Traditional Japanese Culture: Youkai

Supernatural beings and monsters can be found in the stories of any culture around the world. Japan in particular has a great of these tales in it's traditional culture. The Japanese words youkai or obakemono are used to describe a wide range of mythical creatures found in old stories told throughout Japan. Some are common everywhere in Japan, while other creatures are tied to local legends. What I find most interesting about youkai are the sheer number and diversity of these creatures, ranging from the beneviolent to the mischeivious, to downright strange. When I think about the monsters of european based stories, they seem to all have similar roles. Witches, goblins, werewolves, vampires; they are almost always exclusivley evil and seem to always want to eat us. This isn't the case with a most youkai, something I find much more interesting. While stories about youkai have are very old, you can still find youkai "appearing" these days.
I took this picture along a waterway near Makino. Along with pictures describing the dangers of entering , such as strong currents and broken glass, the sign also warns children of possible Kappa attack. Kappa can be described as small water imps that are a cross between a turtle and a duck. The bowl shaped area on the head is a pool of water which is the key to the kappa's power. If a clever human is able to trick the kappa into bowing or in some way spilling the water, the kappa becomes weak, allowing the human to escape. Legends about dangerous monsters as a way to keep children out of trouble seems to be common in most any culture's history.
The tanuki is another youkai often seen today. No doubt many foreigners wonder about the odd looking statutes with giant testicles found outside of many stores or resturants. A tanuki is a sort of mischievious raccoon-dog based off of a real animal native to Japan, Nyctereuctes procyonoides. Tanuki are known to use their transforming abilities to satisfy their love for sake, women and food. They are able to take many different forms, as well as disguise useless leaves as money. While not usually harmful to humans, they can very very troublesome and enjoy playing tricks on travelers. Youkai are also popular in manga and anime. One well known example is Studio Ghilbli's Pom Poko.


An index of youkai
Pom Poko Trailer