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Devon here! To celebrate this spooky occasion, Kiru and I have written about some of our favourite Japanese yōkai (strange apparitions)! There's a huge amount of yōkai out there to learn about, so we hope our article can inspire you to discover even more~ Our first three are brought to you by Kiru! |
Kappa are river creatures that are around the size of a small child, with a scaley body, often pictured with a shell on its back like a turtle and a dish-like-dent or bowl on the top of its head filled with water. Kappas are mischievous and proud creatures, who are intelligent and very good at games! They are famous for their love of cucumbers and people often leave them at the edges of rivers as offerings.
Kappas can be seen in many different Anime and range from somewhat creepy river monsters to adorable duck like critters. A famous character who looks suspiciously like a Kappa is Penguin(?) from Sumikko Gurashi, who looks like a Kappa but appears to have lots his head-dish and in turn, his sense of identity. How sad! Another cute Kappa is Chibi from the anime ‘Kakuriyo: Bed and Breakfast for Spirits’ and they can also be seen in ‘Natsume's Book of Friends’ in a more humanoid form. |
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Tanuki are Japanese racoon dogs, they are small, plump, and fluffy but don’t be fooled, they have sharp teeth! They have black fur around their eyes which makes them look like a little bandit, similar to American Racoons.
Originally Tanuki were revered as gods however over time they became lesser forest spirits who have a reputation for being pranksters. They are gifted with both magic and mischief and are known to be shape shifters. They can teleport people and place small curses, they generally use rhymes to draw people into their games. You can see statues of Tanuki around Japan, which are often symbols of good luck!
PomPoko is a famous Studio Ghibli film entirely based around Tanuki and their struggles in the modern world. Another very famous Tanuki is Tom Nook from Animal Crossing, who is often trying to trick you into paying him more money! |
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Tsukumogami which means ‘tool spirit’ is an umbrella term for a type of Japanese Yōkai who are inanimate objects that overtime acquire a soul and become ‘alive’. They can come in all shapes and forms and are often harmless but do occasionally play pranks and tricks on people. If they group up, they can take revenge on those who threw them away thoughtlessly, so sometimes rituals are performed in shrines for unusable or broken objects to make peace before they are discarded.
Who's that Pokémon!? Did you know that there are lots of Pokémon possibly based on Tsukumogami such as Voltorb, Klefki, Trubbish, Chandelure and more! Another character who is also undoubtedly inspired by Tsukumogami is Senketsu from Kill La Kill~ And lastly a fun bonus idea from western story telling: We're not entirely sure they count as they are cursed, but what do you think? The talking household items in Beauty and the Beast! |
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Have you ever encountered unexplained, floating orbs of ghostly energy? Maybe you’ve seen onibi! They’re thought to be spirits born from intense grudges, malice, or from humans and creatures who have passed, but with many differing theories its hard to define exactly what they may be. There’s many kinds of onibi appearing in different areas of Japan, found in grasslands, forests, graveyards and by bodies of water. These firey apparitions may look beautiful, but if you get too close you’ll end up feeling drained, as life energy is their favourite snack! If you ever spot glowing lanterns in the forest at night, think twice before heading their way~
Onibi can be seen in lots of Japanese media, but my favourite is Wisp from Animal Crossing! Appearing on your island at night, Wisp asks for your help catching the lost pieces of his spirit in exchange for a reward. Thankfully, catching the onibi-like orbs in your net won’t drain your life energy!
Another example is Hanako-kun from the anime ‘Toilet-Bound Hanako-kun’, who has something similar to onibi floating around him. These are more like hitodama, which are the souls of those passed that have been separated from their body, rather than something independent that’s been born like onibi. This anime (and manga) is based on a Japanese urban legend about the spirit of a young girl named Hanako-san who haunts school toilets, we recommend giving it a watch! |
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| We hope you enjoyed this look into a few of our favourite yōkai! There's many Japanese urban legends too scary for today, so if you're looking for a spook we definitely recommend having a look online as there's lots of interesting things to read. Don't forget to react to earn Tomodachi Points and check back soon for more fun articles from us~ Happy Halloween from all of Team Tofu! |
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Devon here! To celebrate this spooky occasion, Kiru and I have written about some of our favourite Japanese yōkai (strange apparitions)! There's a huge amount of yōkai out there to learn about, so we hope our article can inspire you to discover even more~ Our first three are brought to you by Kiru! |
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Kappa are river creatures that are around the size of a small child, with a scaley body, often pictured with a shell on its back like a turtle and a dish-like-dent or bowl on the top of its head filled with water. Kappas are mischievous and proud creatures, who are intelligent and very good at games! They are famous for their love of cucumbers and people often leave them at the edges of rivers as offerings.
