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Yōkai

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Template:Short description Template:Italic title

File:Kyosai, Yokai image.jpg
A Template:Transliteration print by Kawanabe Kyōsai

Template:Use dmy dates Template:Jmyth infobox

Template:Nihongo are a class of supernatural entities and spirits in Japanese folklore. The kanji representation of the word Template:Transliteration comprises two characters that both mean "suspicious, doubtful",Template:Sfnp and while the Japanese name is simply the Japanese transliteration or pronunciation of the Chinese term yāoguài (which designates similarly strange creatures), some Japanese commentators argue that the word yōkai has taken on many different meanings in Japanese culture,Template:Sfnp including referring to a large number of uniquely Japanese creatures.

Template:Transliteration are also referred to as Template:Nihongo, Template:Nihongo or Template:Nihongo. However, most Japanese generally think of the two loose classes of spirits as highly different,Template:Which although some academics and Shinto practitioners acknowledge similarities within the seeming dichotomy between the natures of them 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> Template:Cite book </ref> Their behavior can range from malevolent or mischievous to benevolent to humans.

Template:Transliteration often have animal-like features (such as the Template:Transliteration, depicted as appearing similar to a turtle, and the Template:Transliteration, commonly depicted with wings), but may also appear humanoid in appearance, such as the Template:Transliteration (口裂け女). Some Template:Transliteration resemble inanimate objects (such as the Template:Transliteration), while others have no discernible shape. Template:Transliteration are typically described as having spiritual or supernatural abilities, with shapeshifting being the most common trait associated with them. Template:Transliteration that shapeshift are known as Template:Nihongo or Template:Nihongo.

Japanese folklorists and historians explain Template:Transliteration as personifications of "supernatural or unaccountable phenomena to their informants".Template:Quote without source In the Edo period (1603 to 1868), many artists, such as Toriyama Sekien (1712-1788), invented new Template:Transliteration by taking inspiration from folk-tales or purely from their own imagination. Today, several such Template:Transliteration (such as the Template:Transliteration) are mistakenly thought to originate in more traditional folklore.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

ConceptEdit

The concept of Template:Transliteration, their causes and phenomena related to them 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 Template:Transliteration.Template:Sfnp According to Japanese ideas of animism, spirit-like entities were believed to reside in all things, including natural phenomena and objects.Template:Sfnp Such spirits possessed emotions and personalities: peaceful spirits were known as Template:Transliteration, who brought good fortune; violent spirits, known as Template:Transliteration, brought ill fortune, such as illness and natural disasters. Neither type of spirit was considered to be Template:Transliteration.

One's ancestors and particularly respected departed elders could also be deemed to be Template:Transliteration, accruing status as protective spirits who brought fortune to those who worshipped them. Animals, objects and natural features or phenomena were also venerated as Template:Transliteration or propitiated as Template:Transliteration depending on the area.

Despite the existence of harmful spirits, rituals for converting Template:Transliteration into Template:Transliteration were performed, aiming to quell malevolent spirits, prevent misfortune and alleviate the fear arising from phenomena and events that otherwise had no explanation.Template:SfnpTemplate:Sfnp The ritual for converting Template:Transliteration into Template:Transliteration was known as the Template:Nihongo3.Template:Sfnp Template:Transliteration rituals for Template:Transliteration that failed to achieve deification as benevolent spirits, whether through a lack of sufficient veneration or through losing worshippers and thus their divinity, became Template:Transliteration.Template:SfnpTemplate:Sfnp

Over time, phenomena and events thought to be supernatural became fewer and fewer, with the depictions of Template:Transliteration in picture scrolls and paintings beginning to standardize, evolving more into caricatures than fearsome spiritual entities. Elements of the tales and legends surrounding Template:Transliteration began to be depicted in public entertainment, beginning as early as the Middle Ages in Japan.Template:Sfnp During and following the Edo period, the mythology and lore of Template:Transliteration became more defined and formalized.Template:Sfnp

TypesEdit

The folklorist Tsutomu Ema studied the literature and paintings depicting Template:Transliteration and Template:Nihongo3, dividing them into categories as presented in the Template:Transliteration and the Template:Transliteration:

  • Categories based on a Template:Transliteration'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 folklorist categorizations, Template:Transliteration are classified, similarly to the nymphs of Greek mythology, by their location or the phenomena associated with their manifestation. Template:Transliteration are indexed in the book Template:Nihongo3<ref>Template:Cite encyclopedia</ref>Template:Efn as follows:

HistoryEdit

Ancient historyEdit

File:Susanoo-no-Mikoto-slays-Yamata-no-Orochi-in-Izumo-By-Tsukioka-Yoshitoshi.png
Yamata no Orochi from the Template:Transliteration by Tsukioka Yoshitoshi

