Gazu Hyakki Yagyō

A tsukumogami born from a horse's stirrup abandoned on a battlefield, still waiting for the master who never returned — grief and loyalty made monstrous.

A yokai that visits neglected bathrooms to lick up the accumulated grime and scum — harmless to people, but a vivid supernatural reminder to keep the bath clean.

A small, perverse demon that reads human hearts and does the opposite of what is desired. Famous as the villain of folk tales like Uriko-hime, and depicted in Buddhist sculpture as a creature trampled underfoot by guardian deities.

A chimeric dream-eater invoked after nightmares to consume ill omens.

A fire-breathing rooster yokai from the Kinki and Chūgoku regions of Japan. It appears at night with a distinctive flapping sound, breathes flames, and vanishes before anyone can get a clear look at it.

A tsukumogami animated from an old biwa lute, said to play music by itself in the night — the soul of a player or the accumulated longing for music made manifest.

A yokai covered in countless eyes along both arms, created by Toriyama Sekien as the transformed spirit of a woman who stole coins.

The vengeful spirit of an old farmer whose children sold his beloved rice paddies, rising from the mud at night with three-fingered hands raised, crying for his fields to be returned.

A supernatural entity that lives in smoke and manifests as a writhing form within flames or incense. First depicted by Toriyama Sekien, the enenra emerges from smoke as a face or figure of impossible definition.

A woman with a second mouth on the back of her head that secretly consumes food, with hair that moves like a snake to feed it.

A gigantic ape-like mountain demon known for abducting villagers. Despite its fearsome strength, it has a notorious weakness for sake, and many folk tales describe heroes using alcohol to defeat it.

A child-monk yokai with a single large eye in the center of its face, associated with certain calendar days and known to fear objects with many holes.

A yokai covered in glowing eyes, born from the spirit of a habitual thief.

A long-haired woman haunting rocky shores, luring victims into the sea.

A tsukumogami born when an old obi sash transforms into a serpent. Depicted in Toriyama Sekien's Hyakki Tsurezurebukuro, the jatai represents the intense emotions — longing, jealousy, obsession — that can animate a woman's most intimate garment.

A spider become woman, luring men with beauty before binding them in silk.

A tsukumogami born from an old ceramic jar or sake vessel, joining the procession of the Hyakki Yagyō as one of many animated household objects.

An invisible or unseen yokai that stealthily cuts off people's hair without warning, responsible for a wave of mysterious hair-cutting incidents in Edo-period Japan.

A water yokai with a dish atop its head, pulling horses and people into rivers.

A fire demon that steals corpses from funerals, appearing as a blazing wheel or a monstrous cat. Rooted in Buddhist hell imagery, it has haunted Japanese funeral rites since the Heian period.

A small, shaggy creature covered in long hair that lurks in damp, shadowy corners of houses. The kekkaigen brings illness and misfortune to those who share a home with it.

A tsukumogami born from an old Buddhist sutra scroll, whose sacred characters come alive and whose scrolls chant on their own in empty temple halls at night.

A yokai that manifests as dozens of disembodied eyes appearing in the torn holes of old shoji screens and decayed walls of abandoned houses.

An old cat with a forked tail; shapeshifter, fire-wielder, animator of corpses.

A yokai born from an aged flying squirrel living in ancient mountain trees. It swoops down on travelers at night, wraps itself around them like a smothering blanket, and suffocates its victims.

An old man yokai from Toriyama Sekien's Gazu Hyakki Yagyo, depicted holding a great mirror. Once a mortal guardian of the fields, transformed over time into something uncanny.

A chimera with a monkey head, tanuki body, and serpent tail, slain in Heike.

A yokai whose head detaches from its body at night and flies freely to attack victims. Unlike the rokurokubi, the nukekubi's head separates completely from its neck.

A yokai that resembles a formless lump of rotting flesh — featureless, slow-moving, and reeking of decay, it wanders graveyards at night without apparent purpose or malice.

An old man who slips into homes uninvited and cannot be removed.

Horned club-wielding demons: hell's jailers and Japan's most iconic monsters.

A shaggy, fearsome yokai that lurks atop the torii gates of shrines and temple gates, dropping on those who approach with impure or wicked intentions.

A woman by day whose neck extends impossibly at night, or whose head detaches.

A tsukumogami born from an old household rag or dishcloth, animated as a sinuously writhing white cloth that joins the night parade of demons.

A blind old man with no eyes in his face, whose sight is replaced by eyeballs set into the palms of his hands, said to be the vengeful ghost of a murdered man.

A mountain spirit with a long nose or crow's beak, master of martial arts.

A yokai that licks old house ceilings with its long tongue, causing no harm.

A monstrous earth spider defeated by Minamoto no Yorimitsu in Heian legend.

A tsukumogami inhabiting an old bronze mirror, which reflects monstrous faces and otherworldly visions instead of the viewer's true reflection.

A yokai that haunts abandoned buildings and lets out a sudden thunderous shout. Named for the sound it makes, it appears in Toriyama Sekien's works.

A flaming wheel with a human face, rolling through the night to steal souls.

A small mountain spirit that mimics sounds and voices in mountain valleys. The yamabiko is the yokai personification of echoes heard in the mountains.

A pale winter spirit that freezes travelers or becomes a tragic mortal bride.