Yokai are NOT Japanese Ghosts

If you’re a fan of Japanese anime and manga culture, I’m pretty sure you know about “妖怪 yokai.”
They are literally everywhere, from 夏目友人帳 to 犬夜叉, ぬらりひょんの孫, and recently 鬼滅の刃!

However, when yokai are explained in English, I’ve seen some translations that describe them as “the Japanese ghosts.”
To be honest, this translation is not accurate.

Japan has its original culture of ghosts called “幽霊 yūlei,” which also appears in many anime and manga too.

But… can you explain how yōkai and Japanese ghosts yūlei are different?

So today, as a big fan of yōkai and yūlei manga myself, I will explain about the three main differences between them.

After watching today’s video, I’m sure you’ll be able to enjoy manga and anime based on them even more.

Also at the end of the video, I will introduce three other names of Japanese demons and ghosts that I’m sure you’ve heard of somewhere before, so I hope you can stay with me till the end.

[Time codes]
0:00 Let's START!
2:00 1. Their definitions
4:07 2. Their histories
7:02 3. Their appearances
10:34 “Obake” “Mononoke” “Onryo”
13:29 Today’s conclusion

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-[Watch with caution] All you need to know about “Yo-kai”, Japanese demons! Yo-Kai watch, Inuyasha!

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Hello everyone, and thank you for watching my videos!

I’m Shogo, a Kyoto born & Hiroshima raised Japanese, that grew up in Michigan USA for 6 years, and studied Mandarin in Beijing university for a year!
I live in Kyoto now, as I train in Iaido(katana), Sado(tea ceremony), and Noh theatre(traditional stage art).

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#yokaivsyurei #japanesedemons #japaneseghosts #japanesedevils #yokaimonsters

[ThatLurkingWeeb]

"A Yurei is a someone; a Yokai is a something." Got that from the Yurei Attack! book :D

[goldensus]

Shogo's presentation is basically like a typical school presentation but with much higher quality. What a huge testament from academic presentation lol

[madarasamanta]

Somehow I remembered one movie it's called "Princess Mononoke". It was and still is my favourite movie from childhood.

[MauM.]

Normally, I tend to translate "yokai" in my head as "folkloric creatures", "supernatural beings" or something like that.

[krustygraze]

As a Touhou Project player/fan, this video pleases my soul

[malaquingtaku]

Now I understand where they get Pokemon ideas

[Bakenekodesu]

I've learned, that Obake are ghosts that changed in a particular way. To say it more easily: They are some kind of shapeshifters like Bakeneko, Kitsune or Tengu. I know they are also connected with Yurei but for me it makes way more sense to distinguish the Yurei from the term of Obake and to see Obake more of a specific kind of Yokai.

Funny thing as well: In the Horror Game Phasmophobia we do have Yokai, Yurei, Onryo, Oni and Raiju - so they are somewhat confusing if you know Japanese mythology. Furthermore in the game the only ghosts that do not give footprints are wraiths and I'm still super confused that Yurei have footprints without having legs or feet xD

[floppyearfriend]

I find it very interesting how yūrei are described as having no legs, as the western idea of ghosts also depicts them as having no legs. It's fascinating how different cultures can develop such similar ideas completely independently.

EDIT: Also, that picture of the Nurikabe you used at 9:59 is absolutely adorable!

[halos-arthur]

I literally jumped and yelled at the mentioning of Yokai Watch hehehehe, it's so underrated here in the US, and I have loved it for many years.. I didn't know there was a difference! This video as well as many topics on the channel really clear things up for me. Thank you!

[StrawberryRaine]

Haha, I couldn't stop thinking of the game, Phasmophobia. The name literally means the fear of ghosts, and it's a game about figuring out what type of ghost is haunting a given area by finding different kinds of evidence.

I'm pretty sure all three of the current developers are based in the UK, but the game has a lot of Japanese ghosts like the Yurei, Onryo, Oni, Obake, and more. Very interesting to learn more about the actual lore and history of said ghosts!

[LucasF]

I love how i immediately knew which Yokais you were talking about in the intro, despite being Brazilian. Even the wall and the Piece of Cloth, just because of how much i like yokai xD
Also didnt expect Natsume Yuujinchou and Nurarihyon no Mago to be brought up 💕

[inarifox]

Yōkai and yūrei. My favorite topic. Kitsune are my favorite. My favorite character is Tamamo No Mae

[annika]

Inuyasha! ❤️ Another great anime with a lots of yokai is Kakuriyo No Yadomeshi. Oni, tengu and a lot more. And as far as stories go... kuchisake-onna is a bone chilling one.

[kieragard]

It's the a rectangle can be a square, but a square can't be a rectangle explanation.

[immersionlanguageclub]

As a longstanding student of Japanese culture, your video outperforms anything else I've seen on YouTube on this subject. Thank you for your continuing commitment to high quality and rigor!

[Munchkin.Of.Pern]

I’m also curious about the etymology of “Ayakashi” and “Bakemono”.

[pyrosinugami]

Very informative I was also under the impression that Onryō could also be generated from a living beings kind of like a poltergeist which are said to also show up even if people are alive due to a stressful or abusive situations sometimes even overly active or stressed out adolescents can cause them as well

[danielromo]

A great video as usual, thank you Shogo!

[ElMatador-wsin]

Thank you for that explanation! I’ve always heard of Oni my whole life, but I definitely learned a lot today!! Thank you Shogo!!

[ten]

Nurarihyon no Mago was one of my favorite series growing up, I'm so sad it got cancelled... 😭

Nioh 2 is another recent--and I think, super cool--instance of Japanese media displaying yokai in a fantasy setting. It's an action RPG where you play as a loosely based fantasy interpretation of Toyotomi Hideyoshi during various warring times in Japan, whilst seeing various Japanese historical figures like Oda Nobunaga, good/evil yokai, and all sorts of lovely things. I really enjoy the care that the developers--at least seemed--to put into the cultural themes, and the raw action of fighting yokai, samurai, shinobi, onmyo practitioners, warrior monks, "yokai slayers", and more. The story itself may not always be the most coherent as far as plot structure goes, but the game brings plenty of fun experiences and themes in my opinion. As an anime fan, it's also nice to see something other than anime represent that stuff for once.

(It's similar to Dark Souls, but also based on Ninja Gaiden, another Koei Tecmo action game.)