A legendary leader of oni said to have made Mt. Ōe in Kyoto his stronghold. Known for the tale of his defeat at the hands of Minamoto no Yorimitsu and his retainers.

A monstrous yokai with the head of a monkey, the body of a raccoon dog (tanuki), the limbs of a tiger, and the tail of a snake. Said to have been slain at the imperial palace in Kyoto by Minamoto no Yorimasa, a descendant of Minamoto no Yorimitsu, during the Heian period.

A tale of the slaying of the Tsuchigumo (“earth spider”) handed down in the Katsuragi mountains of Yamato and in Kyoto. It has also become a subject of Noh and Kabuki plays.

A great tengu said to dwell on Mt. Kurama in Kyoto. Known for the legend that he taught the art of war to the young Ushiwakamaru, later known as Minamoto no Yoshitsune.

A curse ritual said to have originated at Kifune Shrine in Kyoto. Practiced by driving nails into a straw effigy during the “hour of the ox” (around 2 a.m.) as a form of malediction.

An oni said to have served under Shuten-dōji. Known for the tale in which Watanabe no Tsuna severed one of his arms at the Rashōmon gate in Kyoto.

A shapeshifting tanuki from Sado Island in Niigata Prefecture. Counted among the “Three Famous Tanuki of Japan,” alongside Shibaemon-danuki of Awaji Island and Tasaburō-danuki of Kagawa Prefecture.

Many kappa legends have been handed down along the Sumida River since the Edo period.

The Kamakura-period chronicle “Azuma Kagami” records that in 1251, a yokai resembling an ushioni (ox-demon) appeared at Sensō-ji temple and a monk there fell ill. The creature, which had emerged from the Sumida River, is said to have left a “gyokugyoku” (ox bezoar) at Ushijima Shrine across the river, where cattle have been venerated ever since.

A small yokai resembling a kappa, found in Kochi Prefecture. Said to love sumo wrestling, with tales told throughout the region of it challenging people to matches by the river.

The setting of the “robe of feathers” (hagoromo) legend, located at Miho-no-Matsubara in Shimizu Ward, Shizuoka City, Shizuoka Prefecture. Known for the tale of a celestial maiden who hung her feathered robe on a pine tree while bathing; the site is also registered as a component asset of Mt. Fuji's UNESCO World Heritage listing.

A yokai from the mountainous areas of Tokushima Prefecture that appears as a crying infant and grows heavier once picked up. It became nationally known through the works of manga artist Shigeru Mizuki.

A cycle of tales from Tokushima Prefecture about rival tanuki waging a “war of trickery” against one another, often told as an allegory for human power struggles. Shrines linked to tanuki worship still remain today.

A small yokai resembling a kappa, found in Kochi Prefecture. Said to love sumo wrestling, with tales told throughout the region of it challenging people to matches by the river.

At a certain house in Anan City, Tokushima Prefecture, a skull said to have been brought back after the defeat of an ushioni (ox-demon) that had tormented local residents is enshrined in a small shrine.

Ōmononushi, the deity enshrined on Mt. Miwa in Sakurai City, Nara Prefecture, is said in ancient myths recorded in the “Kojiki” and “Nihon Shoki” to appear in the form of a serpent.

An oni recorded in the “Nihon Ryōiki” as having appeared at Gangō-ji temple in Nara. An old legend tells of its capture by a superhumanly strong boy said to be the child of a thunder god.

The tale of Tawara Tōda (Fujiwara no Hidesato) slaying a giant centipede said to have coiled seven and a half times around Mt. Mikami (known as “Ōmi Fuji”) in Shiga Prefecture.

A culture-hero deity appearing in Ainu epic poetry (yukar). Said to have taught people the skills of fishing and hunting.

An imaginary creature with the head of a tiger and the body of a fish. Famous as the golden shachihoko atop the main keep of Nagoya Castle, regarded as a guardian deity against fire.

A yokai from the Ōsumi region of Kagoshima Prefecture, said to take the form of a single bolt of cloth (about 10.6 meters long, one “tan”) and fly through the night sky.

