鬼
SUGAWARA NO MICHIZANE
KIRIN
Kirin
The Kirin is one of the most sacred divine beasts in Japanese folklore. It appears only during times of great peace or t...
KAICHIGO
Kaichigo
The Kaichigo is a tsukumogami born from an old kaioke, the lacquered box used for the Heian shell-matching game. It appe...
ITSUKI
Itsuki
The Itsuki is a ghost yokai from Edo-period anecdote. It tells the living to hang themselves so it can finally leave the...
❖
Yokai of the Day
❖
❖
Journey Across Japan
Select a region on the map to uncover local legends and folklore
Filter by region:
❖
Featured Yokai
Discover some fascinating creatures from ancient Japanese folklore
☠
Abe no Seimei
安倍晴明
Abe no Seimei is the most famous onmyoji in Japanese folklore. He worked for the Heian imperial court in Kyoto from 921 to 1005, and tradition gives him a white-fox mother named Kuzunoha.
tag-humanoidtag-wisetag-protective
Kansai
☠☠☠☠
Aka Manto
赤マント
Aka Manto is a famous Showa-era urban legend about a malicious masked spirit who appears in school and public toilets. The spirit asks every victim the same trick question — "Red paper or blue paper?" — and punishes both answers with a matching death.
tag-urbantag-dangeroustag-ghost
KantoKansai
☠
Byakko
白狐
Byakko is the sacred white fox of Japanese folklore and the chosen messenger of Inari Ōkami. The creature appears most often at Inari shrines, rice fields, and quiet forest paths across Japan.
tag-foxtag-goodtag-holy
☠☠☠☠
Dakini
荼枳尼天
Dakini is a Japanese Buddhist goddess who moves through the sky on a flying white fox. She is a central figure in Shingon esoteric Buddhism and is joined to the Inari fox cult.
tag-godtag-foxtag-magic
Kansai
☠☠☠
Dodomeki
百々目鬼
Dodomeki is a cursed Edo-period yokai woman whose long arms carry hundreds of tiny bird's-eye coins. She punishes the habit of theft.
tag-womantag-demontag-curse
Kanto
☠
Hyakume
百目
Hyakume is a fleshy, man-sized yokai covered head to foot in countless blinking yellow eyes. The hundred-eyed guardian lives in abandoned Japanese temples and watches for thieves at night.
tag-monstertag-eyetag-guardian