Japanology Plus - Yokai

(whimsical theme music)

[Female Narrator] Yokai,
the collective name

for all sorts of bizarre creatures
and supernatural phenomena

in Japanese folklore.

From the ancient
past right up to the present,

Yokai have been very
popular in Japan.

They feature in video
games, anime, manga,

and many other contexts.

Starting in the 18th
century, there was a Yokai boom

in Japan.

Many legends about the existence
of Yokai persist around Japan

to this day.

Yokai culture with its huge
variety of uncanny creatures,

offers a unique window
on the Japanese mind.

(whimsical theme music)

[Peter Barakan] Hello, and
welcome to Japanology Plus.

I'm Peter Barakan.

Today I'm going to be visiting
the International Research Center

for Japanese Studies in Kyoto
where they do a lot of research

into Yokai.

Now, Yokai is a kind of catch-all
term for supernatural beings

and spooky phenomena
and things that make

weird noises in the night.

And they include things like
elves and fairies and leprechauns

and goblins and...

In Japan, there are literally
hundreds and hundreds

of these things.

And despite the fact that they've
been around for centuries,

a lot of them still remain popular
in Japanese culture.

Let's start off by getting
acquainted with a few of them.

[Female Narrator] In ancient times,
the Japanese imagined that

inexplicable phenomena
in the natural world

were the deeds of Yokai.

Over time, these Yokai were
given names and shapes

and came to be venerated.

Among the most famous Yokai
is the Kappa which is said

to inhabit rivers and swamps.

A Kappa has a dish on its head
and a shell on its back.

The ancient Japanese believed
that Kappa dragged people down

into the water.

Drownings were often
seen as their work.

Kappa are also said
to love Sumo wrestling.

And cucumbers.

And there are actually legends
of Kappa helping people,

not just harming them.

Such contrasting characteristics
are typical of other Yokai too.

And Yokai are not just creatures
of river and forest.

Some Yokai come from manmade
objects like this paper lantern.

Musical instruments
can also be Yokai.

Here a lute is dragging along
a Koto, or Japanese harp.

There are even Yokai derived
from the five senses.

Here's an azuki arai,
or bean washer.

The babble of flowing water evoke
the sound of beans being washed

and was given its
own Yokai identity.

This Yokai embodies the feeling
that someone is following you

when you're walking down
the street at night.

Modern Japanese still have an
affinity for the old Yokai legends.

[Woman 1 English Voiceover]
Yokai can be lovable.

They're kind of cute.

[Woman 2 English Voiceover]
I don't think Yokai are bad;

they are like spirits
that protect Japan.

[Female Narrator] Yokai, combining
the frightening and the endearing,

have a firm place in the
Japanese imagination.

[Peter] Oh, this is pretty cool.
I feel like I've wandered

into a scene in a movie
or something.

And over here is the man who's
going to tell us all about Yokai

today: the head of
this research center,

Mr. Kazuhiko Komatsu,
who's been studying Yokai

for some 30 years-odd and
probably knows more about them

than anybody else.

Hello, and thank you very much
for being with us today.

I'm looking forward to this.

(greeting in Japanese)

[Komatsu English Voiceover]
Thank you for coming.

In my opinion, Yokai are the kind
of creatures that anyone

who explores Japanese culture in
depth will eventually encounter.

You simply can't avoid them.

[Female Narrator] Today's guest
is Kazuhiko Komatsu,

Director General of the
International Research Center

for Japanese Studies.

He conducts research on Yokai
through the lens of folklore studies.

He has written more than
100 books about Yokai,

from academic works to introductory guides

for the general public.

Komatsu argues that Yokai have
played a vital role in shaping

Japanese culture.

[Peter] When we talk about Yokai
in English, it's useful to have

some reference points to start
off with: things like fairies

and elves and goblins.

What are the big differences
between those and Yokai?

