![]() ![]() Over time, phenomena and events thought to be supernatural became fewer and fewer, with the depictions of yōkai in picture scrolls and paintings beginning to standardize, evolving more into caricatures than fearsome spiritual entities. ![]() Chinkon rituals for ara-mitama that failed to achieve deification as benevolent spirits, whether through a lack of sufficient veneration or through losing worshippers and thus their divinity, became yōkai. 'the calming of the spirits' or 'reqiuem'). The ritual for converting ara-mitama into nigi-mitama was known as the chinkon ( 鎮魂, lit. Animals, objects and natural features or phenomena were also venerated as nigi-mitama or propitiated as ara-mitama depending on the area.ĭespite the existence of harmful spirits, rituals for converting ara-mitama into nigi-mitama were performed, aiming to quell maleficent spirits, prevent misfortune and alleviate the fear arising from phenomena and events that otherwise had no explanation. One's ancestors and particularly respected departed elders could also be deemed to be nigi-mitama, accruing status as protective spirits who brought fortune to those who worshipped them. Neither type of spirit was considered to be yōkai. Such spirits possessed emotions and personalities: peaceful spirits were known as nigi-mitama, who brought good fortune violent spirits, known as ara-mitama, brought ill fortune, such as illness and natural disasters. According to Japanese ideas of animism, spirit-like entities were believed to reside in all things, including natural phenomena and objects. ![]() The concept of yōkai, their causes and phenomena related to them varies greatly throughout Japanese culture and historical periods typically, the older the time period, the higher the number of phenomena deemed to be supernatural and the result of yōkai. Today, several such yōkai (such as the amikiri) are mistakenly thought to originate in more traditional folklore. Japanese folklorists and historians explain yōkai as personifications of "supernatural or unaccountable phenomena to their informants." In the Edo period, many artists, such as Toriyama Sekien, invented new yōkai by taking inspiration from folk tales or purely from their own imagination. Yōkai that shapeshift are known as bakemono ( 化け物) or obake ( お化け). Yōkai are typically described as having spiritual or supernatural abilities, with shapeshifting being the most common trait associated with them. Some yōkai resemble inanimate objects (such as the tsukumogami), while others have no discernible shape. Yōkai often have animal features (such as the kappa, depicted as appearing similar to a turtle, and the tengu, commonly depicted with wings), but may also appear humanoid in appearance, such as the kuchisake-onna. Their behavior can range from malevolent or mischievous to benevolent to humans. Despite often being translated as such, yōkai are not literally demons in the Western sense of the word, but are instead spirits and entities. ![]() Yōkai are also referred to as ayakashi ( あやかし), mononoke ( 物の怪) or mamono ( 魔物). The word yōkai is a loanword and is composed of two kanji characters which both mean "suspicious, doubtful" and while it may be regarded as a loanword from the Chinese term yaoguai, the word yōkai it has taken on multiple different meanings peculiar in Japanese context. Yōkai ( 妖怪, "strange apparition") are a class of supernatural entities and spirits in Japanese folklore. ![]()
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