Hello everyone! Tonight is the first of October, and for this site that means it’s time for A-Yokai-A-Day! Every day this month I will highlight a different yokai on this blog. Our first yokai comes as a request from my … Continue reading →

While we had owls yesterday, today I want to showcase another Halloween staple: cats! Although this cat is not bad luck like a black cat, but instead is a symbol of very good luck. In fact, you’re probably already familiar … Continue reading →

Owls and cats are of course staples of Halloween lore, but what about the people who use them? That’s right, I’m talking about wizards, witches, and warlocks! This week I will be detailing the most famous Japanese wizard and some of … Continue reading →

Today we continue with our “wizard week” theme. While we saw Japan’s most famous wizard last night, for the rest of the week we will be looking at a number of magical spells. Today we’ll start with a common type … Continue reading →

Another day, another yokai! Today we continue wizard week with another type of doll. While we looked at paper dolls yesterday, today’s is a straw doll called wara ningyō. Like other dolls, wara ningyō can be used as purification objects. They … Continue reading →

What kind of witch or wizard would be complete without a familar—that little helper animal that is used and abused by the spellcaster and performs all kinds of tasks for its baster? Today on A-Yokai-A-Day we dive deeper into wizard … Continue reading →

We’ve spent a lot of “wizard week” looking at the tools of the trade—paper dolls, stray dolls, familiar spirits—as well as the main man himself, Abe no Seimei. Now that you know all about what Japan’s sorcerers use, it’s time … Continue reading →

Because folklore so often deals with scary things, I spend a lot of time going over monsters and curses and other things that are not so pleasant. In yesterday’s post we saw one of Okinawa’s most terrible curses, and I … Continue reading →

People often say that politicians are giant, slimy monsters. Since today was the 3rd presidential debate, I thought it would be appropriate to post a giant, slimy monster from yokai lore. That’s all I’m going to say about politics, because … Continue reading →

Last week’s theme was so popular that I thought it would be fun to do another mini-theme this week. Today’s entry is not actually a yokai, but is deeply rooted in foklore and mythology, so I think it counts anyway. … Continue reading →

Tonight we continue our mini-theme week on the afterlife, the underworld, and hell. What better way to celebrate Halloween than to celebrate the mythology of hell, right? Tonight we are taking a look at Enma Daiou, the king and judge … Continue reading →

Today’s yokai is a two-fer! Bonus! Continuing the mini-theme of the week—hell—we come across this nasty pair. Datsueba is very famous, but much less-known is her husband/consort Keneou. See if you can find them on the map of Meido from … Continue reading →

Welcome back to A-Yokai-A-Day: hell edition! This week we are looking at folklore related to hell and the underworld. We’ve so far seen Meido, King Enma, and Datsueba and Keneou. Today we’re going to look at something really unique: a … Continue reading →

Hopefully you were able to locate all of the characters in the large Meido illustration, including last night’s Ono no Takamura. If not, go back and play Where’s Waldo before moving on to today’s illustration, because it’s another big one! … Continue reading →

Today we take our final look at hell week on A-Yokai-A-Day. Today’s entry is another two-fer, because these guys go hand-in-hand like peas and carrots. Gozu and Mezu are the guardian demons of the underworld, though unlike Datsueba and Keneou … Continue reading →

Last weel’s hell theme is now officially over, I hope you enjoyed it! This week we’re starting a new theme. This has been a popular theme among my Patreon backers, and we even had a few “theme months” where people … Continue reading →

Today on A-Yokai-A-Day, we continue aquatic week with another Patreon request: a cute little guy named shussebora. It’s not just cute, though, it’s an amazing just-so-story! But first, it will take some explaining, because it’s not readily apparent to people … Continue reading →

Today and for the next couple of days we’ll be looking at some aquatic yokai from Ainu folklore! Ainu lore is an often overlooked part of the world of yokai. The Ainu have suffered a fair deal under Japanese rule, similar to … Continue reading →

Today’s aquatic yokai is another Ainu myth. The last part of his name “kamui/kamuy” is something you’ll see a lot in Ainu tales. It seems to be a cognate of the Japanese word “kami,” as in god, or spirit. I … Continue reading →

I know you won’t be surprised to hear that today we are looking at another aquatic Ainu yokai! This is easily one of my favorite Ainu yokai just for the pure strangeness of it’s origin story. This week we’ve already talked … Continue reading →

We’ve taken a good look at some awesome Ainu yokai this week, but of course not all aquatic yokai are of Ainu origin. Tonight I want to talk about a pair of yokai from northern Japan. These two go together … Continue reading →

Aquatic week is over, I hope you guys enjoyed looking at some of the lesser known underwater yokai. This week we won’t be looking at a theme, but I’ll be sharing some requests that have been made by my Patreon … Continue reading →

Today’s yokai aren’t actually yokai at all. However, they are strongly associated with yokai lore and yokai scroll paintings. These illustrations and writeups appear in my book, The Hour of Meeting Evil Spirits. Omagatoki, which literally means “the hour of … Continue reading →

Last week the State of New Jersey mourned for a tragic loss: Pedals the Walking Bear was dead. Pedals was a 333-pound wild American black bear who had deformed forepaws. He held his small, weak paws close to his chest, … Continue reading →

Tonight’s yokai is a really special one, very close to my heart. It’s funny, I feel like every time I post a yokai I say “this one is really special” or “I really love this yokai” or something along those … Continue reading →

Like the shiro ukari, today’s yokai is one that started out just as an illustration. Unlike shiro ukari, though, nigawari originally didn’t even have a name to serve as a clue to its meaning. It started out as just a … Continue reading →

Today was a fun night for yokai. I gave a lecture at Shofuso Japanese House and Garden in Fairmount Park, Philadelphia. The combination of cool fall air and the twilight sky, with the fall colors every, and the 17th-century Japanese tea … Continue reading →

Today I gave another yokai presentation at Shofuso Japanese House and Garden. Tonight, instead of a yokai lecture like last night, I was able to hold a modern-day hyakumonogatari kaidankai, or ghost-story-telling party. I picked a handful of my favorite … Continue reading →

There’s only one more day until Halloween, which means that after tonight, there is only one more day of A-Yokai-A-Day left, and only one more yokai after this one. Tonight’s yokai was requested on Patreon earlier this year. Kyokotsu was invented … Continue reading →

Happy Halloween! It’s my favorite day of the year, and also one of the reasons I ever got into yokai in the first place. A-Yokai-A-Day was started as a Halloween celebration, so it’s always a little bittersweet when I post … Continue reading →