Kappas can be seen in many different Anime and range from somewhat creepy river monsters to adorable duck like critters. A famous character who looks suspiciously like a Kappa is Penguin(?) from Sumikko Gurashi, who looks like a Kappa but appears to have lots his head-dish and in turn, his sense of identity. How sad! Another cute Kappa is Chibi from the anime ‘Kakuriyo: Bed and Breakfast for Spirits’ and they can also be seen in ‘Natsume's Book of Friends’ in a more humanoid form. |
Tanuki are Japanese racoon dogs, they are small, plump, and fluffy but don’t be fooled, they have sharp teeth! They have black fur around their eyes which makes them look like a little bandit, similar to American Racoons.
Originally Tanuki were revered as gods however over time they became lesser forest spirits who have a reputation for being pranksters. They are gifted with both magic and mischief and are known to be shape shifters. They can teleport people and place small curses, they generally use rhymes to draw people into their games. You can see statues of Tanuki around Japan, which are often symbols of good luck!
PomPoko is a famous Studio Ghibli film entirely based around Tanuki and their struggles in the modern world. Another very famous Tanuki is Tom Nook from Animal Crossing, who is often trying to trick you into paying him more money! |
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Tsukumogami which means ‘tool spirit’ is an umbrella term for a type of Japanese Yōkai who are inanimate objects that overtime acquire a soul and become ‘alive’. They can come in all shapes and forms and are often harmless but do occasionally play pranks and tricks on people. If they group up, they can take revenge on those who threw them away thoughtlessly, so sometimes rituals are performed in shrines for unusable or broken objects to make peace before they are discarded.
Who's that Pokémon!? Did you know that there are lots of Pokémon possibly based on Tsukumogami such as Voltorb, Klefki, Trubbish, Chandelure and more! Another character who is also undoubtedly inspired by Tsukumogami is Senketsu from Kill La Kill~ And lastly a fun bonus idea from western story telling: We're not entirely sure they count as they are cursed, but what do you think? The talking household items in Beauty and the Beast! |
Have you ever encountered unexplained, floating orbs of ghostly energy? Maybe you’ve seen onibi! They’re thought to be spirits born from intense grudges, malice, or from humans and creatures who have passed, but with many differing theories its hard to define exactly what they may be. There’s many kinds of onibi appearing in different areas of Japan, found in grasslands, forests, graveyards and by bodies of water. These firey apparitions may look beautiful, but if you get too close you’ll end up feeling drained, as life energy is their favourite snack! If you ever spot glowing lanterns in the forest at night, think twice before heading their way~
Onibi can be seen in lots of Japanese media, but my favourite is Wisp from Animal Crossing! Appearing on your island at night, Wisp asks for your help catching the lost pieces of his spirit in exchange for a reward. Thankfully, catching the onibi-like orbs in your net won’t drain your life energy!
Another example is Hanako-kun from the anime ‘Toilet-Bound Hanako-kun’, who has something similar to onibi floating around him. These are more like hitodama, which are the souls of those passed that have been separated from their body, rather than something independent that’s been born like onibi. This anime (and manga) is based on a Japanese urban legend about the spirit of a young girl named Hanako-san who haunts school toilets, we recommend giving it a watch! |
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| We hope you enjoyed this look into a few of our favourite yōkai! There's many Japanese urban legends too scary for today, so if you're looking for a spook we definitely recommend having a look online as there's lots of interesting things to read. Don't forget to react to earn Tomodachi Points and check back soon for more fun articles from us~ Happy Halloween from all of Team Tofu! |
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