Japanese Ghosts and Yokai (Supernatural Creatures)

Major Division in Japanese Supernatural: Yurei and Yokai

Yurei ("hazy spirits" = spirits of human beings)

Yokai ("bewitching apparitions"= supernatural creatures who are non-human)

I. What are ghosts?

A. How do you become a ghost?

1.

2.

3.

4.

What traditional reason for ghosts no longer causes ghosts (or pacifies them)?

B. What do ghosts look like? If you met one, how would you know it was a ghost? image

C. Ghosts and supernatural creatures are an indication that there is a social or political or religious problem that needs to be addressed.

So one thing we think about when we see a ghost is: what is going wrong in society?

Eg. Godzilla (1954)

Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Lucky Dragon

 

D. Have ghosts always looked the same?

Medieval ghosts from Noh theater

love-lorn female ghosts

demonic female ghost (1)

Edo Period female ghost

E. What causes ghosts to change? The changing cultural understanding and visual representation of ghosts is a function of:

  1. Religious context (how ghosts are understood in this period)
  2. Political context (what political/economic/social conflict does the ghost embody)
  3. Goal of author (didactic purpose, entertainment, etc.)
  4. Who is the intended audience (religious/secular; upper/lower class, male/female, etc.)
  5. Genre conventions (fiction, theater, historical chronicle, film, anime)

 

One point of this lecture: What ghosts and supernatural creatures look like and what powers they have change over time and depends especially on what the goal of the author was in creating the ghost or monster.

PREMODERN JAPANESE GHOSTS DEPEND ON A BELIEF IN SHAMANISM AND BUDDHISM

II. Shinto (no real word for native Japanese kami belief prior to about 15th century)

A. Animistic: belief that a wide range of natural phenomena (trees, rocks, thunder and lightning, animals) contain spirits or KAMI

image 1, image 2 Thunder and Lightning deities (Raijin)

B. Belief that human beings have a soul (TAMA) the energy source that gives them life

1. TAMA can wander away from the body, and become a ghost that possesses you if proper rituals are not performed. Possession can make you very ill or act crazy.

1) even in this early period, TAMA was visualized as a flaming ball/jewel. See also this much later Edo period image of hitodama (person-tama).

C. Used shamans to contact kami or ghosts

1. Shaman: allowed the kami or ghost to possess him or herself and spoke for them, telling their demands.Try to meet those demands so they will stop possessing the person

 

III. Buddhism enters Japan in about 7th century

    A.  Three Premises of Buddhism

       
      1. Perception of this world as SAMSARA       (time keeps moving, everything changes, nothing remains the same)

      "You're older than you've ever been...."

      2. Belief in REINCARNATION

      3. Belief in KARMA (that all our luck, good and bad, is a result of actions in our past lives)

      [image]

    B. Historical Founder of Buddhism: The Life of the Buddha (The Awakened One)

      1. Siddhartha Gautama (born in 6th c. B.C. Northern India to ruler of Shakya clan)  

      2. Leaves home at 30 years of age, after experiencing every pleasure, to find the meaning of life.

      3. Practices asceticism (life of severe self-discipline) but finds that doesn't work either.

      [images of Buddha] 

      4. Meditates under Bodhi tree and achieves enlightenment (awakening) of "middle way" between hedonism (life of pleasure) and asceticism (life of severe self-discipline)

C. His enlightenment: The Four Noble Truths

     
    1. Life is constantly changing and so permeated with suffering.

    (Birth, illness, old age, death. Then rebirth. Maybe as a cockroach.)

    2. The cause of suffering is human desire. (What do you really want? If you don't get it, how do you feel?)

    a. In this context what is "sin"?

    3. BUT we can stop the suffering if we stop the cycle of reincarnation.

       
      a. Stopping the cycle of reincarnation is called NIRVANA in Buddhism.