In the former town of Ichiki, Hioki District, Kagoshima Prefecture (now part of Ichikikushikino City), festivals and legends related to the ushioni (ox-demon/ox-god) survive under the name “Tsukuimon,” while along the coast of the Ōsumi Peninsula they are known as “Unmushi.”

A child-shaped spirit said to dwell within a household, found in the Tōno region of Iwate Prefecture and elsewhere. It became widely known through Kunio Yanagita's “Tōno Monogatari” (The Legends of Tōno).

The pool known as “Kappa-buchi,” beside Jōken-ji temple in Tōno, is famous as the legendary site of kappa sightings, and reports of encounters continue to this day.

A collection of legends and folktales from the Tōno region of Iwate Prefecture, published by Kunio Yanagita in 1910. It is regarded as the starting point of Japanese folklore studies.

A sacred mountain rising in central Iwate Prefecture. Legends of three sister goddesses of the mountains — Hayachine, Chōkai, and Iwaki — are told throughout the Tōhoku region.

Mediums (itako) who practice spirit channeling, active chiefly around Mt. Osore in Aomori Prefecture. Said to call down the spirits of the dead and relay their words; large numbers of worshippers visit during the great festivals.

At Ushioni-buchi pool in Nishimuro District, Wakayama Prefecture, it is said that an ushioni (ox-demon) appears when the water turns murky; offerings of sake at New Year were said to ward off its curse. At the Mio River, an unusual tale is also told of an ushioni that vanished after helping a human.

A visiting-deity ritual handed down in Wajima City and Noto Town, Ishikawa Prefecture. Regarded as belonging to the same tradition as Namahage, it was registered in 2018 as part of UNESCO's “Raiho-shin” (visiting deity) Intangible Cultural Heritage listing.

A yokai said to dwell in the main keep of Himeji Castle in Hyogo Prefecture. An old legend tells of her appearing night after night as the castle's guardian.

A strange being from the Hida region of Gifu Prefecture, said to have two faces (front and back) and four arms. Depicted both as having been slain by the imperial court and as a hero who protected the local people.

A legend from the Aizu region of Fukushima Prefecture. A papier-mâché toy said to have been made in gratitude to a red ox that helped carry building materials for the construction of a temple.

A white fox spirit said to dwell in the Shinoda Forest in Osaka. A legend tells of her union with a human man, becoming the mother of the onmyōji Abe no Seimei.

An oni-like yokai with the head of an ox, widely known along the coasts of western Japan. Legends and festivals related to it survive in Okayama, Ehime, Kochi, and other regions.

The legend of Ura in Okayama is considered one of the prototypes of the Momotarō tale, handed down as the story of the oni's defeat at the hands of Kibitsuhiko-no-Mikoto.

A legendary goddess or celestial maiden said to have lived on Mt. Suzuka, on the border between the former provinces of Ise and Ōmi. Connected with legends of Sakanoue no Tamuramaro, she is also identified at times with an oni or a female bandit.

An ushioni is said to have dwelt in a cave at Gokasho Bay in Minamiise Town, Mie Prefecture. Legend holds that when the local castle lord shot it with an arrow, his principal wife fell ill as a curse from the creature.

A record of strange events said to have been experienced in 1749 by Inō Heitarō of Bingo Miyoshi (present-day Miyoshi City, Hiroshima Prefecture), who was visited by a different yokai every night for a full month.

A mysterious fire said to have been seen over the Ariake Sea and Yatsushiro Sea in Kyushu. Also explained as a mirage phenomenon caused by the lights of nighttime fishing boats.

A crab found around Dan-no-ura in Yamaguchi Prefecture whose shell resembles an angry human face. Said to be the transformed souls of Heike warriors defeated in the Battle of Dan-no-ura.

A street in Sakaiminato City, Tottori Prefecture, the hometown of manga artist Shigeru Mizuki, lined with more than 100 bronze statues of yokai.

A tale from the “Kojiki” set in Inaba (present-day eastern Tottori Prefecture). A white hare, having tricked sharks (wani) in an attempt to cross the sea, is rescued by the god Ōkuninushi.

A red-haired spirit said to dwell in banyan (gajumaru) trees, found in the Okinawa and Amami regions.

