Yokai: Ghosts & Demons of Japan

Vivid in Japanese art and imagination are creatures that are at once ghastly and comical. Yokai generally refers to demons, ghosts, shapeshifters, and “strange” and supernatural beings. 

Narrative arts such as Muromachi Period scroll paintings, Edo Period woodblock prints, and contemporary folk art that depict or involve yokai will illustrate their eerie tales. Ghost and demon characters also appear in classical theatrical performances and special festival events. Contemporary Noh masks and festival costumes and the artists who make them will be a particular exhibition highlight. Toys, games, comic books, and cartoons will connect the past to the present, and the classical to the popular in terms of visual arts and culture. In addition to participatory gallery crafts, the exhibition will include an immersive, family-friendly obake yashiki (a Japanese “ghost house”), a popular form of entertainment in Japanese amusement parks.

Credit: Exhibition overview from museum website.