妖怪Yokai Almanac

A Night in a Haunted Japanese House

In old Japan, almost every corner of a house had its yokai. Tap the things in each room to find them all.

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A cutaway drawing of an old Japanese farmhouse at night, room by room

Drag the picture sideways to see the whole house.

Watch for a light in the dark, or tap anything that looks old. Something lives in each.

Why a house is full of yokai

Many of these come from the books of Toriyama Sekien, an Edo painter. In the 1770s and 1780s he drew yokai for everyday things: a lamp, a mirror, an umbrella. A common belief held that a tool left for a long time could come to life. These spirits are called tsukumogami.

Others are not tools. A child spirit keeps the family lucky. A stranger walks in and drinks the tea. Every note here comes from the yokai's own page, with its sources.

All 14 yokai in this house (spoilers)