yokai

With the head of a monkey, the body of a tanuki, the legs of a tiger, and a snake for a tail, the Nue is Japan's most famous chimera. It appears on stormy nights, shrouded in black clouds, crying with an eerie voice that brings misfortune, plague, and the sickness of emperors.

After 100 years, household objects gain spirits and come alive—umbrellas sprout eyes, sandals grow teeth, teapots scuttle on new legs. These Tsukumogami can be harmless and helpful, or vengeful toward wasteful owners who discarded them. In Japan, even your tools deserve respect.

With nine tails and the ability to transform into a beautiful woman, the Gumiho is Korea's most seductive and deadly monster. Unlike her Chinese and Japanese cousins, the Gumiho is almost always evil—she seduces men, then rips out their hearts or livers to consume their life force.

With red or blue skin, wild hair, horns, fangs, and massive iron clubs, the Oni are Japan's most fearsome demons. They punish the wicked in hell, spread disease, and occasionally terrorize the living—but they can also be tricked, as their strength far exceeds their intelligence.

Neither fully beast nor fully human, the Huli Jing is a shape-shifting fox spirit that can seduce scholars, drain life force, or grant enlightenment. With each tail it grows, it gains a century of power.

She glides through the snow without a sound, her presence marked only by the chill that seeps into your bones.

Lurking beneath the waters of Japan’s rivers, the Kappa is a creature of trickery, mischief, and danger. Travelers beware—the still waters may not be as empty as they seem.

Rokurokubi appear as ordinary humans by day, but when night falls, their necks stretch to impossible lengths, seeking mischief and sometimes more sinister ends.

The Gashadokuro, a colossal yokai born of famine and war, stalks the night with unrelenting hunger, crushing all who cross its path.

In the shadowed forests of Japan, the Jorogumo spins webs both seen and unseen, luring the unwary with beauty, music, and deadly intent.

The Tengu, enigmatic and unpredictable, are both protectors and tormentors of those who dare to enter their sacred mountain realms.