Three Shadows Photogrqphy Art Centre will present the exhibition “Yokai Parade: Supernatural Monsters from Japan” from April 22 to May 7, 2023. The exhibition is organized by The Japan Foundation and Three Shadows Photography Art Centre and will be curated by Koichi Yumoto, honorary director of the Miyoshi Mononoke Museum.
“Yokai Parade: Supernatural Monsters from Japan” is a world tour exhibition initiated by The Japan Foundation. After its premiere at the Institute of Japanese Culture in Rome in 2021, it has been shown in various venues worldwide. Three Shadows Photography Art Centre will be the first stop of the tour exhibition in China.
The exhibition includes a total of 84 works introducing Japanese yokai culture, dating back to ancient times to present days. Mostly picture scrolls and Nishiki-e, the body of work are in the forms of woodblock prints, sculptures, traditional Japanese-style books (wasōbon) combined with various media such as films and toys.
In all cultures spanning from East to West, from antiquity to modern times, various images have been used to represent mysterious and unexplainable phenomena. Japanese yokai have also appeared in a variety of tales as characters that express such supernatural powers, serving to instill surprise and fear in people. Thereafter, as times progressed and the development of new science and technology brought about changes to people’s lives, yokai seem to have gradually become less of a subject of fear and have perhaps come to be viewed as a more charming and friendly presence. Japan still has a culture of enjoying kaidan (ghost stories and tales of the supernatural) in the summertime, with yokai seen dominating television and theater screens across the country. This exhibition focuses on the “popularization” of these yokai and invites viewers to venture into and explore their profound world of mystery.
The exhibition is comprised of four chapters. The first chapter, "The Spectacular World of Yokai Picture Scrolls" starts with picture scrolls, which have always been an important medium for the visualization of yokai. It explores how the yokai have evolved from playing supporting roles to being the protagonists, and how they gradually became a popular theme by the Edo period (1603-1868). In particular, the Hyakki Yagyō Emaki depicts a wide variety of realistic yokai.
The second chapter "The Richly Colorful World of Yokai" will show how the yokai culture became popular among Japanese folks. Thanks to the development of woodblock printing during the Edo period. Multiple legends and folktales centered on yokai started to be depicted in Nishiki-e and Japanese-style books (wasōbon) Such works were accessible at a lower price, narrowing the distance between the common people and yokai culture.
The third chapter is titled "Yokai and Games." Romantic novels and woodblock-printed illustrated works of fiction became widespread during the Edo period. As yokai were gaining popularity, they started to be frequently depicted in these works. In addition, yokai images were often featured in various beloved children’s games and toys, including sugoroku (traditional Japanese board game), karuta (playing cards), and omocha-e (ukiyo-e targeted at children). As yokai were entering people’s daily life, their attitude towards them gradually changed from fear to affection.
The fourth chapter is titled "Yokai Passed Down to Present Day." The yokai culture has experienced several ups and downs from the Meiji era, World War II, up to now. Yokai culture has been studied and preserved as part of the folk culture. Nowadays, yokai continues to influence mass media and the entertainment industry, appearing in manga, anime and games. For example, the classic yokai manga "GeGeGe no Kitarō." The amabie (legendary Japanese sea creature that emerges from the waters to prophesize either an abundant harvest or epidemic) have been popular on social media in the past two years, giving a new life to yokai and allowing them to be recreated anew.