# Japan.je

> Japan.je is a free digital museum of Japanese culture, mythology and folklore, published by the Mashiyu Foundation. It covers yokai and kami, the myths of the Kojiki and Nihon Shoki, festivals, samurai history, regional legends and Japanese aesthetics.

Editorial policy: every article is written from cited sources (Japanese dictionaries and encyclopedias such as the Nihon Kokugo Daijiten, Nipponica and Heibonsha via Kotobank; the Kokugakuin University Encyclopedia of Shinto; Nichibunken's Kaii-Yokai folklore database; translations of the Kojiki and Nihon Shoki; museum, library and government pages). Each page lists its sources. Where a popular claim has no early source, the page says so instead of repeating it, and where sources disagree both are given.

When you use this material, please cite the page URL. Full text of every page: https://japan.je/llms-full.txt

## Main pages

- [Yokai Encyclopedia](https://japan.je/yokai-encyclopedia.html): What are yokai? An illustrated, sourced list of 49 Japanese yokai and kami: the types, what each name means and where every legend comes from, from Kitsune to Kappa.
- [Types of Yokai](https://japan.je/types-of-yokai.html): A sourced guide to the types of yokai: animal shape-shifters, oni, ghosts, water and mountain yokai, haunted objects, dragons and modern legends.
- [Japanese Gods](https://japan.je/japanese-gods.html): A sourced guide to Japanese gods, the kami: creators Izanagi and Izanami, Amaterasu, Susanoo, Raijin, Inari, the Seven Lucky Gods and more.
- [Japanese Mythology: the Kojiki Chronicles](https://japan.je/kojiki-chronicles.html): Japanese mythology from Japan's oldest chronicles, the Kojiki and Nihon Shoki: creation, the sun goddess, Susanoo's serpent and the sea god, retold from the sources.
- [Japanese Festivals](https://japan.je/festivals.html): A guide to Japanese festivals (matsuri) and traditions through the year: hanami, Gion, Obon, Setsubun and more, with what each one celebrates and where it comes from.
- [Samurai & Bushido](https://japan.je/samurai-culture.html): Who were the samurai and what was bushido? A sourced history of Japan's warrior class, from its rise to the Meiji abolition, with swordsmen, arms and ideals.
- [Regional Legends](https://japan.je/regional-legends.html): Japanese myths and legends by region: Izumo in Shimane, the sacred Kii mountains of Kumano, the warrior lands of Kanto and the places where the stories are set.
- [Art & Aesthetics](https://japan.je/art-aesthetics.html): What is wabi-sabi? What does mono no aware mean? A sourced guide to Japanese aesthetics: ma, yūgen, kintsugi, tea, gardens, ukiyo-e and manga.
- [About Japan.je: publisher, sourcing, AI use and corrections](https://japan.je/about.html): Japan.je is a free, nonprofit museum of Japanese culture and folklore from the Mashiyu Foundation USA. How we source, fact-check, use AI and correct errors.

