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The following is a list of yōkai, obake, yūrei and other legendary creatures which are notable in Japanese folklore, mythology, literature and art.

A

Abura-akago - an infant ghost who licks the oil out of andon lamps
Abura-bō - a spook fire from Shiga Prefecture, in which the shape of a monk can often be seen
Abura-sumashi - a spirit who lives on a mountain pass in Kumamoto Prefecture
Akamataa - a snake spirit from Okinawa
Akaname - the spirit who licks the bathroom
Akashita - a creature that looms in a black cloud over a floodgate
Akateko - a red hand dangling out of a tree
Akki - another name for a wicked oni
Akkorokamui - an Ainu monster resembling a fish or octopus
Akuma - an evil spirit
Akurojin-no-hi - a ghostly fire from Mie Prefecture
Amaburakosagi - ritual disciplinary demon from Shikoku
Amamehagi - ritual disciplinary demon from Hokuriku
Amanojaku - a small demon which instigates people into wickedness
Amanozako - a monstrous goddess mentioned in the Kujiki
Amazake-babaa - an old woman who asks for sweet sake and brings disease
Amefurikozō - a little boy spirit who plays in the rain
Amemasu - an Ainu creature resembling a fish or whale
Ameonna - a female rain spirit
Amikiri - the net-cutting spirit
Amorōnagu - a tennyo from the island of Amami Ōshima
Anmo - ritual disciplinayr demon from Iwate Prefecture
Aoandon - the spirit of the blue paper lantern
Aobōzu - the blue monk who kidnaps children
Aonyōbō - a female ghost who lurks in an abandoned imperial palace
Aosaginohi - a luminescent heron
Asobibi - a spook fire from Kōchi Prefecture
Arikura-no-baba - an old woman with magical powers
Ashiaraiyashiki(足洗邸) - the story of a huge demon which demands that its leg be washed
Ashimagari - a spook which entangles the legs of travelers
Ashinagatenaga - a pair of characters, one with long legs and the other with long arms
Ato-oi-kozō - an invisible spirit that follows people
Ayakashi - another name for the ikuchi
Ayakashi-no-ayashibi - a spook fire from Ishikawa Prefecture
Azukiarai - a spirit which makes the sound of azuki beans being washed
Azukibabaa - azukiarai's more vicious cousin, a bean-grinding hag who devours people
Azukitogi - another name for azukiarai

B

Betobeto-san - an invisible spirit which follows people at night, making the sound of footsteps
Bake-kujira - a ghost whale
Bakeneko - a cat with magical powers
Bakezōri - a sandal spirit
Baku - an auspicious beast who can devour nightmares
Basan - a large fire-breathing chicken monster
Binbōgami - the spirit of poverty
Biwa-bokuboku - the spirit of a biwa lute
Bunbuku Chagama - a famous story about a tanuki in the form of a teakettle
Buruburu - a spirit which causes the shivers
Byakko - the white tiger of the west

C

Chōchinobake - a haunted paper lantern

D

Daidarabocchi - a giant responsible for creating many geographical features in Japan
Daitengu - the most powerful tengu, each of whom lives on a separate mountain
Datsue-ba - an old woman who steals clothes from the souls of the dead
Dodomeki - the ghost of a pickpocket, her arms covered in eyes
Dorotabō - the ghost of an old man whose rice fields were neglected and sold

E

Enenra - a monster made of smoke
Enkō - the kappa of Shikoku and western Honshu
Eritate-goromo - the tengu Sōjōbō's enchanted clothes

F

Fūjin - the god of wind
Funayūrei - ghosts of people dead at sea
Futakuchi-onna - the two-mouthed woman

G

Gagoze - a demon who attacked young priests at Gangō-ji temple
Gaki - the hungry ghosts of Buddhism
Gangi-kozō - a fish-eating water-monster
Garappa - a kind of kappa from Kyushu
Gashadokuro - a giant skeleton, the spirit of the unburied dead
Genbu - the black tortoise of the north
Goryō - vengeful spirits of the dead
Guhin - another name for the tengu
Gyūki - another name for the ushi-oni, the ox demon

