Yōkai : monsters in Japan – part 1

The nature of Yōkai

Yōkai are the traditional monsters of Japanese culture. They can appear as ethereal beings or have a physical form; in other words, both seeing a giant snake and a scary ghost would count as meeting one.

We usually divide these monsters in three main cathegories, depending on their appearence:

1.  human-shaped;
2.  animal-shaped;
3.  item-shaped.

The first two types are combined in some cases, as we’ll read later.

Most of the time, these creatures are harmful for humans and should be avoided at any cost. Thus don’t give into your curiosity and run away if you see one!

1. Kappa : an aquatic Yōkai

The Kappa is one of the most famous Yōkai.

It’s similar to a humanoid turtle with a strong beak and its range of colours goes from green to red.

It always lives very close to the water, in ponds or rivers and it is more active during the Summer and the Spring.

Very wild and dangerous for travellers and kids, it may try to drown and eat them. On the other hand, it’s very clever and it is able to learn human language: in some cases using it to lure its victims, while in others to help people.

Above all, it loves to eat cucumbers, consequently in the past, believers often offered them as a tribute in Shinto (a region in Japan).

The source of its power lies in a bowl carved in its skull, therefore the key to defeat the monster is to spill the water in it. An often-used trick is to bow down to him and, at that point, it will be forced to bow down himself.

2. Kenmun: Kappa of the trees

The Kenmun is another water spirit. It resembles a lot to a Kappa but it has a long fur and lives in the trees. Depending on the season, he prefers to stay close to the mountains or the ocean.

It’s rarely as violent as the Kappa but enjoys pranks and if provoked it could turn around the victims, either by stealing the souls or casting a course on them. It’s not rare for it to cooperate with humans in order to obtain a reward.

The Kijimunā of Okinawa is very similar to the Kenmun but it is way more friendly, to the point of living for brief times with human families and to cultivate lifelong friendships with them. In addition, it is less intimidating because it does not have the fur and resembles a small child.

Resources:

• Unknown. Yōkai. Wikipedia. Last consultation: 30th August 2021.
  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Y%C5%8Dkai 
• Unknown. Kappa. Yokai.com. Last consultation: 30th August 2021.
  https://yokai.com/kappa/
• Unknown. Kenmun. Yokai.com. Last consultation: 30th August 2021.
  https://yokai.com/kenmun/
• Unknown. Kijimunā. Yokai.com. Last consultation: 30th August 2021.
  https://yokai.com/kijimunaa/

Image Resources (in order of use):

• “Brighton Zombie Walk – Yōkai” by Dominic’s pics is licensed with CC BY 2.0. To view a copy of this license, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/
  https://search.creativecommons.org/photos/8cd138e5-9144-4988-9d45-1c1ec85cb75f
• “Yōkai & Asagao” by Silk Knoll is licensed with CC BY 2.0. To view a copy of this license, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/
  https://search.creativecommons.org/photos/fc050647-7e91-435b-ab4f-14aa498fbd76
• “Netsuke of a Kappa” is marked under CC0 1.0. To view the terms, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/cc0/1.0/
  https://search.creativecommons.org/photos/0b038f2a-d5ab-4db5-87c8-3844ae250e27
• Nagoya Sagenta (名越左源太時敏, Japanese, *1819, †1881), Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
  https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Sagenta_Kenmon.jpg