![]() ![]() In Japan the creatures and strange phenomena of folklore have been known historically by a variety of terms, including mononoke, bakemono and obake, but most commonly today they are called yōkai, a word that has become a catchall for everything spooky-from creepy monster, to ghostly spirit, to mysterious phenomenon. By looking at the fantastic beasts of Japan (and, for that matter, any culture) we can learn a lot about the people who create them, tell stories about them, play with them, and send them out into the world.Įvery culture has its monsters. But where do these monsters come from? Are they part of the traditional folklore of Japan, or are they recent creations-made to sell as part of Japan’s “soft power”? And most importantly, what can these Japanese monsters teach us? In this short essay, I address these questions by exploring how monstrous and strange beings reflect important trends in Japanese history. These various media are chock full of fantastic creatures and characters-from the mischievous to the murderous, from the fun to the frightening, from the humorous to the horrifying. We have seen them for years in Pokémon, and more recently (since 2015 in the US) they have insinuated themselves into our lives through Yo-kai Watch, an explosively popular franchise of video games, manga, anime, and all sorts of merchandise called. Through anime and manga, film and television, video and computer games, they have infiltrated the lives of children (and a great many adults). Japanese monsters have invaded the world. ![]()
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