‘Japanese Yokai and Other Supernatural Beings’: Ghosts and ghouls in all their macabre glory

Nobody was quite sure how Shuten-doji had turned into an ogre. Some said it was after his mother abandoned him. Others stated that wine had corrupted his soul. Those with a fondness for the macabre swore that his transformation happened only after he fed rotten meat from a corpse to his religious master. Whatever the cause, all were in agreement: Shuten-doji was a horrible beast.

From his bastion on top of Mount Oe, northwest of Kyoto, he commanded a band of monsters who terrorized the surrounding areas. For years, their predations went unimpeded, until one day, people had had enough. They approached Minamoto “Raiko” Yorimitsu, a famed warrior, and begged for his help. Raiko obliged: He promptly led his men into the den of the villain and put an end to his mayhem.

Shuten-doji is not an oddity. He is but one of a slew of goblins and ghouls, of vengeful spirits, witches and imps who inhabit the Japanese imagination. In the words of Andreas Marks, an author and expert on ukiyo-e woodblock prints, “the richness and scale of Japanese demons and ghosts cannot, arguably, be surpassed in the culture of any other country.”

Finding one’s bearings in this wealth of fiends can be a challenge though, especially for Western readers who are not familiar with the imagery and symbolism of Japanese art. This is where Marks’ latest volume, “Japanese Yokai and Other Supernatural Beings,” comes in handy: It describes 100 of the country’s most ghastly creatures in great detail. It is also lavishly illustrated, primarily with ukiyo-e woodblock prints, but also with the odd painting here and there. Some readers will lament the absence of historical context — Marks limits himself to a sparse six-page introduction — but most will appreciate the tight web of cross-references between entries the author has woven. It is an excellent introduction to the field.

Take Shuten-doji as an example. His story, which dates to at least the 14th century, reaches its denouement when Raiko and his crew conduct a raid on his lair. But this is not the end: Most of the ogre’s minions are able to escape, and they go on to wreak further havoc as the protagonists of other tales. Two who caught the attention of ukiyo-e designers were Ibaraki-doji and Kidomaru. For the uninitiated, however, identifying their key attributes or the scenes with which they are traditionally associated is difficult. The former is often represented disguised as an old hag flying away with a severed forearm, which he lost in a fight with one of Raiko’s followers. The latter is at times depicted hiding under the skin of an ox, as he waits to ambush Raiko. Marks provides the clues to decipher this iconography, thereby allowing readers to gain a deeper appreciation of Japanese art.

Why so many odd creatures have captured the Japanese imagination remains the subject of debate, but the fact that they exist should be no cause for surprise. Across time and space, human societies have been prone to stigmatizing those who do not conform to mainstream values and expectations. Indeed, some scholars believe the character of Shuten-doji may find its roots in a community of scofflaws who lived on the margins of medieval society.

One of the strangest entities in Marks’ pantheon of demons is the tsukumogami (literally, “tool spirit”), which regularly appears in Japanese animation to this day. It is based on the belief that inanimate objects, after they reach 100 years of age, can acquire a soul of their own and thus the ability to play tricks on humans. Items as diverse as stirrups, spoons, bags and gongs can turn into tsukumogami.

If this sounds silly, it is because we look at it through a rational, contemporary lens. Belief in the supernatural was widespread in premodern societies, and in Japan, religion added a particular spin. For evidence, consider the fact that some Buddhist sects hold the idea that enlightenment is not merely for living creatures, but that nonsentient organisms such as trees, flowers and plants can also attain it. At the same time, Shintoism accepts that rocks and other inanimate objects can be dwellings for spirits. Put both ideas together and the belief that, say, a ladle whose wood was once part of a living tree, can develop a vitality of its own no longer comes off as totally absurd.

Interest in monsters and specters peaked during the Edo Period (1603-1868) when literacy spread beyond the educated elite and commercial publishing took off. This provided a rich trove of material for artists such as Utagawa Kuniyoshi and his disciplines, particularly Tsukioka Yoshitoshi and Kawanabe Kyosai. They let their imagination loose on the page, soaking their figures in blood and splattering gore with abandon. Horror was never so glorious again.