[Komatsu English Voiceover]
Every culture, every ethnic group

must have something that
corresponds to what Yokai are

in Japan, but since every culture,
every country is different,

the Yokai equivalents
also vary widely

as you might imagine.

The Japanese are polytheistic;

they believe in a multitude
of deities.

This is underpinned by a
religious tradition of animism.

In animism, all things,
animals, natural phenomena,

even things that today,
we would not consider alive,

like rocks and mountains and
rivers, have spirits inhabiting them.

All these things around
us are sentient.

They're sentient just like
we human beings are.

That's the basis of
the belief in Yokai.

Even this table or the chairs
we're sitting on or a computer.

Absolutely anything can be a Yokai
if you make it one.

So one way to think about it
is that everything around us

is a potential Yokai.

[Peter] The tradition of animism
obviously goes back, you know,

many, many hundreds, if
not, thousands of years.

Do you think it's still quite strong
even in modern Japan?

[Komatsu English Voiceover]
I think that sense is still strong

even among people who have
never heard of the term 'animism.'

When they make a mistake
or do something bad,

they will, without thinking twice,
say something like

the English expression,
"the Devil made me do it."

Or someone experiencing
a run of bad luck or failure

will say that they were being
haunted by an evil spirit.

Japanese people don't see
themselves as acting

as autonomous entities.

Rather, they're always under
the influence of context

and circumstances.

So when someone does
something that isn't like them,

they will blame a Yokai for it.

Well, it sounds like
shifting the blame,

but these expressions are useful.

[Peter] I mean, in the West,
people would be, I think,

they'd feel ashamed to say
something like that

because it would be indicative
of them not being in control.

It's interesting the difference
there culturally.

[Female Narrator] Around
the 13th century,

a trend of picture scrolls
featuring Yokai emerged.

It was about this time that Yokai
inspired by household objects

appeared probably because
advances in handicrafts

allowed people to own
more tools and furnishings.

Komatsu says that medieval
picture-scrolls depicting

household objects-turned-Yokai
marked a watershed in Japan's

Yokai culture.

[Komatsu English Voiceover]
This is called the tsukumogami

picture scroll.

It tells the story of how,
after long years of use,

household objects come
to life as Yokai.

[Peter] Oh, I see.
Okay. There's

part of the story.

[Komatsu English Voiceover]
Discarded implements

and furnishings get together.

They complain about how humans
have ungratefully tossed

them away.

They want a little pay back.

[Peter] "How dare you throw us out."

"We're going to have
our revenge on you," yeah.

[Komatsu English Voiceover]
So the Yokai talk that over.

They build a shinto shrine just like
a shrine humans might have

and hold a festival to their
own Yokai deities.

As you can see they're dancing
and praying in front

of the shrine here.

Japanese carry deities in portable
shrines at neighborhood festivals

Here we see the Yokai doing that.

[Peter] They're having a parade.

[Komatsu English Voiceover] Yes.
The Yokai are emulating us.

That's what they're doing.

Their way of getting back at
humans is to replicate the way

humans live: their lifestyles.

They have parties and so on.

The idea is the humans have
festivals to their deities,

so we'll do the same.

The Yokai are basically presenting
a parody of human society.

[Peter] So the fact that
you had a story like this,

in this period, probably indicates
that society was becoming more

affluent, and people were
actually able to throw out things

when they got a bit old
because they were able

to buy new ones.

[Komatsu English Voiceover]
In old Japan, when people

threw something out,
they would take it to a temple

or a shrine

and hold a ritual to appease
its spirits and to give thanks.

People still do that,
but that way of thinking

was much more prevalent
in the old days.

The nobility and the wealthy,
though, might have just thrown

things out carelessly.

[Peter] So it's a warning
to the readers:

take good care of your stuff
or it'll have its revenge on you.

Back in the Heian period,
we're talking about

over 1,000 years ago now.

About 1,000 years ago, I suppose.

People were scared of these
things back in those days.

But here we are in
the sixteenth century,

and they actually don't
look very scary.