H

Hakutaku - the wise Bai Ze beast of China, who reported on the attributes of demons
Hakuzōsu - a fox who disguised himself as a trapper's uncle
Hannya - a noh mask representing a jealous female demon
Harionago - a female monster with deadly barbed hair
Hayatarō - the dog that killed the sarugami
Heikegani - crabs with human-faced shells, the spirits of the warriors killed in the Battle of Dan-no-ura
Hibagon - the Japanese Bigfoot
Hiderigami - the god of drought
Hihi - a baboon monster
Hitodama - a fireball-ghost that appears when someone dies
Hitotsume-kozō - a one-eyed boy
Hoji - the wicked spirit of Tamamo-no-Mae
Hōkō - a dog-like tree spirit from China
Hone-onna - a skeleton woman
Hō-ō - the mythical Fenghuang bird of China
Hotoke - a deceased person
Hyakki Yakō - the demons' night parade
Hyakume - a creature with a hundred eyes
Hyōsube - a kind of hair-covered kappa
Hyōtan-kozō - a gourd spirit

I

Ibaraki-dōji - the oni of the Rashomon gate, Shuten-dōji's accomplice
Ichimoku-nyūdō - a one-eyed kappa from Sado Island
Ikazuchi-no-Kami - a thunder god
Ikiryō - a living ghost
Ikuchi - a sea-serpent that travels over boats in an arc while dripping oil
Inugami - a dog-spirit created, worshipped and employed by a family via sorcery
Ippon-datara - a one-legged spirit of the mountains
Isonade - a fish-like sea monster with a barb-covered tail
Itsumaden - a monstrous bird that appeared over the capital in the Taiheiki
Ittan-momen - a cloth-like monster which attempts to smother people by wrapping itself around their faces
Iwana-bōzu - a char which appeared as a Buddhist monk

J

Jakotsu-babaa - an old woman who guards a snake mound
Jatai - an obi which has transformed into a snake
Jibakurei 地縛霊, 自縛霊 - a ghost that is bound to a certain place
Jikininki - ghosts that eat human corpses
Jinmenju - a tree with human-faced flowers
Jinmenken - a human-faced dog appearing in recent urban legends
Jishin-namazu - the giant catfish that causes earthquakes
Jorōgumo - a spider woman
Jubokko - a vampire tree

K

Kage-onna - the shadow of a woman cast on the paper doors of a haunted house
Kahaku 河伯 - another name for a kappa
Kamaitachi - the slashing sickle-weasel that haunts the mountains
Kamikiri - the hair-cutting spirit
Kameosa - a bottle that never runs dry
Kanbari-nyūdō - a bathroom spirit
Kanedama - the spirit of money
Kappa - a famous water monster with a water-filled head and a love of cucumbers
Karasu-tengu - a tengu with a bird's bill
Kasa-obake - a paper umbrella monster
Kasha - a cat-like demon which descends from the sky and carries away corpses
Kashanbo - kappa who climb into the mountains for the winter
Katawa-guruma - a woman riding on a flaming wheel
Katsura-otoko - a handsome man from the moon
Kawa-akago - an infant monster that lurks near rivers and drowns people
Kawa-uso - a supernatural river otter
Kawa-zaru - a smelly, cowardly kappa-like creature
Kerakera-onna - a giant cackling woman who appears in the sky
Kesaran-pasaran - a mysterious white fluffy creature
Keukegen - a creature made of hair
Kijimunaa - a tree sprite from Okinawa
Kijo - a witch or ogress
Kirin - the Qilin of China, part dragon and part hoofed mammal, sometimes called the "Chinese unicorn"
Kitsune - a supernatural fox
Kitsune-Tsuki - fox possession
Kiyohime - a woman who transformed into a serpent-demon out of the rage of unrequited love
Kodama - a spirit that lives in a tree
Kokakuchō - the ubume bird
Koma-inu - another name for the shishi, the pair of lion-dogs that guard the entrances of temples
Konaki-Jijii - an infant spirit that cries until it is picked up, then increases its weight and crushes its victim
Konoha-tengu - a bird-like tengu
Koropokkuru - a little person from Ainu folklore
Kosode-no-te - a short-sleeved kimono with its own hands
Kuchisake-onna - the slit-mouthed woman
Kuda-gitsune - a small fox-like animal used in sorcery
Kudan - a human-faced calf which predicts a calamity and then dies
Kurabokko - the guardian spirit of a warehouse
Kurage-no-hinotama - a jellyfish which floats through the air as a fireball
Kyōkotsu - the ghost of a corpse discarded in a well
Kyūbi-no-kitsune - a fox with nine tails

