Friendly Yokai from Japanese Folklore

In Japanese folklore, yōkai (妖怪) refers to ghosts, monsters, and legendary spirits. Strange behaviors are attributed to these mythical creatures to explain otherwise mysterious phenomena. Yōkai means “attractive, bewitching” and kai (怪) “mystery, wonder.”

Yōkai were often depicted as strange incarnations of ordinary individuals or creatures, some resembling humans, for example, with altered features such as a long neck or three eyes. Others looked like animals, plants, insects or household items.

Unlike the ghosts or spirits of the West, many of these yōkai spirits do not bother anyone, they just want to be left alone and go about their day. Others even actively try to help and protect the humans they encounter. Some are evil or wickedly naughty and most yōkai have supernatural abilities that surpassed human understanding and today we show you some of the most popular in Japan!

Kappa, the water demon

The Kappa is one of the most famous yōkai in Japanese culture, making many appearances in pop culture and even as mascots for sports teams or companies. They are also called ” river children .” They are excellent swimmers and live in lakes or rivers. However, once they are on dry land, they tend to be quite clumsy and even be in danger, since they have a water hole in their head that if the water is emptied, they die.

The Kappa can be very mischievous. If a kappa is shown appropriate respect, for example, by receiving offerings such as cucumbers, their favorite food. Properly worshiped, kappa often help the human population with watering their crops and befriend lonely children.

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Zashiki Warashi – Guardian Spirits

They are the guardians of the house and also the bringers of good luck and fortune, which is why people sometimes actively try to attract them to their homes by treating them with hospitality and offering them meals every day. It is said that they like azuki meshi, so there are families who offer it to them every day but if it is not eaten, it is said to be a harbinger of the family’s decline.

If you see a child in a kimono wandering around your house or find small ash footprints around your house, consider yourself lucky as a zashiki warashi has arrived at your house.

Ouni – The Friendly Witch

Ouni is depicted as an ugly old woman with an angry face and her body covered with long black hair. She is a kind of yamauba or mountain witch. It lives deep in the mountains, far from civilization, and only occasionally appears to humans.

Unlike most yamauba, the Ouni are friendly to humans who treat them kindly. From time to time they visit rural houses or mountain huts late at night and ask the owners of the house to give them free accommodation and food for the night. If they are kind and invite her in, during the night she spins an enormous amount of yarn for the family and then disappears without a trace.

Nuppeppō – The Stinking Spirit

Nuppeppō are yōkai found in ruined temples and overgrown cemeteries. These creatures are known for their disgusting appearance and smell as they give off a strong smell of rotting flesh. They look like large, limp, roughly humanoid, child-sized pieces of meat, with bulging, undeveloped hands and feet and vaguely imperceptible facial features.

They generally appear only at night and are not known to cause any particular damage or harm, other than being disgusting. Its meat is believed to provide incredible power to those who eat it (provided they are willing and able to digest it) and can also be made into a powerful medicine with excellent healing properties.

Bak ú – Protective Hybrid Spirit

The baku is a strange sacred beast that has the body of a bear, the head of an elephant, the eyes of a rhinoceros, the tail of an ox and the legs of a tiger. Despite their monstrous appearance, the Baku are revered as powerful forces of good and one of the holy protectors of humanity. They feed on humans’ dreams, specifically bad dreams. Evil spirits and yōkai fear them and flee from the areas inhabited by the Baku . Because of this, health and good luck follow the Baku wherever they go.

Which of these Yokai did you like the most? Tell us in the comments!