Were people still scared of them,
or did they find them more familiar,

and were they something
they could deal with more easily?

[Komatsu English Voiceover]
I'd say they were still half scared.

But once people started
making pictures of Yokai,

once they stretched their
imaginations to turn these

shapeless, invisible
entities into pictures,

they were in a way taking
control of Yokai.

I think that giving Yokai concrete
form was a way of taming them.

When you make a
picture of something,

it somehow becomes less scary.

And the more people
made pictures of Yokai,

the more they came to take
pleasure in these creatures

and this cataloging process.

[Peter] That makes a lot of sense.

[Female Narrator]
In the eighteenth century,

a craze for Yokai swept Japan.

It was touched off by Toriyama
Sekien's 1776 work,

The Illustrated Night
Parade of 100 Demons.

Each page of this visual guide
book depicts one Yokai.

More than 50 in total.

The book proved immensely
popular and stirred the imagination

of other artists.

Even famous woodblock print
artists created Yokai-themed

masterpieces which brought Yokai
to the attention of yet more people.

And this flood of Yokai prints led to
spinoffs like children's card games.

And here's a board game.

Toys like these began to
incorporate Yokai motifs.

Meanwhile, telling spooky stories
became a popular past time.

People would gather around
to swap stories featuring Yokai.

Yokai became a source of
entertainment for the public

at large.

Ever since then, Yokai have been
a much loved part of Japanese

culture.

The average person typically
knows quite a bit of Yokai lore.

[Male English Voiceover]
The Ittan momen.

It's sort of a white loin cloth
with arms and legs,

and it flies.

You can ride on its back.

I'd love to try that.

[Female 1 English Voiceover]
The Rokuro-kubi. That's a Yokai.

After dark, its neck
stretches like a snake.

[Female 2 English Voiceover]
The Zashiki-warashi. It's a girl

with black hair in a bob.

She lives inside inns and is
supposed to bring good luck

to people who see her.

[Female Narrator]
That brings us to Japan's

latest Yokai craze:

an entertainment franchise
called Yokai Watch.

Yokai Watch started as
a video game in 2013.

It follows the adventures
of a young boy named Keita

who obtains a mysterious watch
that enables him to see Yokai.

(arguing in Japanese)

(exclaiming in Japanese)

[Female Narrator] Yokai Watch
spread from the game

to manga, anime, toys, and more.

The franchise's popularity
is massive.

Manufacturers can't keep
up with demand,

and so Yokai Watch
merchandise often sells out.

[Female Narrator] Starting as
a fad centuries back,

Yokai has become deeply
embedded in the popular

imagination.

[Peter] It's interesting
how in the Edo period

you already have this emerging
entertainment industry,

and it's using Yokai to feed it.

[Komatsu English Voiceover]
People in old Japan wanted

to have the Yokai characters
they liked around them,

incorporated into everyday objects.

They put Yokai on folding screens

or sometimes even on a kimono.

Not on the outside, mind you.

In the lining, so it normally

isn't visible.

But in here you might have a
design of a well known Yokai,

and people will catch a glimpse
of the Yokai when the lining shows.

Back then, giving just a flash,
or a peek of that kind of

unusual design was
considered quite fashionable.

This Yokai is called Tenjo-name.

The name literally means
ceiling-licker.

[Peter]
Licking the ceiling?

[Komatsu English Voiceover]
You know how you'll see stains

on a ceiling sometimes?

The idea was that this Yokai
was to blame for them.

(laughter)

[Komatsu English Voiceover]
It's pretty silly, isn't it?

[Peter] It's kind of a humorous
plus grotesque way of explaining

weird phenomena in daily life.

[Komatsu English Voiceover]
Exactly.

They aren't scary anymore.

By putting a frame around them,
they become predictable.

And by moving them farther away
from their original stories

and decontextualizing them,
Yokai become something

lovable and humorous.

And then...

