Folktales
Illustrated yokai folktales
Panel-art retellings from Japanese folklore. Each tale lives on its creature’s page.
295 illustrated stories
Kawa-akago
川赤子
Yokai
In the depths of spring's awakening, when cherry blossoms first began to unfurl, a young traveler named Kaito chanced up...
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Katsura-otoko
桂男
Yokai
In the village nestled between two great rivers, there lived a young woman named Emiko. She was a weaver of exquisite be...
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Katawa-guruma
片輪車
Yokai
In the depths of winter's chill, when darkness fell like a shroud over the villages, there lived a young woman named Emi...
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Kashanbō
かしゃんぼう
Yokai
In the depths of winter, when snowflakes danced in the village's streets and fireplace smoke swirled in the air, rumors...
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Kasha
火車
Yokai
In the autumn of the year when leaves rustled with an otherworldly voice, a young monk named Kaito tended to the cremati...
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Kasa-obake
傘お化け
Yokai
In the village of Shinoda, where cherry blossoms bloomed in the misty dawn, there lived an old man named Kaito. He was k...
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Karasu-tengu
烏天狗
Yokai
In the mist-shrouded mountains of Akakawa, where the air is sweet with the scent of cherry blossoms and the sound of win...
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Kappa
河童
Yokai
In the depths of winter, when the misty veil of dawn still lingered over the river, a young apprentice fisherman named K...
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Kanedama
金玉
Yokai
In a small village nestled between two great mountains, there lived a young merchant named Kaito. He was known for his h...
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Kanbari-nyūdō
かんばり入道
Yokai
In the depths of winter, when snowflakes danced outside the windows and the air was crisp with the scent of woodsmoke, i...
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Kamikiri
髪切り
Yokai
In the lantern-lit streets of Edo's pleasure quarter, where geishas with kimonos as red as cherry blossoms strolled unde...
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Kameosa
瓶長
Tsukumogami
In the village of Ashikaga, where the cherry blossoms bloomed like pink and white silk, there lived an elderly potter na...
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Kamaitachi
鎌鼬
Yokai
In the mist-shrouded mountains of Akakawa, where the wind whispers secrets to the trees, there lived an elderly woodcutt...
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Kahaku
河伯
Yokai
In the mist-shrouded valleys of our mountains, where the rivers wind and twist like living serpents, there dwelled a Kah...
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Kage-onna
影女
Yokai
In the village of Akakawa, where cherry blossoms bloomed in profusion and willows wept for the seasons' passage, there s...
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Jubokko
樹木子
Yokai
In the twilight hours, when shadows stretched long and dark across the mountainside, I chanced upon a village shrouded i...
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Jorōgumo
絡新婦
Yokai
In the mist-shrouded mountains of Izu, where the roar of the Jōren Falls echoed through the valleys, there lived a beaut...
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Jishin-namazu
地震鯰
Yokai
In the depths of the Inland Sea, where the sunlight barely reaches, the Jishin-namazu stirred its massive body. The eart...
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Jinmenken
人面犬
Yokai
In the depths of winter, when snowflakes danced in the city's alleys, a lone figure wandered the streets under the pale...
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Jinmenju
人面樹
Yokai
In the heart of a mist-shrouded valley, where the morning sun struggled to penetrate the grey veil, there stood an ancie...
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Jikininki
食人鬼
Yurei
In the depths of rural mountains, where mist-shrouded villages whispered secrets to the wind, there lived a young monk n...
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Jibakurei
地縛霊
Yurei
In the depths of autumn's haze, when sunlight filtered through cherry blossoms like bloodstained fingers, a hospital on...
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Jatai
蛇帯
Yokai
In the twilight hours, when the fireflies danced around the lanterns of the humble inn, a traveler named Kaito settled i...
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Jakotsu-babaa
蛇骨婆
Yokai
In a valley nestled between the mountains, where the wind whispers secrets to the trees, there lived an elderly woman kn...
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