Long before electricity illuminated the world, darkness was alive with mysterious beings. Strange sounds, shapeshifting figures, presences felt but never seen—from these encounters, the extraordinary culture of yokai 妖怪 (supernatural monsters of Japanese folklore) was born.

Yokai Parade: Supernatural Monsters from Japan is a traveling exhibition organized by The Japan Foundation and curated by Yumoto Koichi, Director Emeritus of the Yumoto Koichi Memorial Japan Yokai Museum (Miyoshi Mononoke Museum).

Yokai, born from generations of imaginative engagement with the unknown, reflect the nuances of an ever-evolving society and its relationship with the natural world. Shape-shifters and tricksters, vengeful spirits and comic creatures; these entities have haunted prints, invaded popular literature, and leapt from the screen in anime and film. Feared by some, beloved by others, they have possessed the imagination for centuries.

We invite you to meet these yokai and explore their long, strange history. Through vibrant woodblock prints, picture scrolls, toys, films, and more, Yokai Parade follows these creatures from their origins in oral tradition to their starring roles in contemporary popular culture. After centuries in the shadows, they have traveled all the way from Japan to meet you.

The Japan Foundation is Japan’s only institution dedicated to carrying out comprehensive international cultural exchange programs throughout the world. To cultivate friendship and ties between Japan and the world, the Japan Foundation creates global opportunities to foster friendship, trust, and mutual understanding through culture, language and dialogue.