    4. You can attain this Nirvana via an eight-fold discipline or path. This path includes:

    a. Wisdom (understanding the truth of Buddha's insights)

    b. Morality (practicing the truth of Buddha's insights by choosing to be selfless and compassionate towards all living things)

    c. Mental Discipline (learning mental concentration and meditation techniques to detach oneself from the desires that keep us bound to the cycle of reincarnation)

     

    THAT'S BASICALLY IT FOR LEARNING HARD NEW THINGS

     

    D. How does incorporation of Buddhist world view affect ghosts?

    1. Why are Buddhist rituals seen as more powerful than pre-Buddhist shamanic rituals?

    a. passionate attachment as explanatory mechanism for ghosts: that's why they are lingering by the spot they died.....

    b. Buddhist priests can perform better rituals (they help the ghost get release from their desire for revenge, or longing for their lost child or lover. This is seen as more effective than just exorcising them by shamanism).

    2. Layering of beliefs: Buddhist priests use shamanic rituals

     

    IV. Ghosts in Medieval Noh Plays (14th-16th century)

    Watch video of a Noh play, Adachigahara

    Does the demonic spirit of the old woman look like a ghost to you? Why or why not?

    IMAGES

    IMAGES 2

    A. Characteristics of angry female ghosts or demons:

    1.

    2.

    3.

    4.

    5.

    A. Noh plays were originally written for Buddhist temples to demonstrate the power of Buddhism to save ghosts and demonic spirits.

    B. Common structure for Noh plays:

    1. First half the ghost or demon looks like a normal person

    2. Second half their true form is revealed and the Buddhist priests use rituals to try to pacify and exorcise them.

    C. Why are demonic female ghosts so powerful in Noh?

     

    V. Historical Context for Female Ghosts in the Edo Period (1603-1868)

    A. Politics

        1. 1467 (Onin Wars) to 1603 perpetual civil war between powerful samurai clans ("Warring States Period")
        2. Tokugawa Ieyasu takes control with Battle of Sekigahara (1600) and is appointed Shogun in 1603;
        Ieyasu completely consolidates his         control with the siege of Osaka Castle and the death of Toyotomi Hideyoshi (1615)

        3. 250 years of relative peace with the Tokugawa family in control

      B. Religion
        1. Away from Buddhism towards Neo-Confucianism

        a. Hierarchy of roles originating in the basic notion of filial piety (honor your parents)


        b. Four class system         that is now hereditary and unchanging

        1) Samurai
         2) Peasants
        3)         Artisans
        4)         Merchants

        Why would the Tokugawa prefer this system?

        Men/Women: "Women should obey their father in childhood, their husband in middle age, and their sons in old age."

      c. Righteous vendettas become popular theme of drama and fiction

      1) Changes idea of how ghost is pacified

      a) Buddhism: Ghost is enlightened by priest and gives up its desire for revenge (or its passionate love)

      b) Neo-Confucianism: Ghost achieves its vendetta and therefore gets release from its anger

      c) Kabuki and woodblock prints are supported by paying audiences who want to be entertained so not worried about whether the ghost gets enlightened or not.

      d) but Tokugawa government censors all popular culture to follow Neo-Confucian values (Reward the good, punish the evil)

      VI. Visual Representation of Female Ghosts in the late 18th-19th centuries

      A. Edo period ghosts (yûrei, "dim/hazy spirits")

      1. Major influences: Kabuki and woodblock prints

      B. Ghost of Oyuki, girl friend of Maruyama Ôkyo (1733-1795)

        1. Characteristics

        a.

        b.

        c.

        d.

        e.Influence of Kabuki

      C. Yugao (lover of Genji killed by rival lover Rokujo), by Tsukioka Yoshitoshi (1839-1892)

      1. Characteristics

      a.

      b.

      c.

      d.

      e.

       

      D. Okiku (killed by Aoyama Tessan)

      1. Image 1 characteristics

       

      2. Image 2 characteristics

       

      3. Image 3 characteristics

       

      E. The Nightly Weeping Rock

      1. Other stories involving pregnant women

      a. woman who buys rice candy every night

    II. Summary

      A. New themes/cultural anxieties (non-Buddhist)

      1.

      2.

    B. Character compared to Noh

      1. Passive (don't attack)

      2. Their appearance reveals the guilty conscience of villain

      3. Rely on male relative to get revenge

    C. Visual representation of change in level of power for victim ghosts


      1.

      2.

      3.

