This week I read a really cool article from the Daily Yomiuri on yokai or supernatural beings. Yokai stem from the Shinto belief system in which all things, living or inanimate, have a spirit and can turn into a supernatural being with mystical powers. Some yokai are simply mischievous and some are downright evil but most are incarnated into a grotesque or strange form and tend to be the product of pent-up emotions or unfulfilled desires or lives ended prematurely. The article highlighted the link between the upturn of interest in yokai and the downturn or lack of confidence that the Japanese people have in their economy which started back in the 1990’s.

The author, Sawa Kurotani, states in the article that:

“When a society fails to provide a clear vision and assure its citizens of positive outlooks for their future, people become disillusioned and lose their sense of connection to the collective to which they belong. One of the symptoms of this state of alienation, which Emile Durkheim famously called anomie, is increased suicide, which Japan has experienced since the late 1990s.

A surge of interest in the supernatural is yet another symptom of anomie. When social reality no longer makes sense, people turn to an alternative explanation for their predicament. As yokai represent an alternative reality that transcends the logic of modern society, the world of yokai may provide a kind of escape from the “real” world that is not so hopeful.”

This same effect has been documented in the United States post 9-11 and currently while the debate rages over military actions in Iraq and Afghanistan. It is very interesting that during times of crisis people around the world turn to religion and spirituality for comfort.

So what does a yokai look like?

To the left is Zashiki-warashi, a child-like spirit that is said to inhabit the inner rooms of old houses and other buildings. Sometimes it plays with the children of the house, but it never lets the adults see it. Houses inhabited by zashiki-warashi have have extremely good fortune but that can change if the ghost child ever leaves.

You can see more pictures of yokai at The Obakemono Project and an overview of Japanese supernatural beings can be found at Mangajin.