In a collaboration with Tokyo Survival Channel, I created a yokai themed haunted house! You can watch the videos about my process below, or check out my article on Tokyo Survival Channel’s site directly here!
About Marie Kitsunebi
7 Yokai You Can Find in Your House!
It’s summer here in Japan, so that means I’m fighting a constant battle against almost supernaturally powerful mold. But did you know that there is an actual mold yokai? And a bunch of other sneaky creatures that could be crawling around your house, hiding in the walls and floorboards. Along with the even more terrifying…
Cat Yokai! All 5 Kinds of Supernatural Cats from Japanese Folklore
Kaibyo is the general term for supernatural cat yokai. The first character is the kai from yokai, which means strange, or scary, the second character, byo is just another pronunciation for the character of neko, or cat. So Kaibyo translates to strange cats. Although to be honest, I feel like this just describes most cats!…
The Amabie and 11 Others — All Yokai with Disease-Preventing Legends!
You’re probably already familiar with the amabie (pronounced amabié). Because of old legends about its image being able to prevent epidemics, this lucky yokai has been making the rounds on social media, and even on national television here in Japan. It’s the most media attention a yokai has gotten in a while! But there are…
Inugami: The Dog Yokai
Inugami are one of the more tragic yokai. Malicious onmyoji perform a terrible ritual to bring these loyal dog servants into being. The Meaning Behind its Name Kanji: 犬神, the first character 犬 means dog, while 神 the second, kami, means god, so the direct translation of this yokai’s name would be dog-god. Another way…
Kiyohime: The Snake-Woman Yokai
Kiyohime is one of those rare yokai who started off as a human, but whose emotions ran so deep, she ended up transforming into something much more monstrous… You can read her story of love and vengeance below! The Meaning Behind her Name Kanji: 清姫 , the first character 清 means pure, or clear, the…
Broken Images
Once there lived two brothers who were princes in the land. The elder brother was a hunter. He loved the deep woods and the chase. He went from dawn to dark with his bow and his arrows. Swiftly he could run; he was strong and bright-eyed. The younger brother was a dreamer; his eyes were…
Karma
The young man, Ito Tatewaki, was returning homeward after a journey which he had taken to the city of Kioto. He made his way alone and on foot, and he went with his eyes bent upon the ground, for cares weighed him down and his mind was full of the business which had taken him…
The Moon Maiden
There was an old bamboo cutter called Také Tori. He was an honest old man, very poor and hard-working, and he lived with his good old wife in a cottage on the hills. Children they had none, and little comfort in their old age, poor souls. Také Tori rose early upon a summer morning, and…
Hana-Saka-Jiji
In the early days there lived a good old couple. All their lives long they had been honest and hard-working, but they had always been poor. Now in their old age it was all they could do to make both ends meet, the poor old creatures. But they did not complain, not a bit of…
The Beautiful Dancer of Yedo
This is the tale of Sakura-ko, Flower of the Cherry, who was the beautiful dancer of Yedo. She was a geisha, born a samurai’s daughter, that sold herself into bondage after her father died, so that her mother might have food to eat. Ah, the pity of it! The money that bought her was called Namida no Kané, that…
The Nurse
Idé the samurai was wedded to a fair wife and had an only child, a boy called Fugiwaka. Idé was a mighty man of war, and as often as not he was away from home upon the business of his liege lord. So the child Fugiwaka was reared by his mother and by the faithful woman, his…
The Tongue-Cut Sparrow
Once upon a time there was an old man who lived all alone. And there was an old woman who lived all alone. The old man was merry and kind and gentle, with a good word and a smile for all the world. The old woman was sour and sad, as cross a patch as…
The Story of Momotaro
If you’ll believe me there was a time when the fairies were none so shy as they are now. That was the time when beasts talked to men, when there were spells and enchantments and magic every day, when there was great store of hidden treasure to be dug up, and adventures for the asking….
