38. Yōkai (Themed Episode #8)

38. Yōkai (Themed Episode #8)

In our eighth themed episode, we talk about the supernatural Japanese creatures and phenomena known as yōkai. We discuss eight different yōkai ladies (or types of yōkai ladies), including Kuchisake-onna, Nikusui, Ubume, Jorōgumo, Hanako-san, Datsueba, Yama-uba, and Shikome.

Cover art using illustrations by Matthew Meyer of yokai.com.

Transcript

Sources

The Book of Yōkai by Michael Foster

An Introduction to Yōkai Culture by Kazuhiko Komatsu

Studio Ghibli characters influenced by Japanese folklore

Kuchisake-onna

Kuchisake onna - Yokai.com

Kuchisake onna - All About Asia

Nikusui

Nikusui—yokai.com 

Jisho—腎虚

Ubume

Ubume - Yokai.com

Ubume - Wikipedia

Jorōgumo

Jorōgumo—yokai.com

Jorōgumo - Wikipedia 

Hanako-san

Hanako-san - Wikipedia

Ako manto - Yokai.com

Datsueba

Sai no Kawara (Sainokawara), Jizo, Judges of Hell (Underworld), Japanese Buddhism Dictionary Project 

Datsueba—yokai.com 

river of three crossings | Dictionary of Buddhism 

The Encyclopedia of Spirits by Judika Illes

Yama-uba

Yamauba - Yokai.com

Yama-uba - Wikipedia

Shikome

Shikome—yokai.com 

Izanami—Wikipedia