To the Japanese, yokai are mysterious phenomena and weird creatures that have inhabited the country’s landscape, homes, folklore and imagination for many centuries. They can be evil or benign spirits, ranging from shape-shifting animals like foxes and badgers, who adopt human form to trick, bewitch or reward humans, to the vengeful ghosts of warriors killed in battle or women wronged by their husbands.
Yōkai can also be supernatural creatures from folklore like kappa (river imps that pull people and horses into the water), oni (demons that cause devastation, storms and plagues), and even objects like umbrellas and lanterns that mysteriously come to life.
In conjunction with Japan Foundation's Yokai video series on Doors to the Arts of Japan, Japanese art historian Meher McArthur will introduce this fascinating and often terrifying aspect of Japanese culture, using woodblock prints from the collection of Scripps College in Claremont.
The details of the lecture series:
www.jflalc.org...
More Yokai Stories? Check our video series: Doors to Arts of Japan
• 日本の妖怪/Japanese Yokai
Негізгі бет Online Lecture Series 1: YOKAI: An Introduction to the Supernatural Beings of Japan
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