The Story of Urashima
Urashima was a fisherman of the Inland Sea. Every night he plied his trade. He caught fishes both great and small, being upon the sea through the long hours of darkness. Thus he made his living. Upon a certain night the moon shone brightly, making plain the paths of the sea. And Urashima kneeled in…
The Jelly-Fish Takes a Journey
Once upon a time the jelly-fish was a very handsome fellow. His form was beautiful, and round as the full moon. He had glittering scales and fins and a tail as other fishes have, but he had more than these. He had little feet as well, so that he could walk upon the land as…
The Matsuyama Mirror
A long, long time ago there lived in a quiet spot a young man and his wife. They had one child, a little daughter, whom they both loved with all their hearts. I cannot tell you their names, for they have long since been forgotten; but the name of the place where they lived was…
The Strange Story of the Golden Comb
In ancient days two samurai dwelt in Sendai of the North. They were friends and brothers in arms. Hasunuma one was named, and the other Saito. Now it happened that a daughter was born to the house of Hasunuma, and upon the selfsame day, and in the selfsame hour, there was born to the house of Saito…
The Spring Lover and the Autumn Lover
This is a story of the youth of Yamato, when the gods still walked upon the Land of the Reed Plains and took pleasure in the fresh and waving rice-ears of the countryside. There was a lady having in her something of earth and something of heaven. She was a king’s daughter. She was augustly…
The Land of Yomi
Note: Yomi is where the souls of the dead go, in the Japanese religion Shintoism. It is similar to Hell or Hades. From the glorious clouds of High Heaven, from the divine ether, the vital essence, and the great concourse of eternal deities, there issued forth the heavenly pair—Izanagi, His Augustness, the Lord of Invitation,…
The Espousal of the Rat’s Daughter
Mr. Nedzumi, the Rat, was an important personage in the hamlet where he lived—at least he was so in his own and his wife’s estimation. This was in part, of course, due to the long line of ancestors from whom he was descended, and to their intimate association with the gods of Good Fortune. For,…
A Legend Of Kwannon
Note: The Goddess Kwannon is usually referred to by the name Kannon, you can read more about her in this article by the Japan Times In the days of the gods, Ama-no-Hashidate was the Floating Bridge of Heaven. By way of this bridge came the deities from heaven to earth, bearing their jewelled spears, their…
Byakko: The White Tiger Yokai
The Byakko isn’t just any tiger, it’s the Celestial Tiger of the West, King of the Beasts, and a supernatural being dwelling in the heavens. The Meaning Behind the Name Kanji: 白虎, meaning White Tiger. Japanese pronunciation: びゃっこ, or Byakko. Chinese pronunciation: Bái Hǔ. Also known as 西方白虎, The White Tiger of the West (pronounced…
Akaname: The Toilet-Licking Yokai
Sometimes yokai are terrifying monsters, sometimes yokai are otherworldly nature spirits, and sometimes…. they’re the akaname. A toilet licking yokai with a tongue twice as long as it’s body, the akaname is one of the most comedic creatures to have ever graced the pages of Japanese folklore. The Meaning Behind the Name Kanji: 垢嘗: “垢”…
Abe No Seimei: The Japanese Merlin
Abe no Seimei (安倍 晴明) was the greatest onmyoji (Japanese wizard) to ever have lived. Much like Merlin, although he was once a real person, his life is surrounded by fascinating tales of his supernatural abilities! Onmyoji: Japanese Wizards The word onymoji directly translates to “those who study yin and yang”, they are those who…
The Sad Story of the Yaoya’s Daughter
There was a wandering ballad-singer who came to a great house in Yedo where they wished to be entertained. “Will you have a dance or a song?” said the ballad-singer; “or shall I tell you a story?” The people of the house bade him tell a story. “Shall it be a tale of love or…
Tamamo, The Kitsune Maiden
A pedlar journeyed with his pack upon the great high-road which leads to the city of Kioto. He found a child sitting all alone by the wayside. “Well, my little girl,” he said, “and what make you all alone by the wayside?” “What do you,” said the child, “with a staff and a pack, and…
Raiju: The Thunder Beast Yokai
The Meaning Behind the Name Kanji:雷獣 (Raiju, meaning “Thunder Beast” or “Thunder Animal”) Hiragana: らいじゅう The Raiju’s Physical Appearance The Raiju is a divine beast intimately connected with lightning and thunder. Beyond that basic fact, Raiju are one of the most difficult yokai to definitively describe. There are many, many Raiju legends, but this actually…
The Cold Lady
This is one of of many stories featuring the yokai Yuki-onna, or Snow Woman, a kind of supernatural snow spirit. Once an old man and a young man left their village in company, in order to make a journey into a distant province. Now, whether they went for pleasure or for profit, for matters of…
Jorōgumo: The Spider-Woman Yokai
The jorōgumo, part beautiful woman, part spider, is one of the most memorable yokai from Japanese folklore. This article covers everything you need to know to keep from getting caught in her web! 1. The Meaning Behind the Jorōgumo‘s Name Hiragana: じょろうぐも, which in English, is pronounced Jorogumo. Kanji: 絡新婦 ( meaning Entangling Bride) or…