## Yokai and kami (one full, sourced article each)

- [Ryujin (龍神): Japanese Dragon God of the Sea](https://japan.je/yokai/ryujin.html): The dragon god of water and the sea, who brings rain and rules the waves. Ryujin lives in the Dragon Palace (Ryugu-jo) beneath the sea and owns the jewels that raise and lower the tides.
- [Susanoo (須佐之男命): Storm God of Japanese Myth](https://japan.je/yokai/susanoo.html): The tempestuous younger brother of the sun goddess Amaterasu. Known for his wild behaviour, he was banished from heaven, then in Izumo slew the eight-headed serpent Yamata no Orochi and found the sacred sword Kusanagi.
- [Amaterasu (天照大御神): Japanese Sun Goddess](https://japan.je/yokai/amaterasu.html): The sun goddess and the highest deity in the myths of the Kojiki and Nihon Shoki. Born from Izanagi's left eye in the Kojiki's telling, she rules the heavens and is the divine ancestor of the Japanese imperial family. When her brother Susanoo's outrages drove her to hide in a cave, the world was plunged into darkness.
- [Raijin (雷神): Japanese God of Thunder](https://japan.je/yokai/raijin.html): The god of lightning, thunder, and storms. Depicted as a fearsome demon-like figure surrounded by drums that he beats to create thunder. Often paired with Fujin, the wind god, as at Kyoto's Sanjusangendo temple.
- [Inari (稲荷): Japanese Kami of Rice and Prosperity](https://japan.je/yokai/inari.html): The kami of rice, agriculture, foxes, fertility, and prosperity. Inari has no single fixed form — pictured as an old man carrying rice, or at Buddhist temples as a deity riding a white fox — and is served by fox messengers (kitsune). One of the most widely worshipped deities in Japan with thousands of shrines.
- [Yamata no Orochi (八岐大蛇): Eight-Headed Serpent of Japanese Myth](https://japan.je/yokai/yamata-no-orochi.html): A legendary eight-headed and eight-tailed dragon serpent of enormous size. Its body stretched across eight valleys and eight hills, and it was so massive that moss, cypress and cedar grew on its back. Slain by Susanoo to save Kushinada-hime.
- [Nue (鵺): Chimera Yokai of Japanese Legend](https://japan.je/yokai/nue.html): A chimera-like yokai with the head of a monkey, body of a tanuki, legs of a tiger, and a snake for a tail. Its eerie cry sounds like the scream of a thrush bird and is considered an omen of misfortune and illness.
- [Gashadokuro (がしゃどくろ): Giant Skeleton Yokai](https://japan.je/yokai/gashadokuro.html): Giant skeletal spirits formed from the bones of people who died of starvation or in battle without proper burial. Towering many times taller than a human, they roam at night seeking to bite off the heads of travelers.
- [Yatagarasu (八咫烏): Three-Legged Crow of Japanese Myth](https://japan.je/yokai/yatagarasu.html): The great crow sent from heaven to guide Emperor Jimmu's army through the mountains from Kumano into Yamato, later pictured with three legs. A divine messenger and symbol of guidance, now used as the symbol of the Japan Football Association.
- [Nekomata (猫又): Forked-Tail Cat Yokai](https://japan.je/yokai/nekomata.html): Cat yokai with forked tails that have lived so long they gained supernatural powers. They can shapeshift into humans and speak, and folk belief held that a cat passing over a corpse could make the body move. Often depicted as vengeful.
- [Ushi-oni (牛鬼): Ox-Demon Yokai of Western Japan](https://japan.je/yokai/ushi-oni.html): An ox-demon of western Japan's coasts, river pools and waterfalls. Descriptions vary: an ox's head on a demon's body in old texts, a demon's head on an ox's body in many local legends. Most tales make it a killer of fishermen and travellers.
- [Kitsune (狐): Japanese Fox Spirit in Folklore](https://japan.je/yokai/kitsune.html): Fox spirits renowned for their intelligence, magical abilities, and shape-shifting powers. They can transform into beautiful women and are associated with Inari, the Shinto deity of rice and prosperity.
- [Kappa (河童): Japanese River Yokai](https://japan.je/yokai/kappa.html): Water-dwelling creatures resembling humanoid turtles with a water-filled dish on their heads. Known for their love of cucumbers and their dangerous habit of challenging humans to wrestling matches or pulling victims underwater.
- [Tengu (天狗): Mountain Goblin Yokai of Japan](https://japan.je/yokai/tengu.html): Mountain-dwelling supernatural beings with both avian and human characteristics. They possess great martial skill and magical powers, and are depicted either red-faced with long noses or with the beak of a crow.
- [Tanuki (狸): Shape-Shifting Raccoon Dog of Folklore](https://japan.je/yokai/tanuki.html): Raccoon dog yokai famous for their jovial nature, shape-shifting abilities, and prominent anatomy. They are often depicted as playful tricksters who use disguises and illusions to fool humans.
- [Yurei (幽霊): Japanese Ghosts](https://japan.je/yokai/yurei.html): Ghosts of the deceased who remain in the physical world due to powerful emotions or unfinished business. Typically appear in white burial kimono with long, disheveled black hair and no feet.
- [Oni (鬼): Japanese Demons and Ogres](https://japan.je/yokai/oni.html): Fearsome demon-like beings with horns, sharp claws, and wild hair. They carry iron clubs and are known for their immense strength and cruel nature. Often depicted with red or blue skin.
