Sketches and notes from Santa Fe’s International Folk Art Exhibit on Yokai — Japanese catchall for ghosts, tricksters, monsters, supernatural beings and mysterious phenomenon.
I enjoyed the show realizing how imbedded Yokai are in Japan’s culture. First appearing in medival scroll paintings — Emakimono — based on religious material represented as “Oni” — demons or goblins; Yokai now permeate popular culture from stage to screen in theatre, film, comics and animation. Highly successful Yokai-based stories include Shigeru Mizuke’s “GeGeGe no Kitarō” manga (1960 - 1969); Hayeo Miyazaki’s 1997 animation “Princess Mononoke”"; and Hideo Nakata’s 1997 horror film “Ringu.”