L

M

Maikubi - the quarreling heads of three dead miscreants
Makura-gaeshi - the pillow-moving spirit
Mekurabe - the multiplying skulls that menaced Taira no Kiyomori in his courtyard
Miage-nyūdō - a spirit which grows as fast as you can look up at it
Mikoshi-nyūdō - another name for miage-nyūdō
Mizuchi - a dangerous water-dragon
Mokumokuren - a swarm of eyes that appear on a paper sliding door in an old building
Momonjii - an old-man who is waiting for you at every fork in the road
Morinji-no-kama - another name for Bunbuku Chagama, the tanuki teakettle
Mōryō - a long-eared, corpse-eating spirit
Mujina - a shapeshifting badger
Myobu - a title sometimes given to a fox

N

Namahage - ritual disciplinary demon from the Oga Peninsula
Nando-baba - an old-woman spirit who hides under the floor in abandoned storerooms
Narikama - a kettle spirit whose ringing sound is a good omen
Nebutori - a spook-disease which causes a woman to grow immensely fat and lethargic
Nekomata - a bakeneko with a split tail
Nekomusume - a cat in the form of a girl
Nikusui - a monster which appears as a young woman and sucks all of the flesh off of its victim's body
Ningyo - a fish person or "mermaid"
Nobusuma - a supernatural wall, or a monstrous flying squirrel
Noppera-bō - a faceless ghost
Nozuchi - Another name for the tsuchinoko serpent
Nue - a monkey-headed, tiger-bodied, snake-tailed monster which plagued the emperor with nightmares in the Heike Monogatari
Nukekubi - a vicious human-like monster whose head detaches from its body, often confused with the rokurokubi
Nuppefuhofu - an animated lump of decaying human flesh
Nure-onna - a female monster who appears on the beach
Nuribotoke - an animated corpse with blackened flesh and dangling eyeballs
Nurikabe - a ghostly wall that traps a traveler at night
Nurarihyon - a strange character who sneaks into houses on busy evenings, said to be the supreme commander of the yōkai
Nyūbachibō - a mortar spirit

O

Oboro-guruma - a ghostly oxcart with the face of its driver
Ohaguro-bettari - a female spook lacking all facial features save for a large, black-toothed smile
Oiwa - the ghost of a woman with a distorted face who was murdered by her husband
Okiku - the plate-counting ghost of a servant girl
Ōkamuro - a giant face which appears at the door
Ōkubi - the face of a huge woman which appears in the sky
Okuri-inu - a dog or wolf that follows travelers at night
Ōmukade - a giant centipede
Oni - the classic Japanese demon, an ogre-like creature which often has horns
Onibi - a spook fire
Onikuma - a monster bear
Onmoraki - a bird-demon created from the spirits of freshly-dead corpses
Onryō - a vengeful ghost
Otoroshi - a hairy creature that perches on the gates to shrines and temples

P

Q

R

Raijin - the god of thunder
Raijū - a beast which falls to earth in a lightning bolt
Rokurokubi - a person, usually female, whose neck can stretch indefinitely
Ryū - the Japanese dragon

S

Sakabashira - a haunted pillar, installed upside-down
Sagari - a horse's head that dangles from trees on Kyushu
Samebito - a shark-man from the undersea Dragon Palace
Sarugami - a wicked monkey spirit which was defeated by a dog
Satori - an ape-like creature that can read minds
Sazae-oni - a turban snail which turns into a woman
Seiryū - the azure dragon of the east
Seko - a kind of kappa, which can be heard making merry at night
Senpoku-Kanpoku - a human-faced frog which guides the souls of the newly deceased to the graveyard
Sesshō-seki - the poisonous "killing stones" which Tamamo-no-Mae transformed into
Setotaishō - a warrior composed of discarded earthenware
Shachihoko - a tiger-headed fish whose image is often used in architecture
Shibaten - a kind of kappa from Shikoku.
Shikigami - a spirit summoned to do the bidding of an Onmyōji
Shiki-ōji - another name for a shikigami
Shiro-bōzu - a white, faceless spirit
Shin 蜃 - a giant clam which creates mirages
Shinigami - the "god of death", the Japanese name for the Western Grim Reaper
Shiro-uneri - an old, rotten dishcloth appearing in the form of a dragon
Shiryō - the spirit of a dead person
Shisa - the Okinawan version of the shishi
Shishi - the paired lion-dogs that guard the entrances of temples
Shōjō - red-haired sea-sprites who love alcohol
Shōkera - a creature that peers in through skylights
Shōki - the fabled demon-queller Zhong Kui
Shunoban - a red-faced ghoul that surprises people
Shuten-dōji - an infamous princess-kidnapping, bloodthirsty oni
Sodehiki-kozō - an invisible spirit which pulls on sleeves
Sōjōbō - the famous daitengu of Mount Kurama
Sōgenbi - the fiery ghost of an oil-stealing monk
Soragami - a ritual disciplinary demon in the form of a tengu
Soraki-gaeshi - the sound of trees being cut down, when later none seem to have been cut
Sorobanbōzu - a ghost with an abacus
Sōtangitsune - a famous fox from Kyoto
Sunakake-baba - the sand-throwing hag
Sunekosuri - a small dog- or cat-like creature that rubs against a person's legs at night
Suppon-no-yūrei - a ghost with a face like a soft-shelled turtle
Suzaku - the vermilion bird of the south

