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Folktales

Illustrated yokai folktales

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

295 illustrated stories

Ashinagatenaga

足長手長

Yokai

In the depths of Shikoku's rugged coast, where sea spray danced with moonlight, two gentle giants wandered the shoreline...

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Ashimagari

足曲がり

Yokai

In days long past, when misty dawn crept over the mountains of Ōita, a young traveler named Kaito set out to find his wa...

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Ashiaraiyashiki

足洗邸

Yokai

In a small village nestled between two great cedar trees, there stood an old manor known as Ashiaraiyashiki – the Washin...

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Arikura-no-baba

有倉の婆

Yokai

In the misty mountains of Akaishi, where the air was sweet with cherry blossoms and the trees whispered secrets to the w...

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Aosaginohi

青鷺の火

Yokai

In the mist-shrouded hills of rural Akakawa, where cherry blossoms bloomed with eerie silence, there lived an elderly he...

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Aonyōbō

青女房

Yokai

In twilight's hush, where shadows danced upon the walls of Akakawa Manor, a lone figure sat amidst the silence. Her skin...

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Aobōzu

青坊主

Yokai

In the mountains where the cherry blossoms bloomed white as snow, there lived a young boy named Kaito. He was always fas...

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Aoandon

青行燈

Yokai

In the autumnal twilight, when the wind whispered secrets through the rice fields, the villagers of Sakura-cho would gat...

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Anmo

アンモ

Oni

In the depths of winter, when snowflakes danced in the mountain air and village fires crackled with warmth, there lived...

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Amorōnagu

アモロナグ

Yokai

On a mist-shrouded evening, when the stars had not yet broken through the veil of night, the villagers of Kaze-no-ura ga...

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Amikiri

網切

Yokai

In a small village nestled between two great bays, there lived a humble fisherman named Kaito. His family had been netsm...

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Ameonna

雨女

Yokai

In the village of Katsuragi, nestled between two great mountains, a gentle yet mournful rain fell for seven days and nig...

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Amemasu

アメマス

Yokai

In the depths of Lake Toya's crystal waters, where the misty veil of dawn rises, there dwelled the Amemasu. A creature s...

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Amefurikozō

雨降小僧

Yokai

In the village of Akakawa, where rice fields stretched as far as the eye could see, summer's monsoon had finally arrived...

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Amazake-babaa

甘酒婆

Yokai

In the snow-shrouded streets of a mountain town, where cherry blossoms bloomed in unexpected harmony with frosty nights,...

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Amanozako

天逆毎

Kami

In the depths of yonder mountains, where the gods themselves dared not tread, there lived an Amanozako named Kagero. Her...

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Amanojaku

天邪鬼

Oni

In the small village of Akakawa, nestled between the mountains and the misty sea, there lived a young apprentice blacksm...

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Amamehagi

アマメハギ

Oni

In a small village nestled between the mountains of Ishikawa Prefecture, where cherry blossoms bloomed in delicate pink...

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Akurojin-no-hi

悪路神の火

Yokai

In the mist-shrouded hills of Mie Prefecture, where the wind whispers secrets to the bamboo groves, there lived an old m...

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Akuma

悪魔

Demon

In the depths of winter, when snowflakes danced in the darkness and the forest trees creaked with an otherworldly sigh,...

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Akkorokamui

アッコロカムイ

Yokai

In the dark of winter's night, when the snowflakes swirled like tiny lanterns around the coastal village, a young fisher...

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Akki

悪鬼

Oni

In the depths of the mountain village, where the air was heavy with mist and the trees creaked with an otherworldly voic...

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Akateko

赤手児

Yokai

In a village nestled at the edge of a dense forest, where the misty dawn air clung to the branches like a damp shroud, t...

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Akashita

赤舌

Yokai

In the rural province of Mikawa, where paddy fields stretched as far as the eye could see, a wealthy landowner named Shi...

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