- [Tsukumogami (付喪神): Household Objects That Come Alive](https://japan.je/yokai/tsukumogami.html): Objects that have acquired spirits after existing for 100 years. They can be tools, household items, or musical instruments that come to life, sometimes benign, sometimes vengeful.
- [Yuki-onna (雪女): Snow Woman of Japanese Legend](https://japan.je/yokai/yuki-onna.html): A beautiful woman appearing during snowstorms, with pale skin and long black hair. She can freeze victims with her breath or touch and is associated with death by exposure in snowy mountains.
- [Noppera-bo (のっぺらぼう): Faceless Ghost of Japanese Folklore](https://japan.je/yokai/noppera-bo.html): Faceless ghosts that appear as normal humans until they reveal their blank, featureless faces. They enjoy frightening travelers at night but are generally harmless.
- [Jorogumo (絡新婦): Spider-Woman Yokai](https://japan.je/yokai/jorogumo.html): Spider yokai that can transform into a beautiful woman to seduce men. After luring victims, she binds them in her spider silk and devours them. Edo-period tales such as the Taihei Hyakumonogatari tell of spider-women luring travellers to lonely houses and waterfalls.
- [Rokurokubi (轆轤首): Long-Necked Yokai](https://japan.je/yokai/rokurokubi.html): People who appear normal during the day but whose necks stretch to incredible lengths at night. A related type, the nukekubi, can detach its head entirely and send it flying through the night.
- [Baku (獏): Dream-Eating Beast of Japanese Folklore](https://japan.je/yokai/baku.html): A dream-eating beast with an elephant's trunk, a rhinoceros's eyes, an ox's tail and a tiger's feet on a bear-like body. In Japan it devours nightmares and is a benevolent charm that protects sleepers from bad dreams.
- [Kuchisake-onna (口裂け女): Slit-Mouthed Woman Legend](https://japan.je/yokai/kuchisake-onna.html): A tall woman in a surgical mask who stops a lone child on the way home and asks, "Am I pretty?" Whatever the answer, the mask comes down to reveal a mouth slashed from ear to ear, and the question is asked again. Folk wisdom offers escape routes: call her "average", toss her candy, or mutter "pomade" three times.
- [Hannya (般若): The Noh Demon Mask and Its Meaning](https://japan.je/yokai/hannya.html): The horned, grimacing face of a woman consumed by jealousy, best known as a Noh theatre mask. Gold-rimmed eyes glare with fury while the brow seems to grieve, so that rage and sorrow share a single face. On stage the mask marks the moment a wronged woman becomes a demon.
- [Bakeneko (化け猫): Japanese Monster Cat](https://japan.je/yokai/bakeneko.html): An ordinary house cat that has lived too long or tasted something it shouldn't, and quietly become a monster. Bakeneko can walk on their hind legs, speak, take human form, and are said to lick lamp oil in the night. Some simply play tricks; others devour their owners and take their place.
- [Hanako-san (トイレの花子さん): Ghost of the School Toilet](https://japan.je/yokai/hanako-san.html): The ghost of a girl who haunts a school toilet, usually the third stall of a girls' bathroom on the third floor. Knock three times, ask "Hanako-san, are you there?", and a small voice may answer. In some versions a hand pulls you in; in others she is lonely, even kindly.
- [Tamamo-no-Mae (玉藻前): Nine-Tailed Fox Legend](https://japan.je/yokai/tamamo-no-mae.html): A courtesan of dazzling beauty and learning who won the heart of a retired emperor, then was unmasked as a fox spirit with nine tails. Driven from the capital, she was hunted down on the plain of Nasu, where her body became a poisonous boulder that killed anything that touched it.
- [Shuten-doji (酒呑童子): Oni King of Ōeyama](https://japan.je/yokai/shuten-doji.html): The king of the oni, a giant red demon with a taste for sake and for the young women he carried off from Kyoto to his mountain fortress. The warrior Minamoto no Raikō and his companions reached him disguised as mountain priests, drugged him with magic wine and struck off his head.
- [Umibozu (海坊主): Sea Monk Yokai of Japanese Folklore](https://japan.je/yokai/umibozu.html): A vast, black, shaven-headed shape that rises out of a calm sea at night and towers over a boat. Sometimes it simply capsizes the vessel; sometimes it asks for a ladle and starts filling the boat with seawater. The trick, sailors said, is to hand over a ladle with the bottom knocked out.
- [Seven Lucky Gods (七福神): Shichifukujin of Japan](https://japan.je/yokai/seven-lucky-gods.html): A cheerful crew of seven deities of good fortune - Ebisu, Daikokuten, Bishamonten, Benzaiten, Fukurokuju, Jurōjin and Hotei - often shown sailing together on a treasure ship. Each has a speciality, from fishing and trade to music, wealth, longevity and contentment.
- [Raiju (雷獣): Thunder Beast of Japanese Folklore](https://japan.je/yokai/raiju.html): The 'thunder beast', a small, fierce animal said to fall from the sky with lightning bolts and leave claw marks on trees and buildings. Descriptions vary widely - a wolf-like creature crackling with electricity, a cat, a weasel - and Edo-period writers recorded live 'raijū' shown in cages and even stuffed specimens.
- [Kodama (木霊): Japanese Tree Spirits](https://japan.je/yokai/kodama.html): The spirit that dwells in an old tree. Fell such a tree, and misfortune may follow - which is why ancient trees are often bound with sacred straw rope. The word kodama also means 'echo', the voice that seems to answer back from the forest.
