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Three Tales of Okiku
To learn much more about Japanese Ghosts, check out my book Yurei: The Japanese Ghost Night Stories of Takemata Translated from Takemata Yawa; 1557 Around the time after the Kakitsu Revolt (1441),...
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Kosodate Yūrei – The Child-Raising Yūrei
Translated and Sources from Mizuki Shigeru’s Mujara, Nihon no Yūrei, Inga Monogatari, and Other Sources To learn much more about Japanese Ghosts, check out my book Yurei: The Japanese Ghost Yūrei...
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Yūrei: The Japanese Ghost
I am proud to announce that my book Yūrei: The Japanese Ghost is finally available for preorder! This book is the culmination of more than ten years of research, including work done for my MA thesis...
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Yurei FAQ – Five Facts About Japanese Ghosts
To learn much more about Japanese Ghosts, check out my book Yurei: The Japanese Ghost Yurei—Japanese Ghosts—follow certain rules; obey certain laws. They have a specific appearance and purpose. These...
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Two Tales From the Konjaku Monogatari
Translated and Adapted from Konjaku Monogatari – Tales of Times Now Past How Tosuke Ki’s Meeting with a Ghost-Woman in Mino Province Ended in His Death Tosuke Ki was traveling to his estate in Mino...
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What’s the Difference Between Yurei and Yokai?
What is a yokai? What is a mononoke? What is a bakemono? Are yurei also yokai? These seemingly basic questions have no precise answers. Almost everyone has their own ideas, and they seldom agree with...
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Garei – The Picture Ghost
Translated from Mizuki Shigeru’s Mujyara, Ochiguri Monogatari, and Other Sources Long ago, there was a dilapidated folding screen with the portrait of a woman holding her child. The screen was the...
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Konnyaku no Yurei – The Konnyaku Ghost of Tenri
Translated and Sourced from Mizuki Shigeru’s Mujyara, Legends of Tenri, and Other Sources This peculiar story comes from Tenri city, in Nara prefecture. In the span separating Kabata ward from Inaba...
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Tajima no Sorei – The Poltergeist of Tajima
Translated and Sourced from Mizuki Shigeru’s Mujyara, Taihei Hyakumonogatari, Japanese Wikipedia, and Other Sources This is a tale of the Edo period, from Tajima province (modern day Hyogo...
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10 Famous Japanese Ghost Stories
Japan is one of the most haunted places on Earth. In Japanese folk belief, Japan as an island is infused with supernatural powers–The very soil of the land is charged with potential, magical energy....
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Manekute no Yurei – The Inviting Ghost Hand
Translated and Sourced from Mizuki Shigeru’s Mujyara and Other Sources Late at night, when you have to get up to go to the bathroom, a mysterious hand beckons you from a wall. That’s strange enough,...
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Goze no Yurei – The Yurei of the Blind Female Musician
Translated and Sourced from Mizuki Shigeru’s Mujyara and Other Sources This story takes place during the Kyoho era (1716-1736). A samurai named Hotsumi Kanji,a minor prefect in Kitakuni province, was...
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Yuigon Yurei – The Last Request Yurei
Translated and Sourced from Mizuki Shigeru’s Mujyara, Ehon Hyaku Monogatari, Japanese Wikipedia, and Other Sources It is said that people who die with some lingering issue—those who didn’t properly...
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Aizuwakamatsu no Yurei – The Yurei of Aizuwakamatsu
Translated from Mizuki Shigeru’s Mujyara Long ago, in the town of Aizuwakamatsu (modern day Fukushima prefecture) lived a man named Iyo lived with his wife. One night the yurei of a woman appeared in...
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Heike Ichizoku no Onryo – The Vengeful Ghosts of the Heike Clan
Translated and Sourced from Mizuki Shigeru’s Mujyara, British Museum.org, Funa Benkei, The Warrior Ghosts of Noh, Japanese Wikipedia, and Other Sources The year is 1185. Minamoto no Yoshitsune stands...
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Hidarugami – The Hunger Gods
Translated and Sourced from Mizuki Shigeru’s Mujyara, Showa: A History of Japan, Japanese Wikipedia, Kaii Yokai Densho Database, and Other Sources If you are walking through a mountain trail, and find...
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The Ghost of Oyuki
Maruyama Ōkyo opened his eyes from a fitful sleep and saw a dead woman. She was young. Beautiful. And pale. Unnaturally drained of color, her bloodless skin peeked from her loose, bone-white burial...
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Yokai Chat at Obakeforums.com!
Once upon a time the Obakemono Project was the coolest place on the internet to chat with like-minded folks about yurei, yokai, and other Asian and world folklore monsters. Sadly, the owner lost...
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Shudan Borei – A Group of Ghosts
Translated from Mizuki Shigeru’s Mujara On July 28th, Showa 30th (1955), in a heartbreaking incident 36 junior high school girls drowned on a beach in Mie prefecture. Of the nine girls who survived the...
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Shichinin Dōgyō – The Seven Pilgrims
Translated from Mizuki Shigeru’s Mujara This is a legend from Kagawa prefecture, and is one of several legends about someone out for a walk who runs into a mysterious band on the road, and dies as a...
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