Folks! 👹 This weekend (10/26) is the Great Night Parade and Great Mononoke Ichi at Toei Kyoto Studio Park!
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Celebrate Halloween Kyoto-style with 100+ yokai among the scenic Edo period film set.
I'll be there, and so should you!
How many Japanese mermaid species can you name?
If you back my
#Kickstarter
for The Palace of the Dragon King, you'll never again be embarrassed with no answer when someone asks you this!
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When rain falls while the sun shines, it is said that a kitsune is getting married nearby. They cause localized rain to keep stupid humans inside and prevent them from witnessing the ceremonies.
Read more:
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Yajo are aquatic, reptilian women who live in the mountains of Fukuoka and love to wrestle.
Be careful, though: they have a strong, offensive smell that will rub off on you if you wrestle them!
Read more:
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It's Setsubun! Also known as the day when you throw dried beans a demons! How much do you know about this holiday? You can read about its ancient origins at
What has two small legs, eight large legs, dresses like a priest, and asks riddles?
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Read to find out!
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(Hint: if you guess wrong, it will eat you.)
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Did you survive??
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Support my work at
Have you ever met somebody who seemed just a bit... strange?
You just might have been talking to a fox in disguise!
Learn all about strange foxes at
And don't miss your chance to join my latest project on Backerkit!
明けましておめでとうございます!
Happy New Year!
2023 is the year of the rabbit in Japan. One of the best-known folkloric rabbits is the one who lives in the moon. You can read about the folklore surrounding this cute little bunny at
Kōrai no bōzu are yokai who sit by the water's edge, playing their moon guitars and singing the popular songs of the day.
What would a kōrai no bōzu sing today?
Read more at
Support me at
This yokai is no big deal... it's just a giant, 12 km long stingray. Big enough that people think it's an island. It creates massive waves and whirlpools, sucking ships down to the bottom of the sea.
Read more:
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It's #幽霊の日 or "Ghost Day" in Japan!
How many Japanese ghosts can you name?
You get 1 point for each of the ghosts below, and 1 point for every other ghost you can think of from memory!
Visit to learn more about Japanese ghosts and monsters!
Plenty of yokai have healing powers. They appeared during times of plague and pandemic and told people to print their image in the newspaper, hang it in their homes, and look at it every day for protection. Also wash your hands and don't cough on people!
Happy New Year! Don't remember which animal is this year's zodiac? No worries, the kotobuki has you covered. It is a celebratory yokai made up of all 12 Chinese zodiac symbols!
#yokai
#newyear
While kitsune are usually associated with Shinto and the god Inari, silver and gold foxes (known as ginko and kinko, or gingitsune and kingitsune) are servants of Dakini, a Buddhist goddess.
Learn more at and
新年あけましておめでとうございます!
Happy New Year, yokai lovers!
2020 is the year of the mouse. Boars are out, mice are in! But you never go out of style if you're a yokai who embodies all 12 zodiacal creatures! Lucky chimeras like this were popular in the Edo Period.
Attention yokai lovers!
Going to Japan this fall? You're going to want to plan a trip to Toei Kyoto Studio Park, because from September through December, the park is transforming into a yokai city!
The event starts 9/14 and runs through 12/8.
More information coming soon!
The Ōji Inari Shrine is famous for kitsune. It is the head shrine for all kitsune in the Kantō Region. On New Year’s Eve, kitsune gather in Ōji to make wishes for the new year. The people of Edo observed the lights to predict the new year’s fortune.
Everyone's talking about how sesshō seki split yesterday, and wondering it that means Tamamo no Mae is back. But let's not forget it was smashed once long ago, scattering pieces of her all across Japan, giving rise to osaki →
Some yokai teach us a valuable lesson like not to overfish, or use excessively cruel methods to catch food. Iwana bōzu is one of these. I wonder if people will listen to his message...
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Every year on New Year's Eve, all the foxes in Kanto pay a visit to the Oji Inari Shrine, in Kita City, Tokyo. Farmers and merchants used to forecast the year's fortune based on how many kitsunebi they could see.
Read more:
Thanks to everyone who stopped by at this month's #モノノケ市 yokai festival! I have so much respect for the costumed yokai who braved the heat to put on such a great performance!
Open wide and say "glurglurglurgl!" Do you know who do fish go to see when they are sick?
Ika no Kōan serves as one of the physicians to the dragon king of the sea. Read more:
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In Japan, the 8th day of the 2nd month was "kotoyoka," traditionally a time of purification. Naturally, it has given rise to a number of yokai based on these traditions. Be careful tonight if you don't want mikari baba to "borrow" one of your eyes!
1/16 in Japan is known as "Hatsu Enma." Today marks the end of New Year's rituals. A day off is given to public officials here on earth, and also in the underworld! The lids of hell's boiling cauldrons are removed so demons and tormented souls can have a day off.
