鬼
JUBOKKO
HYAKUME
Hyakume
Hyakume is a fleshy, man-sized yokai covered head to foot in countless blinking yellow eyes. The hundred-eyed guardian l...
KOSENJOUBI
古戦場火
Kosenjoubi
Kosenjoubi is a type of onibi, or ghost fire, that appears over old battlefields at night. The yokai is known for the mo...
ISONADE
Isonade
The Isonade is a giant shark-like sea yokai of western Japan. It strokes sailors off their boats with a barbed tail and ...
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Yokai of the Day
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Journey Across Japan
Select a region on the map to uncover local legends and folklore
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Featured Yokai
Discover some fascinating creatures from ancient Japanese folklore
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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