When they do, the people
don't mind having them

around any more.

(whimsical theme music)

(maniacal laughter)

[Matt Alt] I'm Matt Alt.

And actually, I'm something
of a Yokai aficionado, too.

Now, you might think of Yokai
as imaginary, but actually

there's places in Japan where you
can see what are purported

to be taxidermied and
mummified Yokai specimens.

Today, we're going to check out
a couple of the most famous.

A famous Yokai collector,
an old friend of mine,

lives in this house.

Let's give him a visit.

(knocks on door)

[Kihara English Voiceover]
Hey, Matt!

[Matt] Kihara-san
So good to see you again.

[Kihara English Voiceover]
It's been ages.

Come in.

[Matt] Oh, this is it.

It's been so long since
I've seen this.

[Kihara English Voiceover] Nearly
ten years if I'm not mistaken.

[Matt] This weird Yokai
is called the Kudan,

and, as you can see, it's a
human head on a cow's body.

When these Yokai were born,
they would die almost instantly.

But before they did,
they would speak a prophecy.

Sometimes good,
sometimes bad.

And that's what made them
so popular in the Edo era.

This is amazing.

It was really--
This was really born this way?

[Kihara English Voiceover]
It was born exactly like this.

Look.

It's genuine.

All they did was cut the hide
from the throat to the belly

and the legs.

The head hasn't been
sewn on separately.

[Matt] It does look pretty scary,

but has your life changed
at all getting this?

[Kihara English Voiceover]
Since I acquired the Kudon,

I've been able to write and
publish a lot of books,

and I met lots of different people.

And thanks to the Kudon,
I'm seeing you after so long, Matt.

It's really brought me great luck.

[Matt] We're connected by Yokai.

Thanks for letting me see this.

I really appreciate it.

[Kihara English Voiceover]
Thank you.

[Matt] Next, we've come to
Tokyo's Asakusa neighborhood.

This is Sogenji Temple.

Now, temples usually are
associated with a Buddhist deity,

but this temple is special.

They also venerate a certain Yokai.

As you can see the temple
grounds are filled with statues

of Yokai.

These are Kappa, water sprites,
and as you can see,

they have a dish of water
on their heads.

Why is a Buddhist temple
venerating Kappa?

It turns out that in times of old,
this whole area was wracked

by floods during
times of heavy rain.

A wealthy merchant by the name
of Kihachi took it upon himself

to repair the riverbank and
make other improvements

to keep the locals safe.

Legend has it that he enlisted
the help of Kappa

to help him speed along
the improvements.

Sogenji even has
a special Kappa hall

and in it is the mummified hand
of an actual Kappa.

[Priest English Voiceover]
Come in.

[Matt] Oh, wow. And of course,
the sacred images of a Kappa.

[Priest English Voiceover]
That's right.

[Matt] Oh, and here it is.
The famed Kappa hand.

[Priest English Voiceover]
Yes. This is it.

[Matt] Very strange. Not really
human and not really animal, either.

[Priest English Voiceover] Notice
the webbing between the fingers.

This was found in a box in the
storehouse of a Tokyo industrialist

about 80 years ago.

It was then donated to this temple
where Kappa are venerated.

The Kappa worshiped here
are ones that help people.

They're the Kappa that are
very friendly towards humans.

These Kappa also grant
people's wishes.

Kappa are sacred beings here.

[Matt] Next time you're in Tokyo,
feel free to drop by Kappa Temple.

But just remember, if you want
to see the mummified hand,

you have to make
reservations in advance.

Now, at Buddhist temples,
it's customary to leave an offering

of some small change.

But since we're here
at Kappa Temple

it makes more sense to leave
the Kappa's favorite food.

Thanks for having me.

(whimsical theme music)

[Female Narrator]
Gegege no Kitaro

is a manga about Yokai that
has been extremely popular

since it first appeared
over 50 years ago.

