yokai
Supernatural Japanese creatures
Yokai are supernatural creatures from Japanese folklore—a broad category encompassing monsters, spirits, demons, and shapeshifters.
Unlike Western ghosts or demons, yokai range from malevolent to mischievous to benign: a kappa drowns swimmers, a tanuki tricks travelers, a zashiki-warashi brings household prosperity.
The term appears frequently in anime, manga, and video games: The game features dozens of yokai to collect.
Visible supernatural manifestation
- hauntingDisturbingly unforgettable
- specterGhostly threatening presence
- possessionState of owning
- curseInvoked harm through words
eerie · supernatural · uncanny · ominous · poltergeist · manifestation · otherworldly · paranormal
Thorough change in form
- disguiseIdentity-concealing alteration
- tricksterCunning deceiver in myth
- illusionMisleading sensory impression
- deceptionIntentional misleading of others
henge · mischief · possession · bewitchment · enchantment · metamorphosis · fox-fire · shapeshifter
Unverified traditional tale
- taleSpoken or written narrative
- folktaleTraditional narrative passed down
- loreTraditional knowledge transmitted orally
- traditionCustom passed through generations
storytelling · oral-history · bestiary · mythology · fable · chronicle
tengu
Japanese avian demon
apparition
Visible supernatural manifestation
- hauntingDisturbingly unforgettable
- specterGhostly threatening presence
- possessionState of owning
curse · eerie · supernatural · uncanny · ominous · poltergeist · manifestation · otherworldly · paranormal · spooky
transformation
Thorough change in form
- disguiseIdentity-concealing alteration
- tricksterCunning deceiver in myth
- illusionMisleading sensory impression
deception · henge · mischief · possession · bewitchment · enchantment · metamorphosis · fox-fire · shapeshifter · cunning
legend
Unverified traditional tale
- taleSpoken or written narrative
- folktaleTraditional narrative passed down
- loreTraditional knowledge transmitted orally
tradition · storytelling · oral-history · bestiary · mythology · fable · chronicle
kami
Shinto sacred spirits
- shrineSacred devotional place
- sacredWorthy of reverence
- purificationRemoval of contaminants
ritual · boundary · torii · animism · reverence · exorcism · divine
- mythical creaturesdragon, dragons, vampire, vampires, werewolf
- Evil Creaturesdemon, devil, fiend, monster, villain
- ghostsapparitions, ghosts, apparition, phantoms, specter
- Japanese folklorekitsune, tanuki, tengu, folktales, ghost stories
- Asian Folklorekitsune, tengu, folktales, fox spirits, nine-tailed fox
- Japanese figuressamurai, shogun, daimyo, geisha, ronin
yokaihuman
Homo sapiens individual
mortal · animal · natural phenomenon · commoner · peasant
yokaikami
Shinto sacred spirits
guardian spirit · protective spirit · bodhisattva · household god · buddha