There’s an ancient Japanese legend of the one hundred yōkai—monsters, ghosts, apparitions and demons—who parade through the streets on hot summer nights. If anyone is unfortunate to see these creatures—or to be caught up in it—then they will perish away or worse be taken captive for the twisted pleasure.
If you’ve ever watched the enjoyable trilogy of movies
Yokai Monsters—One Hundred Monsters (1968), Spook Warfare (1968), and Along With Ghosts (1969)—then you’ll have a good idea what these demons look like—ogres, goblins, ghosts, sprites,
spooky umbrellas and dangerous women with ever-extending serpentine necks.
All of these incredible monsters have long been a part of Japanese folklore. They were first codified in the supernatural bestiary—
Gazu Hyakki Yagyō (The Illustrated Night Parade of a Hundred Demons) by artist and scholar
Toriyama Sekien in 1776. It’s a kind of fabulously illustrated
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them but far, far more beautiful and eerie.
In 1881, artist Nabeta Gyokuei updated this incredible volume when he produced a picture book or e-hon of Sekien’s 100 demons. The Kaibutsu Ehon or Illustrated Book of Monsters features beautiful woodblock prints of each of the yōkai and its special powers.
The whole book can be viewed
here.
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| Ubagabi—the ghost of an old woman that appears as fireball. |
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| Aoi no Ue—fictional female character from ‘The Tale of Genji’ who is possessed by demons. |
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| Waraime or Kerakera—a giant cackling woman who brings misfortune. |
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Kasha—a fiery yōkai—or phantom-in this case a cat that steals or devours corpses.
Shuten Dōji—a brutal and fearsome oni—or demon—known for kidnapping,
enslaving and devouring young Kyoto maidens. One of the three great evil yokai. |
