Yōkai
are a class of supernatural entities and spirits in Japanese folklore. Yōkai are a vast range of beings, including shapeshifters, ghosts, demons, and tricksters. They can be mischievous, helpful, or malevolent, often appearing as animal-like figures, possessed objects, or humanoids. They embody the mysterious and uncanny aspects of nature and human emotions.
are also referred to as, or. Some academics and Shinto practitioners acknowledge similarities within the seeming dichotomy between the natures of yōkai 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.
Their behavior can range from malevolent or mischievous to benevolent to humans.
often have animal-like features, but may also appear humanoid in appearance, such as the . Some resemble inanimate objects, while others have no discernible shape. are typically described as having spiritual or supernatural abilities, with shapeshifting being the most common trait associated with them. that shapeshift are known as or.
Japanese folklorists and historians explain as personifications of "supernatural or unaccountable phenomena to their informants". In the Edo period, many artists, such as Toriyama Sekien, invented new by taking inspiration from folktales or purely from their own imagination. Today, several such are mistakenly thought to originate in more traditional folklore.
The kanji representation of the word comprises two characters that both mean "suspicious, doubtful", and while the Japanese name is simply the Japanese transliteration or pronunciation of the Chinese term yāoguài, some Japanese commentators argue that the word yōkai has taken on many different meanings in Japanese culture, including referring to a large number of uniquely Japanese creatures.
Concept
The concept of 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. According to Japanese ideas of animism, spirit-like entities were believed to reside in all things, including natural phenomena and objects. Such spirits possessed emotions and personalities: peaceful spirits were known as, who brought good fortune; violent spirits, known as, brought ill fortune, such as illness and natural disasters. Neither type of spirit was considered to be.One's ancestors and particularly respected departed elders could also be deemed to be, accruing status as protective spirits who brought fortune to those who worshiped them. Animals, objects and natural features or phenomena were also venerated as or propitiated as depending on the area.
Rituals for converting into were performed, aiming to quell malevolent spirits, prevent misfortune and alleviate the fear arising from phenomena and events that otherwise had no explanation. The ritual for converting into was known as the. rituals for that failed to achieve deification as benevolent spirits, whether through a lack of sufficient veneration or through losing worshippers and thus their divinity, became.
Over time, phenomena and events thought to be supernatural became fewer and fewer, with the depictions of in picture scrolls and paintings beginning to standardize, evolving more into caricatures than fearsome spiritual entities. Elements of the tales and legends surrounding began to be depicted in public entertainment, beginning as early as the Middle Ages in Japan. During and following the Edo period, the mythology and lore of became more defined and formalized.
Types
The folklorist Tsutomu Ema studied the literature and paintings depicting and, dividing them into categories as presented in the and the :- Categories based on a '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
History
Ancient history
- 772 CE: in the, there is the statement "Shinto purification is performed because appear very often in the imperial court", using the word to not refer to any one phenomenon in particular, but to strange phenomena in general.
- Middle of the Heian period : In The Pillow Book by Sei Shōnagon, there is the statement "there are tenacious ", as well as a statement by Murasaki Shikibu that "the have become quite dreadful", which are the first appearances of the word.
- 1370: In the, in the fifth volume, there is the statement, "Sagami no Nyudo was not at all frightened by."
The ancient times were a period abundant in literature and folktales mentioning and explaining. Literature such as the, the, and various expositioned on legends from the ancient past, and mentions of,, among other kinds of mysterious phenomena can already be seen in them. In the Heian period, collections of stories about and other supernatural phenomena were published in multiple volumes, starting with publications such as the and the, and in these publications, mentions of phenomena such as can be seen.
The that appear in this literature were passed on to later generations. Despite the literature mentioning and explaining these, they were never given any visual depictions. In Buddhist paintings such as the Hell Scroll, which came from the later Heian period, there are visual expressions of the idea of, but actual visual depictions would only come later in the Middle Ages, from the Kamakura period and beyond.
Yamata no Orochi was originally a local god but turned into a who was slain by Susanoo. Yasaburo was originally a bandit whose vengeful spirit 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". and are sometimes treated as gods in one area and in other areas. From these examples, it can be seen that among Japanese gods, there are some beings that can go from god to and vice versa.
Post-classical history
Medieval Japan was a time period where publications such as,, and other visual depictions of started to appear. While there were religious publications such as the, others, such as the, were intended more for entertainment, starting the trend where became more and more seen as subjects of entertainment. For examples, tales of extermination could be said to be a result of emphasizing the superior status of human society over. Publications included:- The , the , the , the , and the . These were about that come from even older times.
- The, in which Sugawara no Michizane was a lightning god who took on the form of an, and despite attacking people after doing this, he was still deified as a god in the end.
- The, the,, and the . These told of mutations of animals.
- The, which told tales of thrown away none-too-precious objects that come to have a spirit residing in them planning evil deeds against humans, and ultimately get exorcised and sent to peace.
- The, depicting many different kinds of all marching together
The next major change in came after the period of warring states, in the Edo period.
Modern history
Edo period
- 1677: Publication of the, a collection of tales of various monsters.
- 1706: Publication of the. In volumes such as and , collections of tales that seem to come from China were adapted into a Japanese setting.
- 1712: Publication of the by Terajima Ryōan, a collection of tales based on the Chinese.
- 1716: In the specialized dictionary, there is an entry on, which stated, "Among the commoners in my society, there are many kinds of , often mispronounced by commoners as Types include the cry of weasels, the howling of foxes, the bustling of mice, the rising of the chicken, the cry of the birds, the pooping of the birds on clothing, and sounds similar to voices that come from cauldrons and bottles. These types of things appear in the, methods of exorcising them can be seen, so it should serve as a basis."
- 1788: Publication of the by Masayoshi Kitao. This was a diagram book of, but it was prefaced with the statement "it can be said that the so-called in our society is a representation of our feelings that arise from fear", and already in this era, while were being researched, it indicated that there were people who questioned whether really existed or not.
As a result, shops that handled such books spread and became widely used, making the general public's impression of each fixed, spreading throughout Japan. For example, before the Edo period, there were plenty of interpretations about what the were that were classified as, but because of books and publishing, the notion of became anchored to what is now the modern notion of.
Also, including other kinds of publications, other than born from folk legend, there were also many invented that were created through puns or word plays; the by Toriyama Sekien is one example. When the became popular in the Edo period, it is thought that one reason for the appearance of new was a demand for entertaining ghost stories about no one has ever heard of before, resulting in some that were simply made up for the purpose of telling an entertaining story. The and the are known examples of these.
They are also frequently depicted in ukiyo-e, and there are artists that have drawn famous like Utagawa Kuniyoshi, Yoshitoshi, Kawanabe Kyōsai, and Hokusai, and there are also books made by artists of the Kanō school.
In this period, toys and games like and, frequently used as characters. Thus, with the development of a publishing culture, 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 were originally things to be feared, they have then become characters that people feel close to.