The hero, Kitaro, a half-Yokai
with a strong sense of justice,

helps humans to tackle evil Yokai.

(Gegege no Kitaro anime intro)

[Female Narrator]
Gegege no Kitaro

was created by the manga artist
and Yokai expert, Shigeru Mizuki.

Today's flourishing Yokai culture
owes a huge debt to this man.

(Gegege no Kitaro anime intro)

[Narrator] Mizuki's hometown
of Sakaiminato in Tottori Prefecture

enjoys a thriving tourist business.

The statues of characters from
Gegege no Kitaro lining the streets

are a testament to how
widely loved his work is.

Mizuki has drawn over
2,000 Yokai in his career.

Most of them can be traced
to existing Yokai traditions.

For example, this Yokai sneaks up
behind you as you walk down

the road at night.

It's based on a legend
from (unclear).

Here's 250 year-old drawing
of Tenome, the eye in the palm.

Here is Mizuki's version
of the same Yokai.

Sometimes, Mizuki depicts Yokai
living like human beings,

eating in restaurants for example

or playing baseball.

His work made people feel
even closer to Yokai.

Mizuki started drawing Yokai
because of an experience he had

during the Second World War.

He was caught up in ferocious
fighting on an island in the Pacific.

Fortunately, he survived,
but he was forced to flee

into the jungle.

One night, as he walked
in the darkness,

he suddenly found himself
unable to move forward.

He felt as though a Yokai
was standing in his way,

a Yokai like a wall.

So he stopped walking and
laid down for the night.

When he woke up in the morning,
he found that he was just one step

from the edge of a cliff.

Mizuki believed that a Yokai
had saved his life.

[Female Narrator] The diverse
Yokai that Mizuki has drawn

over the years tap into the same
sense of awe and wonder

felt by the people of ancient Japan.

[Peter] A lot of those natural
phenomena, weird phenomena

that would have inspired people
like Mizuki and others as well

of course, now being
explained scientifically,

so does that now get rid of
the need for Yokai?

[Komatsu English Voiceover]
These days, Yokai are no longer

needed to explain the natural world,

the mysteries of natural
phenomena.

We don't have that belief anymore;
however, I believe that Yokai

as a form of entertainment,
as a product of the imagination

have always played
an important role.

We infuse Yokai with a certain
kind of message for humanity,

and we read that
from Yokai stories.

They still matter to
the people of Japan.

[Peter] I suspect there's some kind
of a psychological need

for these sort of fantasy creatures.

And not just in Japan
anymore, either.

Recently, I mean, there's
enormous popularity of things like

Harry Potter for example,

or the Tolkien books.
Lord of the Rings go back

quite a long way,

but the film version of those
were again enormously popular.

Those do connect quite
well to the world of Yokai,

and, I suspect--

I mean, the period we're
living in now is very materialistic.

It gets to the point
where everything

has to be scientifically provable
for people to admit that it exists at all.

On the other hand, there is
definitely a world which

isn't visible to us.

Whether you believe in it or not...

You know, people have
different opinions, I know,

but somehow to me, things like
the films I've mentioned

plus, I mean, things like Toy Story.

We were talking earlier on about
implements and tools

and things that have been
discarded and then come back

to haunt their previous owner.

And things like Toy Story are
rather a cute version of that

in Western form as well.

So it's interesting how it
all seems to link together.

[Komatsu English Voiceover]
I believe that people really do

have a need for stories
with a rich element of fantasy.

[Peter] We're maintaining a sense-

(cross talking)

[Komatsu Voiceover]
Yes.

I don't think people will ever be
able to completely set that aside.

I think that's just part
of being a human.

[Peter] Thank you very much.
It's been a fascinating day.

[Komatsu English Voiceover]
Thank you.

(whimsical theme music ending)

[Female Narrator] Next time
on Japanology Plus:

the Shinkansen.

For fifty years, it's been the world's
safest, most reliable bullet train.

We explore its history
and its hidden secrets.