Brushing Shoulders with Yokai: The Reiwa Everyday

Funayūreifunayūrei

Off Kosode in Kuji, a black-haired woman quietly scoops water over the side of a boat. The local namōrei is said to call from the sea fog, using any reply or offered oar as a foothold to weigh the vessel down. Even if she calls through the lens, the coastal custom is to meet her gaze in silence.

Aobōzu (Blue Monk)ah-oh-BOH-zoo

A blue-skinned monk drags a broom through a residential street in the morning. Depending on the region, Ao-bōzu may be a one-eyed priest, an animal in disguise, or a shadow that abducts children; both form and identity vary from place to place. His name is probably not on the neighborhood cleaning rota.

Funayūreifunayūrei

Before dawn at the fishing harbor, a drenched woman holds out a ladle. Funayūrei use such ladles to pour seawater into boats until they sink, so sailors were said to survive by handing them one with the bottom removed. If you brought only an ordinary ladle, perhaps do not sail today.

Genbu (Black Tortoise)Genbu

On a bridge railing overlooking the castle town, a great tortoise entwined with a snake faces resolutely north. Genbu, one of the Four Symbols, guards the north, winter, and water. It may be blocking the way, but leaving its post is not on the schedule.

Zhong Kui (Shōki)SHOH-kee

Shōki finds a portrait of himself on display and stands beside it, looking faintly embarrassed. His sharp gaze seems to ask whether the artist made him a little grander than life. With the real guardian next to the picture, the ward against evil feels a hundred times stronger. Even a god who protects the town apparently cares how the camera sees him.

Muku-Mukabaki (Awakened Gaiters)MOO-koo MOO-kah-bah-kee

In the entrance of a townhouse, a suit of fur hunting gear stands slumped without anyone inside. This is Muku Mukabaki, a tsukumogami born when fur leggings used for hunting aged into life. The wet footprints lead not in from outdoors, but deeper into the house.

Hōsōshihō-sō-shi

At the temple gate stands a strange guard equipped with a four-eyed mask and a great shield. During the imperial court's tsuina rites, Hōsōshi drove plague demons beyond the gates with spear and shield. Some nights, two-factor facial recognition simply is not enough.

Yamaubayah-mah-OO-bah

Beside a cedar forest, a white-haired old woman waits for hikers with a staff in hand. Yamauba is described both as a cannibal crone and as a mountain mother who bestows food and riches. Whether you greet her or walk past may decide how this hike ends.

Ungai-kyō (Mirror from Beyond the Clouds)OON-guy-kyo (oon-GAH-ee-kyoh)

As a man gets ready, the face of an unknown woman appears in the antique mirror before him. Ungai-kyō is the uncanny shadow itself come to inhabit a demon-revealing mirror, an object meant to expose the true forms of strange beings. Wipe away every trace of clouding; this reflection will remain.

Kugutsushi (Puppet Troupers)koo-GOO-tshee

Under the eaves of an old town, a traveling performer quietly straightens the strings of a wooden puppet. Kugutsu-shi were itinerant people who traveled the provinces, presenting puppet dances and other entertainments at festivals and markets. Before the passing spectator can stop, the puppet's eyes have already offered a greeting.

Oni HitokuchiOH-nee HEE-toh-KOO-chee

In a narrow lane of bars, a red demon looks back over its shoulder. Oni Hitokuchi names an old narrative pattern in which someone vanishes without a trace, devoured under cover of a thunderstorm or darkness. Reach the main street before any scream disappears beneath the neon and the trains.

Issun-boshiEE-soon BOH-shee

A tiny young man rides a bowl down a mountain stream. Issun-bōshi set out for the capital armed with a single needle for a sword, so rapids like these barely count as a commute. He may look like a folktale hero, but his plans for advancement were impressively bold.

Eye StandoffMEH-koo-RAH-beh

A man with a skull for a head walks toward you through a rainy neighborhood. In The Tale of the Heike, countless skulls gathered into one mass and locked eyes with Taira no Kiyomori. Until the signal changes, do not be the first to blink.

Kyōkotsu (Mad Bone)KYOH-koh-tsu

A white-haired skeleton rises slowly from an old communal well, bucket and all. Kyōkotsu is depicted as bones cast into a well and given form by resentment. If all you wanted was water, replace the lid without meeting its eyes.

King of the Waterfall Spirittah-kee RAY-oh

In a plunge pool veiled white with spray, a blue figure bearing the fierce aspect of Fudō Myōō stands under the falls. Toriyama Sekien's Takireiō emerges from waterfalls across the land to subdue demons and afflictions. What appeared in a visitor's photograph was not a stone statue, but a manifestation still taking form.

