Doing laundry while the devil is away

Nice to meet you, my name is Onidou Kai. I usually enjoy writing random articles and writing fantasy stories and publishing them as books.

I am thrilled to have my article published on such a yokai site. I am grateful that my "yokai trivia" and "yokai love," which I have only kept to myself or among friends, can now be shared with the world.

Well, as this is my first post, let me start by talking about my definition of a yokai and what a yokai is.

　　

What are Yokai?

Its definition has been debated many times by our predecessors. I think it's fine for there to be various interpretations. Here's what I think a yokai is.

"When something happens, what causes it (or what is causing it))"

Humans are very weak creatures. Therefore, when something happens,Unknown"or"Be responsible for yourself" We fear that. This gives rise to a desire to clearly acknowledge that the target, or cause, of this fear is something other than ourselves. I believe that it is from this feeling that yokai creatures were born.

In a certain monster anime,It's the monster's fault, right?"It's okay to blame it on the yokai," as the song lyrics say. I think these lyrics are closer to the root of yokai.

Let's take the plague god as an example of a yokai that causes an event. Originally a Chinese plague demon that turned into an evil god, the plague god is often classified as a yokai from there. It was born from the belief that diseases and other such things were caused by invisible entities. However, being invisible = not knowing what it really is is frightening. That's why it's good to give it a visible form. If it were a different time, the "new coronavirus" that is currently spreading would probably have been attributed to the plague god. In modern times, the existence of diseases is clear, so the role of the plague god is decreasing.

　　

The changing monsters

However, today's yokai have made a leap from their roots and gone beyond that realm. They have changed form from phenomena and causes to existence and then to form, and their existence has been revealed through oral tradition, as in picture scrolls. It is no exaggeration to say that this is a great achievement in culture throughout history. They have been given forms and names, and thus yokai have been passed down to the present day.

Speaking of modern monsters,EntertainmentandAcademicsandbusinessAlthough these yokai have infiltrated our culture in new ways, modern people still create yokai based on the idea of "unknown identity" and "shifting the blame."

For example, the yokai known as the "yokai remote control hider" was created when people couldn't find the remote control they had put somewhere, so they blamed it on the yokai. Another good thing about yokai is that they represent the weaknesses of humans, which have not changed from the past to the present.

Yokai have always been objects of fear, but that is not all there is to them these days. As mentioned above, they can sometimes bring us fun, money, or teach us about the course of history.

They are feared and shunned, yet loved. Such things are called yokai, and I hope to continue to love them in the future.

Image: Yellow cover book "Kaidan Yosakane" "Gyosai Hyakki Gadan"

 ▼Kidoukai 
Respects Sakadoji.
Works written: "Kitai", "Yuuu", "Oeyama Sake Dojiden", "Introduction to Juvenile Studies"
 site:note.com/jyaibotenor