• Yokai No.01 at Yokai Museum
  • Yokai No.02 at Yokai Museum
  • Yokai No.03 at Yokai Museum
  • Yokai No.04 at Yokai Museum

Do Yokai Exist
or don’t they?

Over 800 Yokai have gathered from around the world here in Shodoshima’s Yokai Art Museum.

By listening to this guide which introduces everything from the origin of the Yokai, or Japanese monsters, to modern day Yokai, you will be left with a completely different image of what Yokai are.

Yokai originated in the end of the Heian period, and are derived from the ancient Japanese concept of Animism.

But just what are Yokai?

Yokai are a source of fear, of comfort, of culture, of entertainment. Those kinds of discoveries lie waiting for you here.

  • The Origin of Yokai

    The Origin of Yokai

    Why were the Yokai born in Japan?

    The people of ancient Japan believed that spirits and demons lived in all things.

    All of the mysterious things that happened around them was said to be caused by spirits.

    We introduce Yokai as art through sculptures of Yokai which convey the spirit of animalism in Japan that existed in the middle ages, to Yokai being used in entertainment in the Edo period.

    01

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  • Dodeca Yokai

    Dodeca Yokai

    Would you remember if you were eaten by a Yōkai?

    Here we will introduce a Yokai which has recently come to live on the island. It is said to appear on cold evenings.

    Falling asleep under the Kotatsu is especially dangerous.

    If you take a step into the warehouse of this former soy sauce factory, and are sucked into the giant cave before you, there is a chance you have actually already been eaten by the Yokai.

    02

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    04

  • Yōkai SDGs LABO

    Yōkai SDGs LABO

    Japan has been home to a myriad of spirits since time immemorial.

    Everything in this world has a soul.

    You could say that Yōkai are representations of those souls.

    By understanding and befriending Yōkai born of modern humanity’s fears and woes, we at the Laboratory believe we can help the world.

    Now, without further ado, let me introduce the Yōkai we are currently researching.

    03

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    04

  • Mononoke Mandara

    Mononoke Mandara

    In the darkness, you can see it.

    Where there is light, there is shadow. There is darkness. But in this darkness, you feel the presence of something. This is the Mononoke.

    If you lie on the Tatami in the middle of this darkness, you may feel like you can see something moving. We want you to take a silent moment of mediation as you lay here staring at the painting on the ceiling stretching out in front of you.

    The Mononoke Mandara offers you a chance to come face to face with yourself and be “reborn again.”

    04

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  • Phone:
    0879-62-0221
  • Holidays:
    No holidays(Open during other holidays)
  • Address:
    398 Ko, Tonosho, Shōzo-gun, Kagawa-ken 761-4106