Well, I had a good rest yesterday, not having to paint yokai into the wee hours of the night, and today, it’s back to work! But first, I wanted to post the gallery of this year’s A-Yokai-A-Day series.

You can order beautiful matted prints of these yokai from my Etsy store.

Also, my illustrated yokai guide, The Night Parade of One Hundred Demons, is available on Amazon.com in paperback and Kindle formats.

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Happy Halloween everyone!

Whew! We made it! Another year of A-Yokai-A-Day. Today’s entry marks the final one for this year’s yokai series, but before that, on to the results of the Hyakki Yagyō poster contest:

I was really impressed by the results of the contest! Naming all of those yokai took a lot of work and research, and a lot of people got them all correct! I wrote down all of the names with the correct answers and picked one at random, and the lucky winner, chosen by whatever yokai controls luck and fate, was Neal from Pennsylvania! Congratulations!

Now, on to today’s yokai. This was a request from a fan at my gallery show in Fukui this August. I saved this one for last because a) it was one of the most difficult to find information to translate, and b) the opportunity for beautiful fall colors deserved to wait until late October, when the reds and yellows are at their peak. Plus, it has a little bit of Halloween flavor to it, with the demon of the story disguising herself as a beautiful princess. Enjoy! Continue reading →

Today’s yokai is a demon born out of a sazae, or a sea snail. I’ve included a lovely little tale at the end for those of you going out as pirates this Halloween!

And don’t forget — today is your final chance to submit your answers for the Hyakki Yagyō poster contest! I’ll announce the winner late tomorrow night, when I post the final yokai. Continue reading →

I hope everyone is safe from Hurricane Sandy! I lost power for a few hours, which caused a bit of delay in today’s painting, but I was able to finish it in time. Today’s yokai is a fun little kaidan (ghost story) from old Edo. Continue reading →

Halloween is coming up, and with the Frankenstorm on it’s way, it’s the perfect time to hunker down with some candles and blankets and a good ghost story. Maybe even get your friends together for a hyakumonogatari kaidankai ghost story telling party? If you’re planning on telling any ghost stories this year, today’s entry should help you out a little bit: an except from Night Parade about yūrei, or Japanese ghosts. Continue reading →

Today’s yokai is easily one of the weirdest ones I have ever come across… I can’t help but be reminded of the famous scene in The Godfather, or maybe a seahorse. This is one that has so little backstory to it that you can’t help but let your imagine ramble over where it could have possible come from… Continue reading →