Demon of Painting: The Art of Kawanabe Kyosai (1963)
Recently, I’ve been binge-watching an anime show called Natsume Yuujinchou, or Natsume’s Book of Friends. The Book of Friends belonged to Natsume’s grandmother, and it contains the names of supernatural beings whom she had brought under control. The show follows Natsume as he frees the spirits bound by his grandmother’s contract. As the story progresses, he meets yokai of all sorts- from the friendly ones to the creepy ones, and to the sad ones. Running for 6 seasons, plus a movie, OVAs and specials, clearly this show is a favourite.
As a matter of fact, Natsume Yuujinchou is one of the results of Japan’s long-standing yokai culture. The word yokai is a broad term that covers everything from cute shape-shifters to scary demons. These supernatural beings are prevalently featured in Japanese culture; from classic literature to contemporary manga and anime series.
Yokai in pop culture are often portrayed as quirky, anthropomorphic creatures, so often times outsiders mistake them for cute mascots. Take the example of Amabie, which has been trending since the spread of Covid-19. Amabie is said to have appeared in the Kumamoto Prefecture in the late Edo Period. At that time, cholera epidemics were rampant in Japan. The creature Amabie appeared to the people and it instructed them to disseminate copies of its image to defend against illness. This story was almost forgotten and would have remained so if not for Covid-19. Amabie gained popularity again, not just as a mascot, but as a charm for protection against COVID19. The mermaid-like creature can be found on masks, keychains, water bottles and even sweets. You can say that it went ‘viral’ against the virus.
The stories of yokai date thousands of years back, tied closely to the belief of Shintoism. This belief centres around kami, which are spirits believed to reside in natural things. They live in just about everything around you, in the trees, the wind and even the pebble in your shoe. The kami are worshipped at Shinto shrines which are found all over Japan. Shinto shrines can often be identified by the red torii, a gate that marks the boundary between the sacred space (the sanctuary for kami) and ordinary space. If you’ve been to Japan before, you’ve probably seen at least one of them on your trip.
History also ties Yokai’s origins to Taoist philosophy, which says that the same entity can have two faces, the yin and yang. When this idea came to Japan, it was assumed that kami had both peaceful (nigi) aspects and angry aspects (arami). Applying this idea, kami could turn into yokai if not respected and worshipped properly. This is why strange and inexplicable happenings were often attributed to the yokai. In fact, the word yokai itself means uncanny or eerie, referring to strange sounds, mysterious creatures and ghosts.
In modern times, the influence of religion waned and yokai stories have been simplified. Be that as it may, it’s clear that the yokai will never completely disappear from Japanese culture. As long as the awe and wonder of yokai live in the minds of people, they will continue to exist.
Hartwick is a content writer under Headliner by Newswav, a programme where content creators get to tell their unique stories through articles and at the same time monetize their content within the Newswav app.
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