Shichifukujin (七福神): Japan’s Seven Lucky Gods and a Tokyo Pilgrimage
Seven deities. Seven different kinds of good fortune. One treasure boat sailing into the New Year. Few images are as...
Mystical Japan
Explore Japan’s folklore, legends, spirits, sacred symbols and living rituals—from kitsune and tsukumogami to omamori and Namahage.
Tengu (天狗): Japan’s Mysterious Mountain Guardians at Mount Takao
A long red nose, dark feathered wings, and a fan powerful enough to sweep away misfortune: few figures capture the...
Japanese Folklore and the Places It Lives
A vermilion torii standing at the edge of a cedar forest, a stone fox watching over a shrine path, the...
Gajumaru (ガジュマル) and Kijimunā (キジムナー): Okinawa’s Tree of Spirits
Stand beneath an old gajumaru in Okinawa and the tree seems to have more than one trunk. Roots descend from...
Kaeru (蛙): The Lucky Frog That Promises You Will Come Back
At the edge of a Kamakura shop, a small frog sits beside the doorway. Perhaps it is glazed ceramic, perhaps...
Tanuki (狸): The Lucky Trickster Outside Japan’s Bars and Its Giant Money Pouch
Outside a Japanese bar, the doorman may be made of clay. He wears a broad hat, holds a flask of...
Kappa (河童): The River Spirit That Tried to Steal a Horse in Tōno
At a stream in northern Japan, the creature came for a horse. By morning, the horse had delivered the creature...
Namahage (なまはげ): The Masked Visitors at Japan’s Door
A heavy knock breaks the quiet of New Year’s Eve. Outside, the winter air is black and cold. Then comes...
Tsukumogami (付喪神): When Forgotten Objects Awaken in Japan
What if the thing you threw away still remembered you? In Japanese folklore, an old household object can cross a...
Zashiki-Warashi (座敷童子): The Child Spirit That Brings Fortune—Until It Leaves
Imagine crossing a quiet bridge in rural Japan and meeting two unfamiliar girls. They tell you they have just left...
Tentōmushi (天道虫): The Japanese Ladybug and Its Mysterious Connection to the Sun
A speck of red reaches the end of a leaf. For a moment it stops. Then, as the first light...
Maneki Neko (招き猫): The Mysterious Japanese Lucky Cat That Beckons Fortune
In a quiet Japanese shop, a small ceramic cat raises one paw toward the door. It looks playful, almost mischievous....