The ancient times were a period abundant in literature and folktales mentioning and explaining Template:Transliteration. Literature such as the Template:Transliteration, the Template:Transliteration, and various Template:Transliteration expositioned on legends from the ancient past, and mentions of Template:Transliteration, Template:Transliteration, among other kinds of mysterious phenomena can already be seen in them.Template:Sfnp In the Heian period, collections of stories about Template:Transliteration and other supernatural phenomena were published in multiple volumes, starting with publications such as the Template:Transliteration and the Template:Transliteration, and in these publications, mentions of phenomena such as Template:Transliteration can be seen.<ref>Template:Citation</ref>

The Template:Transliteration that appear in this literature were passed on to later generations.Template:Sfnp Despite the literature mentioning and explaining these Template:Transliteration, 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 Template:Transliteration, but actual visual depictions would only come later in the Middle Ages, from the Kamakura period and beyond.Template:Sfnp

Yamata no Orochi was originally a local god but turned into a Template:Transliteration who was slain by Susanoo.Template:Sfnp Yasaburo was originally a bandit whose vengeful spirit (Template:Transliteration) 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".Template:Sfnp Template:Transliteration and Template:Transliteration are sometimes treated as gods in one area and Template:Transliteration in other areas. From these examples, it can be seen that among Japanese gods, there are some beings that can go from god to Template:Transliteration and vice versa.Template:SfnpTemplate:Sfnp

Post-classical historyEdit

File:Hyakki-Yagyo-Emaki Tsukumogami 1.jpg
The Template:Transliteration, author unknown, Muromachi period

Medieval Japan was a time period where publications such as Template:Transliteration, Template:Transliteration, and other visual depictions of Template:Transliteration started to appear. While there were religious publications such as the Template:Nihongo, others, such as the Template:Transliteration, were intended more for entertainment, starting the trend where Template:Transliteration became more and more seen as subjects of entertainment. For examples, tales of Template:Transliteration extermination could be said to be a result of emphasizing the superior status of human society over Template:Transliteration.Template:Sfnp Publications included:

In this way, Template:Transliteration that were mentioned only in writing were given a visual appearance in the Middle Ages. In the Template:Transliteration, familiar tales such as Urashima Tarō and Issun-bōshi also appeared.

The next major change in Template:Transliteration came after the period of warring states, in the Edo period.

Modern historyEdit

Edo periodEdit

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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 Template:Transliteration and other publications.Template:Efn

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

Also, including other kinds of publications, other than Template:Transliteration born from folk legend, there were also many invented Template:Transliteration that were created through puns or word plays; the Template:Transliteration by Toriyama Sekien is one example. When the Template:Transliteration became popular in the Edo period, it is thought that one reason for the appearance of new Template:Transliteration was a demand for entertaining ghost stories about Template:Transliteration no one has ever heard of before, resulting in some that were simply made up for the purpose of telling an entertaining story. The Template:Transliteration and the Template:Transliteration 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 Template:Transliteration like Utagawa Kuniyoshi, Yoshitoshi, Kawanabe Kyōsai, and Hokusai, and there are also Template:Transliteration books made by artists of the Kanō school.

In this period, toys and games like Template:Transliteration and Template:Transliteration, frequently used Template:Transliteration as characters. Thus, with the development of a publishing culture, Template:Transliteration 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 Template:Transliteration were originally things to be feared, they have then become characters that people feel close to.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

Meiji and Taishō periodsEdit

File:Yoshitoshi The Heavy Basket.jpg
The Heavy Basket from the Template:Transliteration by Tsukioka Yoshitoshi, 1892

With the Meiji Restoration, Western ideas and translated western publications began to make an impact, and western tales were particularly sought after. Things like Template:Transliteration, Template:Interlanguage link, and Template:Transliteration were talked about, and Template:Transliteration were even depicted in classical Template:Transliteration. Although the Template:Transliteration were misunderstood as a kind of Japanese Template:Transliteration or Template:Transliteration, they actually became well known among the populace through a Template:Transliteration called Template:Transliteration by San'yūtei Enchō, which were adoptions of European tales such as the Grimm fairy tale "Godfather Death" and the Italian opera {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} (1850). Also, in 1908, Kyōka Izumi and Template:Interlanguage link jointedly translated Gerhart Hauptmann's play The Sunken Bell. Later works of Kyōka such as Template:Interlanguage link 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 Template:Transliteration.

