Yokai's (also called "Mononoke" or "Ayakashi") oldest records date from the 1st century. It was in a book that came from China called "The Spectre (Yokai) was in the imperial court for a long time. The King asked Tui for the reason. He answered that there was a great anxiety and he gave a recommendation to empty the imperial room" (a long name isn't it)
There were a few other statements in Houki 8, in The Pillow Book by Sei Shonagon as well as a statement by Murasaki Shikibu - "the Mononoke have become quite dreadful", in Koubo 3......
During the Edo period, some people began to question weather Yokai really existed - "It can be said that the so called Yokai in our society is a representation of our feelings that arise from fear" (by Masayoshi Kitao)
At that time books about Ayakashi became very popular and even shops called Kashi-Hon opened. Japanese people became very interested, especially when the Hyakumonogatari Kaidankai became popular. Many new Yokai appeared because there was a demand for the story tellers to tell about Yokai that were not yet known to society, there were cases where individuals invented new Yokai (Kasa-Obake, Toku Kozo...).
Mononoke were frequently depicted in ukiyo-e that famous artists like Utsugawa Kuniyoshi, Kawanabe Kyosai, Katsushiga Hokusai... drew.
Here are some famous Yokai (I do not own these pictures/Paintings/Drawings) :
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| Tengu |
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| Kappa |
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| Kutsune |
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| Umibozu |
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| Ho-o |
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| Yuki Onna |
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| Yurei |
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| Komainu
Do you Guys have a favorite Yokai?
You can leave a comment below.
If you found this helpful, please like and share :)
- Aoi chan ( ^ . ^ )/ ~
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