A five-headed dragon appearing in the founding legend of Enoshima in Kanagawa Prefecture. Legend tells of its reform after being admonished by the celestial maiden Benzaiten.

A yokai from Hodogaya Ward, Yokohama City, Kanagawa Prefecture, said to be the spirit of a lord who lost his sanity. The saying “if you go outside, Akashi-sama will appear” survives locally as a warning to children.

A legend of a vengeful spirit: Sugawara no Michizane, demoted and exiled to Dazaifu (in present-day Fukuoka Prefecture), where he died, was said in spirit to have caused a series of lightning strikes and disasters in the capital. He was later enshrined as the deity Tenjin.

At Kannon-ji temple in Kurume City, Fukuoka Prefecture, a mummified hand said to belong to an ushioni is preserved, along with the legend that the temple's head priest defeated the creature after it tormented local residents.

The giant ushioni paraded through the streets at the Ushioni Festival in the Uwajima region of Ehime Prefecture is a representative yokai legend of the Nanyo area.

A visiting-deity ritual from the Oga Peninsula in Akita Prefecture. On New Year's Eve, young men wearing oni masks go from house to house to admonish the lazy. Listed as a UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage.

A legend associated with Lake Tazawa in Akita Prefecture. Tatsuko, a girl who wished for eternal beauty, is said to have transformed into a dragon and become the guardian spirit of the lake.

A myth from the province of Izumo (Shimane Prefecture) of a giant serpent with eight heads and eight tails. Susanoo-no-Mikoto is said to have slain it, finding the sword Kusanagi inside its tail.

A place name in northern Miyagi Prefecture. Legend holds that it is where the severed head of an oni slain by Sakanoue no Tamuramaro fell, giving rise to the name of the Onikōbe hot spring area.

Negoro-ji temple on Goshikidai in Kagawa Prefecture secretly preserves the horn of an ushioni said to have been defeated in the early Edo period. Place names such as “Ushioni-buchi,” found throughout the Kinki and Shikoku regions, are said to derive from this ushioni legend.

In the former Minamitakaki District of Nagasaki Prefecture (now Unzen City), a festival related to the ushioni (ox-demon/ox-god) survives under the name “Tōshimon.”

A yokai recorded in an Edo-period news broadsheet (kawaraban) as having appeared in the sea off Higo Province (Kumamoto Prefecture) and prophesied a bountiful harvest and an epidemic. In 2020 it became widely known again as a symbol of protection against disease.

A yokai from the Amakusa region of Kumamoto Prefecture, said to appear on the mountain pass of Kinoshitayama. It also appears in the works of manga artist Shigeru Mizuki.

The Yatsushiro region of Kumamoto Prefecture preserves one of the largest bodies of kappa legend in Kyushu, including a festival commemorating the legend of the kappa's arrival.

A kappa legend handed down since ancient times around Lake Inba in Chiba Prefecture, including a tale of a kappa trying to drag a horse into the water at the lake's edge.

A ghost story of a monstrous cat disturbance associated with the Nabeshima family of Saga Domain. Widely known as a subject for theatrical plays since the Edo period.

The daughter of a local lord, handed down in Kiyama, Karatsu City. A tragic love legend tells of her waving her scarf from Mt. Kagami to see off her husband departing on a campaign to Korea, and turning to stone from the depths of her grief.

The “Sesshō-seki” (Killing Stone) of Nasu, Tochigi Prefecture, said to be the petrified soul of a legendary woman believed to be the transformation of a nine-tailed fox. It made news again in 2022 when the stone split in two.

A fox yokai said to possess nine tails. Appears in legends throughout Japan, including the tale of Tamamo-no-Mae.

A cluster of dragon legends surviving around the former “Minuma,” a huge marsh that once spread across the area now occupied by Saitama City, Saitama Prefecture.

The setting of a myth handed down at Takachiho in Miyazaki Prefecture. It derives from the tale in the “Kojiki” in which the sun goddess Amaterasu hid inside a rock cave, plunging the world into darkness.

An oni-like yokai from the Mito region of Ibaraki Prefecture, said to have a hundred eyes covering its entire body. Also said to be the transformed, reformed figure of a bandit.