T

Taimatsumaru - a tengu surrounded in demon fire
Taka-onna - a female spirit which can stretch itself to peer into the second story of a building
Tamamo-no-Mae - a wicked nine-tailed fox who appeared as a courtesan
Tankororin - an unharvested persimmon which becomes a monster
Tanuki - a shapeshifting raccoon dog
Tatami-tataki - a poltergeist that hits the tatami mats at night
Tengu - the infamous bird-man demon of the mountains
Tenjōname - the ceiling-licking spirit
Tennin - a heavenly being
Te-no-me - the ghost of a blind man, with his eyes on his hands
Tesso - the ghost of the priest Raigō, who transformed into a swarm of rats
Tōfu-kozō - a spirit child carrying a block of tofu
Toire-no-Hanakosan - a ghost who lurks in grade school restroom stalls
Tōtetsu - the Taotie monster of China
Tsurara-onna - an icicle woman
Tsuchigumo - a giant spider which was defeated by Minamoto no Raikō
Tsuchikorobi - a tumbling monster which rolls over travelers
Tsuchinoko - a legendary serpentine monster, now a cryptid resembling a fat snake
Tsukumogami - inanimate objects that come to life after a hundred years
Tsurube-otoshi - a monster that drops out of the tops of trees

U

Ubume - the spirit of a woman who died in childbirth
Uma-no-ashi - a horse's leg which dangles from a tree and kicks passerbies
Umibōzu - a giant monster appearing on the surface of the sea
Umi-nyōbō - a female sea monster who steals fish
Ungaikyō - a mirror monster which can display assorted wonders in its surface
Ushi-Oni - a name given to an assortment of ox-headed monsters
Uwan - a spirit named for the sound it shouts when surprising people

V

W

X

Y

Yagyō-san - a demon who rides through the night on a headless horse
Yakubyō-gami - spirits who bring plagues and other unfortunate events
Yadōkai - monks who have turned to mischief
Yama-biko - a creature that creates echos
Yama-bito - the wild people who live in the mountains
Yama-chichi - a mountain spirit resembling a monkey
Yama-inu - the fearsome mountain dog
Yama-otoko - the giant mountain man
Yama-oroshi - a radish-grater spirit, a pun on a word for "mountain storm"
Yamata-no-Orochi - the eight-headed serpent slain by the god Susanoo
Yama-uba - the mountain hag
Yama-waro - a hairy, one-eyed spirit, sometimes considered a kappa who has gone into the mountains for the winter.
Yanari - poltergeists which cause strange noises
Yatagarasu - the three-legged crow of Amaterasu
Yato-no-kami - deadly snake-gods which infested a field
Yomotsu-shikome - the hags of the underworld
Yōsei - the Japanese word for "fairy"
Yosuzume - a mysterious bird that sings at night, sometimes indicating that the okuri-inu is near
Yukinko - a child-like snow-spirit
Yuki-onna - the snow woman

Z

Zashiki-warashi - a protective child-like house spirit.
Zennyo Ryūō - a rain-making dragon
Zunbera-bō - another name for the noppera-bō

External links

A

B

C

D

E

F

G

H

I

J

K

L

M

N

O

P

Q

R

S

T

U

V

W

X

Y

Z

See also

External links