Japanese folklore demons

According to the Japanese folklore, the Jorōgumo is a magic, 400 year old giant spider, that can change its appearance into that of a beautiful woman. She seduces young handsome men, wraps them up in her webs and eats them.

woodblock print by Matahei (early 18th century); printed from re-carved blocks probably early 20th century; from my collection. A devil as an itinerant priest in the Otsu-e style. This design was pasted inside houses for protection. Oban tate-e (24.5 x 44.0 cm). From the Mingeikan Folk Crafts Museum description of Otsu-e: "The name otsu-e is derived from the place where these paintings were sold, in and around the post town of Otsu, which lay on the Tokaido Road running between Edo (present…

A digital art inspired by Japanese mythology and folklore, Futa-kuchi-onna is a type of yokai, characterized by having two mouths, one normal and another on the nape of the neck, underneath the hair, where the woman's skull divides, forming lips, teeth and tongue, creating a second mouth.

Halloween is coming up, and with the Frankenstorm on it's way, it's the perfect time to hunker down with some candles and blankets and a good ghost story. Maybe even get your friends together for a hyakumonogatari kaidankai ghost story telling party? If you're planning on telling any ghost stories this year, today's entry should

Visit the post for more.

Umibozu is a sea spirit in Japanese Folklore. In Japanese Mythology, they are said to live in the depths of the ocean. On calm nights, when there is no sign of anything out of the ordinary, when all of a sudden, without warning, the waves and weather whip into furious condition, and out comes the titanic creature. It moves to destroy the ship, either smashing it with a single blow or taking it down bit by bit.

Rokurokubi by hello-magpie on DeviantArt

Oni by YamaOrce on DeviantArt

The rivers and lakes of Japan are have long been the haunts of a wide variety of strange creatures of all shapes and sizes. Although many of these have been regulated to the realm of pure folklore and myth, there are others that have transcended beyond mere legend and become thought of as something more