I'm back from Kyoto's Uzumasa film studio. It was an exhausting event, but really fun! According to the studio, it was the greatest attendance the park has seen in 20 to 30 years! This just goes to show the international appeal of yokai, and how they've become a major tourism force in recent years, especially
Oct 27, 2024 • Subscribe
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A-Yokai-A-Day: The Three-Way Magic Contest in the Presence of Michinaga
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A-Yokai-A-Day: The Ao Oni of Kaga Province
Tonight's story is rather brief, but it's rather funny. The idea of all the bravest samurai from the three provinces of Kaga, Etchū, and Noto (comprising all of…
A-Yokai-A-Day: The Rokurokubi of Fuchū, Echizen Province
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A-Yokai-A-Day: The Ghost of Shimazu Tōshirō’s Wife
Tonight's story is a classic ghost story. The ghost has all of the standard elements: the white kimono, the disheveled, long hair, blackened teeth; and she visits every…
A-Yokai-A-Day: The Attachment of Saigō Iyo’s Wife
Tonight's tale takes place in Gōshū, which is another name for Ōmi Province, or what is today Shiga Prefecture. Sawayama is in what is now Hikone City, however…
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Tonight's yokai is a famous one that has appeared not only on yokai.com and A-Yokai-A-Day before, but even in Shokoku hyakumonogatari. Although she is not referred to by…
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Tonight's story features an onryō, the most terrifying of all Japanese monsters. (Yes, even more terrifying than the toilet stroker!) The fear of ghosts that come back from…
A-Yokai-A-Day: The Jealousy of Shibata Shume’s Wife
Jealousy once again rears its ugly head! It's a very common theme in Shokoku hyakumonogatari. In fact, tonight's story contains quite a few repeated themes that we've seen…
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Tonight’s story may be a familiar tale to many of you. That’s because I’ve talked extensively about Inō Mononoke Roku in the past on this blog. I even…
A-Yokai-A-Day: The Bakemono of the Twin Mounds of Rendaino
Tonight's tale uses us the generic term "bakemono" in the title again. However, within the story the original text uses the word kijin—鬼神 meaning oni goddess—to describe her…
A-Yokai-A-Day: The Ghost of the Akasaka Sergeant’s Wife
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A-Yokai-A-Day: The Incident at Nunobiki Falls, Settsu Province; or, The Pilgrims’ Poems
Tonight's story is another one featuring snakes. This one was a struggle to translate because it contains my least favorite thing to translate: poetry. Poetry is hard to…
A-Yokai-A-Day: The Novice Monk at Eiheiji in Echizen
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Kiyohimé or the Power of Love
Kiyohimé was written down around 1887 and contains dated language and spellings. This period brought many stories from Japan to the West. I left the language unchanged; I find…
Kiyohimé or the Power of Love
Kiyohimé was written down around 1887 and contains dated language and spellings. This period brought many stories from Japan to the West. I left the language unchanged; I find…
A-Yokai-A-Day 2020 Lineup
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A-Yokai-A-Day: Hakoiri Musume
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A-Yokai-A-Day: The Ghost of Kiku, Maidservant of Kumamoto Shuri
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A-Yokai-A-Day: The Tumors of Heirokuzaemon of Shimōsa Province’s Father
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A-Yokai-A-Day: The Arrogance of Ukita of Bizen Province’s Widow
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A-Yokai-A-Day: The Wife of Matsumotoya Kyūbei of Wakayama, Kishū
Tonight's story is rather short, but it is one of the more disturbing ones in Shokoku hyakumonogatari. The final sentence is an example of a feature I love…
A-Yokai-A-Day: The Painted Corpse Wife of Bungo Province
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A-Yokai-A-Day: The Obsession of the Woman from Peony Hall
Tonight's story is a variation on a folktale that is famous all over the world. The Tale of the Peony Lantern has been featured in A-Yokai-A-Day before, and…
A-Yokai-A-Day: The Attachment of a Goze at an Inn in Mitsuke, Tōtōmi Province
The title of this story refers to a goze. Goze were a female counterpart to zatō, who we looked at earlier this month. The women were traveling entertainers…
(My Wife Draws) A-Yokai-A-Day: The Bakemono of the Outhouse in Kasamari, Ōmi Province
Tonight's story is a tale that pops up time and time again in almost every prefecture. It's the story of kurote, or the hairy hand that reaches up…
A-Yokai-A-Day: The Illness of Lord Ikeda Sanzaemon of Harima Province
Tonight's story is based on events that took place in 1611 in one of the most haunted locations in Japan: Himeji Castle. But first, two vocabulary words that…
A-Yokai-A-Day: The Mayoinomono That Was Afraid of the Go’ō of Nigatsudō
Tonight's story features a great word that I haven't heard in other stories: mayoimono! This is another word for ghost, and literally means "lost/wandering thing." I love it.…