not a terrible break,…
A-Yokai-A-Day: How the Mistress of a Certain Man in Kii Province Died and Obsession Brought Her Back
Tonight's yokai is another ghost. However, while yesterday's was described as a yūrei due to being faint and eerie, this one is much more violent. The story never…
A-Yokai-A-Day: The Yūrei of the Kirishitans
Tonight's yokai is a yūrei, or simply, a ghost. There are lots of ways to say "ghost" in Japanese. Yūrei literally means "faint spirit," and it is used…
A-Yokai-A-Day: The Attachment of Saigō Iyo’s Wife
Tonight's tale takes place in Gōshū, which is another name for Ōmi Province, or what is today Shiga Prefecture. Sawayama is in what is now Hikone City, however…
A-Yokai-A-Day: How a Man From Gojō, Kyōto Was Punished For Scraping the Gold Foil Off of a Buddha
Tonight's story repeats some common themes — namely, a problem caused by attachment to material wealth, and snakes being used to represent that attachment. This story is interesting…
A-Yokai-A-Day: The Bakemono of Komatsu Castle in Ōshū
Before we get to today's yokai, I'd like to take a moment to point out that both this website and yokai.com are presented ad-free and paywall-free. That's because…
A-Yokai-A-Day: How Horikoshi From Tōtomi Province Was Infatuated With His Daughter-in-Law
Today is the first day of October, and that marks the start of A-Yokai-A-Day! I hope you'll join me in sharing yokai on social media/blogs/wherever using the #ayokaiaday…
Coming Soon: A-Yokai-A-Day 2023!
Hello readers and yokai lovers! It's been nearly a year since I've posted here, as I've been more active on various social media sites, Patreon, and yokai.com these…
A-Yokai-A-Day 2022 Index: Shokoku hyakumonogatari
Thanks to everyone for reading 2022’s A-Yokai-A-Day selections from Shokoku hyakumonogatari! If you missed a day, or want to go back and read it again, here is an…
A-Yokai-A-Day: The Painted Corpse Wife of Bungo Province
Well we've made it. Tonight is Halloween, and thus the final A-Yokai-A-Day post for 2022. I hope you've enjoyed these thirty one stories from Shokoku hyakumonogatari. I saved…
A-Yokai-A-Day: The Farmer in Kumano Whose Wife was Taken by a Henge
Tonight's yōkai is once again referred to by the generic word henge. Essentially it's a shape-shifter, although we don't know what its true form is. However, I find…
A-Yokai-A-Day: How Unshō, a Monk from Shima Province, Escaped from a Poisonous Serpent
Tonight's yōkai is another serpent like the one we saw a couple of weeks ago. Contrary to my normal pattern of leaving yōkai names untranslated, I use English…
A-Yokai-A-Day: The Maō Who Turned into a Woman to Hinder a Monk’s Passing
Tonight's story talks about a maō. This word is made up of two kanji: 魔 (ma; demon, devil, evil spirit) and 王 (ō; king). It's a generic term…
A-Yokai-A-Day: The Nekomata of Echigo Province
Animal yōkai are always popular with readers, both abroad and in Japan. I found that with the reaction to my latest book, The Fox's Wedding! Tonight's story is…
A-Yokai-A-Day: How Rokutan no Genshichi Saved an Adulterous Woman
While yesterday's story was quite Halloween-ish and creepy, today's is a bit more amusing. It still has plenty of creepy elements though. Since Shokoku hyakumonogatari is written as…
A-Yokai-A-Day: The Samurai’s Shiryō from Sendai
The creature in tonight's story is referred to as a shiryō. This is essentially identical to the term bōrei, which we've seen several times so far this month.…
A-Yokai-A-Day: The Rokurokubi of Fuchū, Echizen Province
The first place that I lived in Japan was Fuchū, Echizen, so this story is very special to me. Although I never encountered any yōkai when I lived…
A-Yokai-A-Day: The Attachment of a Goze at an Inn in Mitsuke, Tōtōmi Province
The title of this story refers to a goze. Goze were a female counterpart to zatō, who we looked at earlier this month. The women were traveling entertainers…
A-Yokai-A-Day: How Denzaemon from Amagasaki Met a Bakemono at a Hot Spring
Today's yōkai is another generic-sounding "bakemono." It may have been a shapechanged kitsune or tanuki, although they often prefer to play tricks rather than outright kill their victims.…
A-Yokai-A-Day: The Bakemono Called Shunoban at the Suwa Shrine in Aizu
These days shunoban is commonly known as shunobon. It appears as shunobon on yokai.com and in my book The Fox's Wedding. The reason for the spelling change is…
A-Yokai-A-Day: How Killing Turned a Man’s Hair White
Tonight's story may seem a bit weird to Western readers with its focus on "killing." What may seem to some as simple hunting or fishing, whether for fun…
A-Yokai-A-Day: The Ghost of Honnōji Shichibyōe’s Wife
One thing I love about the stories in Shokoku hyakumonogatari is that they are so specific about the locations these stories take place. Some of them go right…
A-Yokai-A-Day: How Kurita Genpachi Slew a Bakemono
As I mentioned, the Mononoke Ichi yokai market and hyakki yagyo night parade was yesterday in Kyoto. This was the first night parade since the covid pandemic, and…
A-Yokai-A-Day: The Bōrei of Tsuruga Province
Today I am in Kyoto attending the Mononoke Ichi flea market and hyakki yagyo night parade. It's been 3 years since the last time this event took place…
A-Yokai-A-Day: The Bakemono in the Outhouse
Tonight's story is very short and, if I'm being honest, doesn't translate too well into English. In Japanese, the language is creepy and evocative, but translated into English…