Exhibitions

Yōkai: Ghosts & Demons of Japan

Yōkai: Ghosts & Demons of Japan
Yōkai: Ghosts & Demons of Japan

Yōkai: Ghosts & Demons of Japan


December 8, 2019 - November 5, 2023

Vivid in Japanese art and imagination are creatures that are at once ghastly and comical. Yōkai is a catchall word that generally refers to demons, ghosts, shapeshifters, and “strange” and supernatural beings. Yōkai  are prevalent in Japanese popular and expressive culture; you find them in manga (comics), anime (animation), and character-based games such as Pokémon (“pocket monster”).

The exhibition, Yōkai: Ghosts & Demons of Japan is on display through October 30, 2022. Special exhibition highlights include: narrative arts such as Edo period scroll paintings and woodblock prints; contemporary folk art that depicts yōkai and illustrates their eerie tales; ghost and demon characters from classical noh and kabuki performances; and special festival events. Toys, games, comic books, and anime connect the past to the present, and the classical to the popular in terms of visual arts and culture. In addition to participatory gallery crafts, the exhibition includes an immersive, family-friendly obake yashiki (a Japanese “monster house”), a popular form of entertainment in Japanese amusement parks.

ONLINE RESOURCES:

VIEW THE MUSEUM YŌKAI COLLECTION:

http://collection.internationalfolkart.org/collections/24685/yokai-exhibit

WATCH AND LISTEN TO JAPANESE GHOST STORIES:

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL-Dx1Qh-1tenHeAG66Pv_QEwgLVP3l3jI

READ THE ARTICLE, "Supernatural: Get spooked by the history and pop culture of Japanese yōkaI" by Julia Goldberg, in El Palacio Magazine:

http://www.elpalacio.org/2020/01/supernatural/

VISIT OUR OTHER ONLINE RESOURCES:

 http://moifa.org/visit/online.html

View Online Exhibition Site