Yokai at Takefu Kiku Ningyo

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Thank you to everyone who came from all over the country to my Magic: the Gathering signing event last weekend in Sabae! It was a lot of fun to meet you all and to talk about yokai and M:tG with you.

My next event is coming up in October, at the Takefu Kiku Ningyo festival.

This year my yokai art was selected as one of the themes for the festival. I’ve enjoyed the kiku ningyo festival every year since I moved to Japan in 2007, so getting to participate like this is real honor and a thrill.

Some of the yokai featured in the festival will be ones from my latest book, Echizen-Wakasa Kidan, co-authored with Nagano Eishun. Several of the tales in the book feature yokai and strange events that occurred in and around Echizen City, and I am glad they will be featured as a local attraction!

On 10/25 Nagano Eishun and I will be doing a talk event at Takefu Kiku Ningyo, along with Kono Junya, founder of Kyoto’s Haku Yō Bako yokai art collective.

I hope to see you all there!

Fukui’s YokaiFes Starts Tomorrow!

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I’m a little bit late in announcing this on this blog, but starting tomorrow and running through the end of Obon (August 13th-16th), I will be exhibiting artwork and manning a table at Fukui’s YokaiFes, located at Happirin Hall on the 3rd floor of Happirin, just outside of JR Fukui Station.

I hope to see you there!

Yokai Stamps Now Available!

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The yokai stamps from Echizen-Wakasa Kidan that I mentioned in last week’s post are now available from the Yokai.com Shop and from Japan Post.

The stamps feature tales from across Fukui Prefecture: Magoemon’s Wife (from Ono City, Fukui), The Ghost of Shibata Katsuie (Fukui City, Fukui), The Demon Pond (Minamiechizen Town, Fukui), The Holy Man’s Rug (Obama City, Fukui), and The Name of Wakasa (Wakasa Province).

The Japanese language version of Echizen-Wakasa Kidan is out now in stores throughout Japan, and will be made available on Yokai.com after copies have been sent out to Kickstarter backers. The English version will be available later this year.

Japan Post held a ceremony this morning to announce the release of the stamps. Here I am with PosKuma, one of Japan Post’s mascot bears. I hate speaking in front of people and I am always nervous at these kinds of things, but big plush mascots are helpful in reducing the pressure.

The stamps will only be available while supplies last. I hope they will help to raise awareness about Fukui’s rich history and folklore!

Yokai Stamps by Japan Post

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This August, Japan Post is releasing a set of special yokai stamps based on characters from my newest book, Echizen-Wakasa Kidan.

The stamps go on sale August 3rd. They feature characters from the tales Magoemon’s Wife, The Ghost of Shibata Katsuie, The Demon Pond, The Holy Man’s Rug, and The Name of Wakasa, all from Echizen-Wakasa Kidan (currently available in Japanese, English version coming soon).

Limited supplies available. You can read the press release here (Japanese): https://www.post.japanpost.jp/enjoy/culture/stamp/frame/detail.php?id=3840

Mononoke Ichi in July

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Summer is upon us, and in Japan, that means yokai season is also upon us! Every summer, there are yokai events and exhibitions all around the country.

As usual, this year I will be participating in Kyoto’s Mononoke Ichi yokai art market. It takes place on July 19-20 at the Daishōgun Hachi-jinja Shrine in Hakubaichō, not far from the Kitano Tenmangū Shrine.

If you’re in Kyoto this July, don’t miss out! This is one of my favorite yokai events, full of passionate yokai artists and crafters, as well as featuring some of the best yokai cosplay you can see anywhere in the world.

Since July is hot, this event takes place in the afternoon until nightfall, making it all the more perfect an atmosphere for a yokai event.

I hope you see you there!

Yokai Talk in Osaka

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Boy, it’s nice to have fewer places to update these days, since I quit Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, and now that I just use Bluesky… although I still sometimes forget to cross post here. To be honest it was so much more enjoyable way back before “social networks” even existed and everyone used blogs and RSS feeds. But that’s a completely different conversation…

I’ll be giving a talk about yokai and kaidan with Kyoto-based yokai researcher Kōno Jun’ya down in Osaka this May 2, at the Osaka Museum of History. As you can tell by the poster below, some of this will have to do with Koizumi Yakumo (aka Lafcadio Hearn), as he has been in the news a lot lately with the conclusion of the morning TV drama “Bake Bake” / “The Ghost-Writer’s Wife.” There will also be a biwa-player and kaidan-teller! That should be extremely cool!

Click on the poster below to register. I hope to see you there!