#地獄の釜の蓋
How much of a shellfish are you? If you answered "extremely shellfish" or "ridiculously shellfish," you might be a yōkai.
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Read about the most extreme shellfish you can possibly be at
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Support yokai at
When the sea swirls like a comma, stay out of the water. The severed heads of wicked samurai might be dancing about just below the waves!
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When it starts to feel like fall, you might find chestnut burrs all over the ground. You might also run into a chestnut burr yokai called igabō!
Read more at
Books available at !!
July 26th is "Yūrei no hi" (幽霊の日) or "Ghost Day." On this day in 1825, "Tōkaidō yotsuya kaidan" premiered at the Nakamura-za theater in Edo, introducing the world to Oiwa.
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Personally I think every day is a fine day to celebrate ghosts, but I happy Yūrei no Hi anyway!
Yokai lovers!
Toei Kyoto Studio Park's "KaiKai Yokai Festival" runs September through December! I will be there on Opening Weekend (9/14, 15, 16) and a few other weekends this fall.
More event info here:
Folks! A-Yokai-A-Day for 2023 is here!
I'll be sharing
#ayokaiaday
each day this month, and I hope you'll join me in reading these tales, and creating or sharing your own yokai artworks!
Today's tale is here:
Kamiike hime is a giant talking fish who appeared off the coast of Nagasaki and predicted a cholera outbreak in the 19th century before sinking back into the ocean.
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Have you ever seen a wave that looks like a shape? How about one that looks like a dragon... complete with horns and eyes?
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Read more about namija at
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Get new yokai every week in your inbox by becoming a patron at
Kaijin are aquatic people who appeared out of the sea in Nagasaki around the 17~18th century. The land-dwelling humans tried to establish communications, but their languages were mutually unintelligible.
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Candles disappearing? Feeling a sudden craving for fried foods? Sprouting a fluffy tail? If any of those sound like you, it might be the work of an evil fox!
Crabs are supposed to have more than six legs, right?
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Also they don't have big grinning smiles, black tusks, or blue lips.
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And I'm pretty sure they don't have googly eyes.
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But that's what I've got for you today!
Read about kani oni at
What terrors lurk in the deep of the Sea of Japan? Look over the edge of your boat, and it may be the last thing you do...
Read about the kagewani:
Support at
October is here, and that means
#ayokaiaday
!
I'll be sharing an entire story this month, one page per day. Today's post is an introduction to the story. Read it here:
And don't forget to share your own yokai every day this month using
#ayokaiaday
What would you do if you suspected a pretty girl was actually a kappa? Feed her? Befriend her? Trick her?
I'll bet you wouldn't do what these farmers did...
Read the full story at
Get more yokai at
🐅 2022 is the year of the tiger! So it's only fitting that our first yokai of the year be a tiger-themed yokai! 🐯
Read about torakoishi:
Support yokai on Patreon:
Mark your calendars!
"Yōkai 101: Exploring the Thrill of Japanese Folklore" takes place this month, featuring yours truly alongside author & yokai professor Michael Dylan Foster!
Sponsored by the Japan Society of Northern California
Learn more about the Servants of Ryūgū Poster that's a part of my latest
#Kickstarter
on today's update!
Imagine how much combined protection from epidemics you'll get from 26 different prophetic mermaids on a single giant poster!
People often ask if there are "good" yokai. Of course there are!
Even though they may be a little unsettling, plenty of beneficial yokai exist.
Kameosa is just one example:
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Get more yokai:
In December of 1857, a bird predicted a coming epidemic. Those who shared its image and gazed upon it morning and night would be spared from this suffering.
Share me:
Support yokai at
#ヨゲンノトリ
This is Sato, a mermaid from Nagasaki.
You can find Sato on my "Servants of Ryugu" poster, part of my
#Kickstarter
for my new book, The Palace of the Dragon King, crowdfunding now:
Ever wonder how ranchu goldfish get their unique shape? There's a brutal and bloody story behind this unique mutation.
Learn more at
Support my yokai work:
A-Yokai-A-Day: Has this ever happened to you? You go out to your woodshed to get some logs, only to find that a gigantic yokai head has moved in. What would you have done in this situation?
#ayokaiaday
On April 8, 1819, a wonderful fish appeared off the coast of Nagasaki Prefecture. It had a very important message for mankind.
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Read her message at
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If she were around today, I'm sure she'd say to support me on Patreon at
A-Yokai-A-Day: the conclusion of Ino Mononoke Roku. It's been a wild 31 days for us, and a wild 30 days for Heitaro. Thanks to everyone for reading and for keeping up with Heitaro's story every single day!
#ayokaiaday