A 5-year-old girl has become the youngest expert on Japan's yokai, a world of ghosts and other supernatural beings, according to the test organizers in the city of Sakaiminato, Tottori Prefecture, where famous yokai manga artist Shigeru Mizuki comes from.
Mana Umemoto, from the city of Bizen, Okayama Prefecture, passed the introductory level of the 10th annual test held by the Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Sakaiminato and the city's commerce and tourism section.
"I'm pleased to hear that I've passed the exam. I'm looking forward to having a key chain of Kitaro that (my parents) promised to buy for me," she said after the test result was announced on Wednesday. Kitaro is the main character of Mizuki's famous yokai manga series "Gegege no Kitaro."
The test was held on Oct. 25 in Sakaiminato as well as in the Tokyo suburb of Chofu, where Mizuki is living. A total of about 360 people took the test, which asked 50 questions about yokai's habitats and characters for the introductory and intermediate levels and asked to write a short thesis for the advanced level.
As the result, 127 people passed the introductory level, 52 passed the intermediate one and two passed the advanced one. All were certified as "yokai experts." They gained certificates and Kitaro pins designed for yokai experts.