- [Nure-onna (濡女): Wet Woman Sea Yokai](https://japan.je/yokai/nure-onna.html): A creature with a woman's head and the long body of a great snake, her hair always streaming wet. She appears by the sea and rivers; in western Japan she is paired with the ox-demon ushi-oni.
- [Fujin (風神): Japanese God of Wind](https://japan.je/yokai/fujin.html): The god of wind, a wild green figure who carries a great bag of air over his shoulders and lets the gales loose across the sky. He is almost always shown alongside his partner Raijin, the thunder god.
- [Zashiki-warashi (座敷童子): Child Spirit of Good Fortune](https://japan.je/yokai/zashiki-warashi.html): A child spirit, often with a bobbed haircut and a red face, who lives in the inner rooms of an old house. It plays small pranks - footsteps at night, a pillow moved - and as long as it stays, the household prospers. When it leaves, ruin follows.
- [Futakuchi-onna (二口女): Two-Mouthed Woman Yokai](https://japan.je/yokai/futakuchi-onna.html): A woman who seems to eat almost nothing, yet hides a second, ravenous mouth in the back of her skull beneath her hair. In the illustrations her hair snakes out to feed it; in the 1841 text the wound speaks and demands food.
- [Kamaitachi (鎌鼬): Sickle Weasel Yokai](https://japan.je/yokai/kamaitachi.html): A weasel with sickle-sharp claws that rides on whirlwinds and slices the legs of passers-by. The cuts are deep but strangely painless and bloodless. A popular modern retelling has three weasels working as a team; the older Hida tradition speaks of three gods.
- [Ningyo (人魚): Japanese Mermaid](https://japan.je/yokai/ningyo.html): Japan's 'human-fish' is no glamorous mermaid: older accounts describe a fish with a human or monkey-like face, sometimes with a child's cry. Catching one could bring storms or disaster, but eating its flesh was said to grant extraordinary long life.
- [Tsuchigumo (土蜘蛛): Earth Spider of Japanese Legend](https://japan.je/yokai/tsuchigumo.html): A gigantic earth spider that lurks in caves and ruined mansions, spinning illusions and webs of sickness. In the most famous tale it creeps to the bedside of the ailing warrior Minamoto no Raikō, who wounds it with his sword before it is tracked to its lair and slain.
- [Kasa-obake (傘おばけ): Umbrella Yokai](https://japan.je/yokai/kasa-obake.html): An old paper umbrella that has sprung to life, hopping about on a single leg, usually pictured today with one big eye and a long lolling tongue. It is more likely to startle and amuse than to harm.
- [Yamauba (山姥): Mountain Witch of Japanese Folklore](https://japan.je/yokai/yamauba.html): The old woman of the mountains, with wild white hair and a hungry mouth, who offers lost travellers shelter and then tries to eat them. Yet she can also be generous - rewarding the kind, helping in childbirth, and raising the strong boy Kintarō.
- [Namazu (鯰): Earthquake Catfish of Japanese Folklore](https://japan.je/yokai/namazu.html): A gigantic catfish living in the mud beneath Japan, whose thrashing causes earthquakes. The god of Kashima Shrine keeps it pinned with a great 'keystone' rock - and when his attention slips, the ground shakes.
- [Inugami (犬神): Dog Spirit of Japanese Folklore](https://japan.je/yokai/inugami.html): A dog spirit that can be sent to possess people and bring sickness, pain or madness. Inugami were believed to be held by certain families, passed down the generations, and to act on their owners' resentments even unbidden.
- [Amabie (アマビエ): Plague-Prophecy Yokai](https://japan.je/yokai/amabie.html): A sea creature with long hair, a beak-like mouth, a scaly body and three fin-like legs, which appeared where a light had been seen in the sea and delivered a prophecy: years of good harvests, then an epidemic. Its advice was simple - copy my picture and show it to people.
- [Daidarabotchi (ダイダラボッチ): Giant of Japanese Legend](https://japan.je/yokai/daidarabotchi.html): A giant so huge that its footprints became ponds and its handfuls of earth became mountains. In local legend it carried peaks on its back, scooped out lakes, and left hollows across the countryside where it once stepped.
- [Nurarihyon (滑瓢): Slippery Old Man Yokai](https://japan.je/yokai/nurarihyon.html): An elderly gentleman with a strangely long, bald head, dressed in fine robes. In modern accounts he walks into other people's homes uninvited and helps himself to their tea as if he owned the place. Nobody quite notices him - and nobody can catch him.
- [Akaname (垢嘗): Grime-Licking Bathhouse Yokai](https://japan.je/yokai/akaname.html): A wild-haired, clawed creature with a long tongue, pictured by Toriyama Sekien beside a bathhouse. An earlier text says it is born from built-up grime in old bathhouses and lives by licking it. It does no harm, but nobody wants to find it there.
- [Kiyohime (清姫): Serpent Woman of the Dōjōji Legend](https://japan.je/yokai/kiyohime.html): A woman (a widow in the earliest version) whose love for a travelling monk turned to fury when he broke his promise and fled. She became a great serpent - in later versions breathing fire and swimming the Hidaka River - and coiled around the temple bell in which he hid until he burned to death inside.