       

      D. Neo-Confucian ideal of "onna-rashisa" (female-likeness)

        1. Supposed inherent qualities of females that they must work hard to overcome

        a.stupidity
        b.lazyness
        c.lust
        d.hot temper
        e.         tremendous capacity to hold grudges

         

        2. Male ideal of femininity?

        a.lets the man think for her
        b.hard working
        c. chaste
        d.never loses her temper
        e.         never holds a grudge

      3. Edo period female victim ghosts: The Moral to the Story

       

YOKAI AND FOXES

Intro

I. Yôkai (bewitching apparitions)

A. Difference between yôkai and ghosts
 
 

    CATEGORY 1 CATEGORY 2
    (INTERMEDIATE)    		 CATEGORY 3

    Yôkai (creatures 
    that are demonic / 
    supernatural in nature)

    Subcategory:
    Bakemono (literally "things that change shape";
    shape-shifters).
    Animals that shape-shift are known as henge.

    		 Living people who transform
    themselves into demons, 
    serpents, tengu, etc.    		 Ghosts (people who 
    become demonic/ 
    supernatural after death)

    B. Examples of medieval to early modern yôkai

      1. Ryû (dragons) (can sometimes be shape-shifters; control rain) and serpents (women/men who are jealous can transform into fire-breathing serpents)

      2. Tengu (mountain goblins, either falcon-like or long-nosed; can sometimes be shape-shifters)

      3. Kappa (green water sprites, Edo period development)

      Bakemono :

      1. Shape-shifter animals (henge): Foxes, tanuki racoon dogs (sometimes confused with mujina badgers) and bakeneko/nekomata cats who can change shape and bewitch you. Note that stories about foxes, tanuki and mujina date to the medieval period; bakeneko date to the 17th century.

      2. Ordinary objects that have come alive (tsukumogami): very old and/or discarded utensils and household objects such as umbrellas, paper lanterns, sandals, teapots, etc. are thought to become animated if proper rituals of gratitude for their long-service are not performed. Late medieval development that becomes popular in the Edo period. This is mainly a visual category with many amusing illustrations from the Edo period in particular; there are not many stories about tsukomogami.

II. Foxes

A. Natural characteristics (image)

Fox Village(Kitsune Mura) in Shiroishi City, Miyagi Prefecture

Kitsune Udon Commercial

B. Supernatural characteristics

    1. 100 years can bewitch

    2. 500 years can transform into a human or any shape

    3. 1000 years, white, nine tails, full power (can fly, control tama flames, create elaborate illusions)

    (Pokemon Vulpix)

    Pokemon Vulpix evolves into Ninetails

    4. Their reflection or shadow reveals their true form

    image with shadow

    image with mirror

    5. Carry a "wish fullfilling jewel" related to the Inari deity, that contains their powers. If you control their jewel, you can control them.

    6. Foxes have marriage processions when it is raining with the sun shining, often with tama fire lanterns

     

    C. Four interrelated forms (in basic chronological order of development)

    2. Fox possession (causes illness and madness) (10th c. onwards)

      3. Foxes taking the shape of human beings to cause mischief or to pay a debt (12th c. onwards)

      4. Fox ownership (master controls fox and has it do magic) (12 c. but prejudice kicks in 17-19th c.)

IV. Videos

A. Excerpt from Akira Kurosawa, "Dreams"

1. What fox beliefs are visualized here?

B. Medieval play: Fishing for Foxes

1. The uncle of a hunter is a Buddhist priest. An old fox disguises himself as the uncle in order to try to get the hunter to give up hunting. The hunter agrees, but then on his way back home, the fox sees the hunter's trap with a fresh rat in it. He is overcome with desire for the rat. The hunter realizes he has been fooled by a fox, and lays in wait for the fox to come back in his true form.

2. Who do you sympathize with, the fox or the hunter? Why? How does this teach a Buddhist moral?

C. Excerpt from Yoshitsune and the Thousand Cherry Trees

1. A woman suspects that the retainer that she has been traveling with is not who he says he is. It turns out he is a fox in disguise.

 

D. Kitsune Foxes in Pokemon:

 

Pokemon episode about Ninetails (excerpt)

 

Pokemon Episode, "Just Waiting for a Friend" (full episode) (explanation 14:25 , ending 19:40)

1. What is similar to traditional fox ideas?

 

 

 

What Does the Fox Say (2)

 

Yokai NHK Documentary