Interested in seeing these guardians in all their stoic grandeur? Stop by the Fushimi Inari shrine in Kyoto, where these spirits silently keep watch over its visitors. ItвЂ™s believed that after reaching 1,000 years old and gaining their ninth tail, kitsune turn into golden heavenly foxes (е¤©з‹ђ, tenko).

There are good foxes as well as bad, some possessing up to nine tails-with a greater number correlating with more power. Kitsune live long, are intelligent, and possess powerful magic. TheyвЂ™ve been known to take control of women by entering through their fingernails or breasts, a trick known as kitsune-tsuki (з‹ђд»гЃЌ). In Japanese mythology, however, they possess the ability to shapeshift and cause a bit of mischief. Kitsune is the Japanese word for fox, and similar to Western folklore, theyвЂ™re known as clever animals. Some consider them to be staunch defenders of forests, so if hiking the many beautiful forests of Japan, keep an eye out for that long nose! Over time, the Tengu image has softened to the point that in some circles, they are considered deities. They possess women in order to seduce holy men, rob temples, and disguise themselves as false priests. Tengu are known to be opponents of Buddhism, carrying off monks and throwing them into remote places. TheyвЂ™re often shown holding a fan made of feathers (зѕЅе›Јж‰‡) with the power to summon powerful winds. Some bad, some good they come in a variety of shapes, mainly a large anthropomorphized bird with a red face and long nose or beak. Meaning вЂњheavenly dogвЂќ, Tengu can be considered a god in the Shinto religion, as well as a demon and omen of war in Buddhism.

Looking for protection before a swim out in the ocean? Bring a cucumber! In old Tokyo, there was a tradition where people wrote their family membersвЂ™ names onto cucumbers and sent them downstream to appease the Kappa. These Japanese monsters are seen as mischievous tricksters, though this can range to the downright diabolical such as kidnapping or raping women. This dish is its life force, and if its water spills, the Kappa is weakened. With a human-like form, webbed hands, feet, and a turtle-like shell, the Kappa also has a dish on its head that holds water. After all, drowning would be the least of your worries if compared to running into a monster, right?! It was meant to scare children into staying away from areas of deep water. The Kappa, translating to river-child, is a yЕЌkai reaching back to ancient times. These yЕЌkai have been popular since the middle ages, and there are certain types known by nearly every Japanese person since childhood. According to these beliefs, spirits called mononoke (з‰©гЃ®жЂЄ)-further divided into nigi-mitama (good fortune) and ara-mitama (ill fortune)-reside in all things.ДЄra-mitama were converted into nigi-mitama under rituals, however if those rituals failed due to insufficient veneration, they then became yЕЌkai. These traits trace back to JapanвЂ™s roots in animism, along with its history of Buddhist and Shinto philosophies woven into its timeline. They often have supernatural abilities like shapeshifting, and can possess animal features-like the Kappa, which is similar to a turtle. YЕЌkai are the Japanese monsters that make up all the manifestations beyond the human realm, and though some are evil, others choose not to associate with the human world. Made up of two kanji that represent вЂњbewitching calamityвЂќ and вЂњapparition mystery suspicious,вЂќ they also come by different names such as ayakashi or mononoke (sound familiar? A famous Ghibli movie, perhaps?). As they have a habit of stealing corpses, it's believed that cats should be kept away from funerals! So don't accept paw-marks on your funeral RSVPs.As every culture has its ghosts and ghouls, so too do the Japanese in the form of yЕЌkai (е¦–жЂЄ). Ghostly cats whose tails split has they grow older and prowl through the town every night. So here's a sample of his work with a little cultural background on each individual demon. The style has a mix of morbid, surreal, and even cute in it, but they are all definitely worth checking out. Using that skill and passion-he has produced some really great artwork featuring those yokai. So it seems that he keeps his love of Japanese folklore alive by producing events and creating ways for people to get people involved in it as well. He's particularly keen on those related to the city of Kyoto, as he even uses them (via yokai themed events, sales, and flea markets) to promote tourism in Kyoto-which is rich with not just emblems of Japanese history, but insight regarding such folklore and mysticism. He's an event and art producer, lecturer, and overall enthusiast for the subject. Junya Kono is somewhat of a renaissance man when it comes to yokai(demons and ghouls of Japanese folklore).

World of demons yokai