Phantom Locomotivenee-SEH-kee-shah

A steam locomotive bears down on a mountain railway while a lone badger freezes on the tracks ahead. In the Meiji era, railways across Japan spawned tales of foxes and tanuki turning into trains and meeting the real engines head-on. The train missing from the timetable is always the one coming straight at you.

Serpent Queen Princessjah-OH-hee-meh

A quiet break by the water doubles as a little skin care. Frequent moisturizing is the secret to keeping those scales glossy. They call her Jaō-hime, the Serpent Princess, but underneath she is an ordinary girl who worries about her complexion. The snake on her head sometimes moves without asking, which can be trying, but the two make it work. May today pass just as peacefully.

ShōkeraSHOH-keh-rah

In an alley after the rain, a long-haired shadow peers into the windows one by one. It may be Shōkera, said to watch over people's sleep and sins on the night of Kōshin. The curtains may be closed, but tonight's surveillance is not over.

KinmamonKEEN-mah-mohn

The sea wind blows straight into the robes of a priestess standing on an Okinawan shore. Kinmamon was regarded as a high divine spirit who came from beyond the ocean and possessed the Kikoe-ōgimi, the kingdom's high priestess, to deliver oracles. Her gaze follows words beyond the waves that no one else can hear yet.

Reverse Pillarsah-kah-BAH-shee-rah

In the tidy living room of an old house, one pillar has been installed with its roots toward the ceiling. Sakabashira, pillars set upside down, were considered ill omens: they creaked at night and threatened the household's fortune or safety from fire. The noise absent from the viewing begins the night you move in.

Ainu KaiseiEYE-noo KAI-say

A ragged figure sits in an abandoned tatami room. This is Ainu Kaisei, said to press down on the chest or throat of anyone who sleeps in an old house. When you wake struggling for breath, the bedding cannot take all the blame.

Hakutaku (White Marsh)hah-koo-TAH-koo

A white beast with two upright horns sits in the shrine grounds, watching each passerby in silence. Hakutaku is an auspicious creature said to know every strange being and plague under heaven, and to teach people how to identify and repel them. For serious trouble, it may know more than the search bar.

Elder ShamisenSHAH-mee-CHOH-loh

At the back of an antique shop, an old man takes a shamisen from its case and begins to play softly. If Shami Chōrō is indeed a shamisen awakened after years of use, it is impossible to say which is the performer and which the instrument. The doors are locked, but the sound of the plectrum continues.

Mirage (Shinkirō)shin-kee-ROH

At twilight on the beach, a figure with a huge shell on its head stares out to sea. In ancient thought, a great clam called a shin breathed out vapor that made towers and palaces float over the water. By the time the map was opened, the city seen through the lens had vanished.

Suzaku (Vermilion Bird)Suzaku

On the south side of the shrine, a sacred bird stands with feathers like gathered flame. Suzaku, one of the Four Symbols, is the guardian of the south, summer, and fire. Worshippers pass by, but its red remains brighter than the evening sky.

Heaven-Descending MaidenAH-moh-roh-nah-goo

On a slope in Amami, a woman with a white bundle on her back turns with a ladle hanging from one hand. The day was meant to be clear, yet fine rain falls only around her. If you accept the water she offers, take care to hold the handle correctly.

Batsu (Hiderigami)BAHT-soo (hee-DEH-ree-gah-mee)

A long-haired woman walks alone along a bone-dry riverbed. Beyond each step she takes, grass, earth, and water seem to lose every trace of moisture. Once Batsu, the drought-bringer who stops the rain, has passed through, even the probability on the weather app feels unreliable.

Nami-kozōnami-kozō

At dusk on the Enshū coast, a blue boy turns toward a sound offshore. Nami-kozō can read the sea's rumbling, which is said to foretell rain or clear weather depending on its direction. A forecast older than any weather app comes in from the water again tonight.

Ita-oni (Board Demon)EE-tah-oh-nee

A woman in white loungewear stops before a thick plank blocking the staircase of an old house. In the Konjaku Monogatari-shū, Ita-oni stretched down from rafters or latticework to crush an unguarded sleeper. Before calling a renovation company, it may be wise to find something that can stand in for a sword tonight.

Shuten-dōjiShuten-dōji

In a mountain tavern, a horned man stretches out the night with a sake flask in hand. Shuten-dōji gathered his demons on Mount Ōe, only to be intoxicated with poisoned sake and slain by Minamoto no Raikō and his men. He has since learned never to drink with strange yamabushi. Drinking less, however, remains out of the question.