Yokai in Japanese art: from painted scrolls to woodblock prints
Long before they appeared in anime and video games, yokai haunted Japanese art. From the 16th century onwards, painted handscrolls depicted the Hyakki Yagyō, the Night Parade of One Hundred Demons, in which animated household objects, monsters and spirits march through the streets after dark. In 1776, the artist Toriyama Sekien published an illustrated bestiary that fixed the appearance of dozens of creatures for generations to come. Then, in the 19th century, the boom of ukiyo-e woodblock prints turned yokai into a favourite subject of Japan's most popular artists, and a thrilling source of entertainment for the people of Edo.
The masters behind our yokai prints
Utagawa Kuniyoshi was the great showman of the genre, famous for dramatic triptychs such as the giant skeleton summoned by the witch Takiyasha. Katsushika Hokusai gave Japanese ghosts some of their most unforgettable faces in his series One Hundred Ghost Stories (c. 1831), including the haunted lantern of Oiwa. Tsukioka Yoshitoshi, often called the last great master of ukiyo-e, explored fear and the supernatural with psychological depth in New Forms of Thirty-Six Ghosts (1889–1892). And Kawanabe Kyosai painted demons with a wild, irreverent humour that makes his night parades as funny as they are unsettling.
Choosing a yokai print for your home
Yokai art offers a surprising range of moods. Mischievous kappa, dancing tanuki and animated umbrellas bring a playful touch to a hallway, a study or a reading corner, while vengeful ghosts, oni and giant skeletons make a striking statement for lovers of dark, dramatic art. Black or natural wood frames suit the graphic lines of Japanese prints, and a yokai piece pairs beautifully with the serene landscapes of our Japanese woodblock prints for a gallery wall full of contrast.
Every print is reproduced from high-definition images of public domain works, on thick matte paper that respects the soft texture of the original prints. Available in several sizes and shipped worldwide in a protective tube.
Who are the yokai? Oni, kitsune, tengu, kappa, yurei and more than a hundred other creatures: discover their stories, powers and origins in our complete guide to Japanese yokai.