## Japanese mythology: stories from the Kojiki and Nihon Shoki

- [Amaterasu and the Heavenly Rock Cave](https://japan.je/kojiki/amaterasu-cave.html): When Susanoo's outrages drive the sun goddess into Ama-no-Iwato, the gods lure her out with a mirror, jewels and Ame-no-Uzume's dance. From the Kojiki.
- [Izanagi and Izanami: Japan's Creation Myth](https://japan.je/kojiki/izanagi-and-izanami.html): Izanagi and Izanami stir the sea to make Onogoro, bear the islands of Japan, and part forever at the gate of Yomi. Retold from the Kojiki, with sources.
- [Ōkuninushi: White Hare of Inaba to Izumo Taisha](https://japan.je/kojiki/okuninushi.html): Ōkuninushi heals the White Hare, survives his brothers, outwits Susanoo, builds the land and yields it to heaven — the Kojiki myth behind Izumo Taisha.
- [Ryujin's Palace: Hoori and the Sea God Watatsumi](https://japan.je/kojiki/ryujin-palace.html): Hoori loses his brother's fishhook and finds the sea god Watatsumi's palace, the tide jewels and Toyotama-hime, as told in the Kojiki.
- [Tsukuyomi and Ukemochi: Why Sun and Moon Part](https://japan.je/kojiki/tsukuyomi.html): The moon god Tsukuyomi slays the food goddess Ukemochi and Amaterasu vows never to see him again — a Nihon Shoki myth, and the Kojiki's other version.
- [Yamata no Orochi: Susanoo and the Serpent](https://japan.je/kojiki/yamata-no-orochi.html): Susanoo slays the eight-headed serpent of Izumo with eightfold sake, saves Kushinada-hime and finds the Kusanagi sword. Retold from the Kojiki.

## Optional

- [Full text of all pages](https://japan.je/llms-full.txt): every article, exhibit and story with sources
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