Shōwa periodEdit

Since Template:Transliteration have been introduced in various kinds of media, they have become well known among people from all walks of life. The Template:Transliteration from before the war, the manga industry, Template:Transliteration shops that continued to exist until around the 1970s, and television all contributed to the public knowledge and familiarity with Template:Transliteration. Template:Transliteration play a role in attracting tourism revitalizing local mecca regions such as Tōno in Iwate Prefecture (where stories in Kunio Yanagita's Template:Transliteration were collected) or Tottori Prefecture (Shigeru Mizuki's birthplace).

In this way, Template:Transliteration 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 Template:Transliteration represented by Template:Transliteration can only be felt as something realistic by living close to nature, such as with Template:Transliteration (Japanese raccoon dogs), foxes and weasels. 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 Template:Transliteration (a large cooking pot), or the Template:Transliteration (a bucket used for getting water from a well), and there exist Template:Transliteration that are reminiscent of old lifestyles such as the Template:Transliteration and the Template:Interlanguage link.

As a result, even for those born in the first decade of the Shōwa period (1925–1935), except for some who were evacuated to the countryside, they would feel that those things that become Template:Transliteration are "not familiar" and "not very understandable". For example, in classical Template:Transliteration, 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 Template:Transliteration in classical Japanese culture.Template:Opinion

On the other hand, the Template:Transliteration 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 Template:Transliteration continue to be invented, such as scary school stories and other urban legends like Template:Transliteration and Template:Transliteration, giving birth to new Template:Transliteration. From 1975 onwards, starting with the popularity of Template:Transliteration, these urban legends began to be referred to in mass media as "modern Template:Transliteration".<ref name="Gendai">Template:Cite book</ref> This terminology was also used in recent publications dealing with urban legends,<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> and the researcher on Template:Transliteration, Template:Interlanguage link, used this especially frequently.<ref name="Gendai" />

During the 1970s, many books were published that introduced Template:Transliteration through encyclopedias, illustrated reference books, and dictionaries as a part of children's horror books, but along with the Template:Transliteration that come from classics like folklore, Template:Transliteration, 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 Template:Transliteration and the Template:Transliteration. For example, Arifumi Sato is known to be a creator of modern Template:Transliteration, and Shigeru Mizuki, a manga artist of Template:Transliteration, in writings concerning research about Template:Transliteration, pointed out that newly created Template:Transliteration do exist,<ref name="to-gakkai">Template:Cite book</ref><ref name="yokaio2003">Template:Cite book</ref> and Mizuki himself, through Template:Transliteration, created about 30 new Template:Transliteration.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

There has been much criticism that this mixing of classical Template:Transliteration with newly created Template:Transliteration 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 Template:Transliteration, 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 Template:Transliteration characters through these books nurtured creativity and emotional development of young readers of the time.<ref name="yokaio2003" />

Comparison with yaoguaiEdit

Both the Chinese yaoguai and Japanese yokai include strange, supernatural beings with shapeshifting tendencies. In the Chinese version of the yaoguai, the emphasis is often on the first character 妖 yao, which connotes bewilderment and enchantment and supernatural affliction - for example, their ability to take on human form in order to seduce and to enthrall human beings. In the yokai, the emphasis appears to be on the 怪 guai, or on their monstrous and aberrant nature and anatomy. Japanese yokai in popular culture often includes elements of the cute, comical, the goofy, and the bizarre.

Some creatures appear in both Chinese and Japanese folklore as yaoguai and yokai, such as the scaly water shuihu (水虎), wilderness demons denoted as chimeiwangliang (魑魅魍魉), and nine-tailed fox demons (九尾狐).

Some, such as the nekomata (cat yokai) and tanuki (raccoon yokai), resemble Chinese yaoguai, which encompasses any number of shapeshifting animals and plants who have learnt to cultivate human form and other supernatural arts. The cat yokai, for example resembles the Chinese 仙狸 or "leopard cat immortal".

Yet others are uniquely Japanese, such as the ambivalent and occasionally cute kappa,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> the haradashi - a goofy yokai with its belly on its face,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and the mumashika, which are comical-looking yokai with horse heads and deer bodies.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

In popular cultureEdit

Template:Further

Template:Transliteration are often referred to as Japanese spirits or East Asian ghosts, like the Template:Transliteration legend or the story of the "Slit-mouthed girl", both of which hail from Japanese legend. The term Template:Transliteration can also be interpreted as something strange or unusual.

Lafcadio Hearn's collection of Japanese ghost stories entitled Kwaidan: Stories and Studies of Strange Things includes stories of 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: 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 alsoEdit

Template:PortalJapanese supernatural beings

Japanese museums on the supernatural

Other supernatural beings from East Asian folklore

Lists of supernatural creatures from East Asian folklore

ReferencesEdit

NotesEdit

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CitationsEdit

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Works citedEdit

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Further readingEdit

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External linksEdit

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Template:Japanese folklore long Template:Fantasy fiction Template:Authority control

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