Yokai (By Affi)

Hello guys, hope everyone is doing great! ^^ How about we talk about Yokai today?

Yokai (ghost, phantom, strange apparition) are a class of supernatural monsters, spirits, and demons in Japanese folklore. The word yokai is made up of the kanji for "bewitching; attractive; calamity"; and "spectre; apparition; mystery; suspicious”. They can also be called ayakashi, mononoke, or mamono. Yokai range diversely from the malevolent to the mischievous, or occasionally bring good fortune to those who encounter them. Often they possess animal features (such as the kappa, which is similar to a turtle, or the tengu which has wings), other times they can appear mostly human, some look like inanimate objects and others have no discernible shape. Yokai usually have spiritual or supernatural power, with shapeshifting being one of the most common. Yokai that have the ability to shapeshift are called bakemono / obake.

(From Wikipedia)

There are different types of Yokai, such as;

Oni - One of the most well-known aspects of Japanese folklore is the oni, which has traits of demons and ogres, usually depicted with red, blue, brown or black skin, two

horns on its head, a wide mouth filled with fangs, and wearing nothing but a tiger

skin loincloth. It often carries an iron kanabo or a giant sword. Oni are

depicted as evil.

Tengu - A goblin from Japanese mythology that has several supernatural powers and skills in martial arts, the tengu were originally extremely dangerous demons and enemies

of Buddhism. Over centuries, their behavior changed from spirits of the damned

to active defenders of Dharma.

Tsukumogami - Tsukumogami are an entire class of yokai and obake,

comprising ordinary household items that have come to life on the one-hundredth

anniversary of their birthday.

Animal form - Many indigenous Japanese animals are thought to have magical

qualities. Most of these are henge, which are shapeshifters (o-bake, bake-mono)

that often appear in human form, mostly women.

Human form - There are a large number of yokai who were originally

ordinary human beings, transformed into something horrific and grotesque

usually during an extremely emotional state. Women suffering from intense

jealousy, for example, were thought to transform into the female oni

represented by hannya masks.

Yokai have huge roles in anime. For an example, Yuki-onna and Nine-tailed fox can be seen in many anime.

My favorite yokai types are Nine-tailed fox and Oni… They mostly have a cool personality and they are seen as both protagonist and antagonist in anime.

Examples for Nine-tailed fox;

Soushi Miketsukami from Inu x Boku SS

Kokkuri - san from Gugure! Kokkuri-san

Ginji from Kakuriyo no Yadomeshi

Tomoe from Kamisama Hajimemashita

Example for Oni;

Odanna from Kakuriyo no Yadomeshi

If you are interested in Yokai, here are some good yokai anime,

· Nurarihyon no Mago

· Natsume Yuujinchou

· Hotarubi no Morie

· Mushishi

· Ao no Exorcist

· Kakuriyo no Yadomeshi

· Kamisama Hajimemashita

· Inu x Boku SS

· Gugure! Kokkuri-san

Let’s see the questions now,

1. Do you like yokai?

2. What is your favorite yokai anime?

3. Who is your favorite yokai in anime?

4. Most powerful yokai you have seen so far?

5. Who do you prefer more? Yokai, vampires or humans?

Okay, that is the end and hope you guys have a sweet day today! ^^