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Folktales

Illustrated yokai folktales

Panel-art retellings from Japanese folklore. Each tale lives on its creature’s page.

222 illustrated stories

Maikubi

Maikubi

舞首

Yokai

In the depths of autumn, when night's veil shrouds the world in darkness, travelers on the mountain roads often speak of...

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Kyūketsuki

Kyūketsuki

吸血鬼

Yokai

In the mist-shrouded mountains of Kii Province, where the cedar forests whispered secrets to the wind, there lived a you...

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Kyūbi-no-kitsune

Kyūbi-no-kitsune

九尾の狐

Yokai

In a secluded valley nestled between two great mountains, there lived an elderly priest named Kaito. For years, he had t...

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Kyōkotsu

Kyōkotsu

狂骨

Yokai

In the depths of rural Shinshu, where misty valleys hid ancient secrets, there stood an abandoned well, its stone walls...

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Kurage-no-hinotama

Kurage-no-hinotama

クラゲの火の玉

Yokai

In the village of Akakawa, where the sea whispered secrets to the wind, there lived an old fisherman named Kaito. His ey...

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Kurabokko

Kurabokko

蔵ぼっこ

Yokai

In the misty dawn of spring, when cherry blossoms still clung to their branches, Taro's family prepared for the new harv...

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Kuda-gitsune

Kuda-gitsune

管狐

Yokai

In a mist-shrouded village nestled between two great mountains, there lived an elderly kitsune-tsukai named Kaito. His e...

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Kuchisake-onna

Kuchisake-onna

口裂け女

Yokai

In the fleeting summer breeze that rustled through the bamboo groves, whispers spread of a ghostly apparition seen lurki...

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Kosode-no-te

Kosode-no-te

小袖の手

Yokai

In the sleepy village of Yagumo, where cherry blossoms bloomed on the edge of town and the mountains whispered secrets t...

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Koropokkuru

Koropokkuru

コロポックル

Yokai

In the depths of the forest, where the sunlight filtering through the canopy above created dappled shadows on the forest...

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Konoha-tengu

Konoha-tengu

木の葉天狗

Yokai

Deep within the heart of Amanohashidate's ancient forest, where the whispering leaves and soft rustling of branches seem...

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Konaki-Jijii

Konaki-Jijii

子泣き爺

Yokai

In the depths of Awa Province's ancient forests, where mist-shrouded valleys whispered secrets to the wind, there lived...

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Koma-inu

Koma-inu

狛犬

Yokai

In the quiet hours before dawn, when the moon's silver glow still lingered on the mist-shrouded mountains, two companion...

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Kokakuchō

Kokakuchō

子鶴鳥

Yokai

In the misty mountains of Kiso, where the forests whispered secrets to the wind, there lived a young mother named Hiroko...

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Kodama

Kodama

木霊

Yokai

In the depths of Aokigahara's forest, where mist-shrouded mountains whispered secrets to the wind, there lived a Kodama...

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Kiyohime

Kiyohime

清姫

Yokai

In the mist-shrouded mountains of Wakayama, where the Dōjō-ji temple stands watch over the valley below, there lived a y...

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Kitsune-Tsuki

Kitsune-Tsuki

狐憑き

Yokai

In a village nestled between two great rivers, there lived a young woman named Kiyomi. Her family had long been known fo...

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Kirin

Kirin

麒麟

Yokai

In a time long past, when the sun dipped into the mountains and painted the sky with hues of crimson and gold, the villa...

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Kijo

Kijo

鬼女

Yokai

In the misty mountains that shrouded the old village of Kiyomizu, there lived a young woman named Emiko. She was as love...

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Kijimunaa

Kijimunaa

キジムナー

Yokai

In the heart of the ancient forest of Nakijin, where the sunlight filtering through the leaves created dappled patterns...

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Keukegen

Keukegen

毛羽毛現

Yokai

In the depths of winter, when the snowdrifts reached the eaves and the wind howled through the streets like a chorus of...

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Kesaran-pasaran

Kesaran-pasaran

ケサランパサラン

Yokai

In the depths of winter's chill, when snowflakes danced in the streets of Akakawa village, an elderly woman named Otohim...

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Kerakera-onna

Kerakera-onna

けらけら女

Yokai

In the depths of winter, when the nights were longest and the moon hung low in the sky, the villagers of Akakawa would h...

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Kawa-zaru

Kawa-zaru

川猿

Yokai

In a rural valley where the river Nakagawa flowed gently to the sea, there lived a family of farmers who tilled the land...

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