A Yokai Parade!

 One of these days, I definitely need to witness (or, even better, participate in) the Yokai Parade in Kyoto.

 Here's a snippet of it.

 

Hmm. It's going on right now. I have free time and no money. Dagnabbit! Otherwise I'd swing down there forthwith. If you wanna go, here is a link.

These are from my Oni book. I have an early day tomorrow, so I'll have to rely on Google for the narrative.

 

 

Here's something I'd never expected to see. I hope I don't upChucky.

Cat owners, have you ever had the urge to SCREAM at them?
 

Fortunately, I got the black cat, the best one.

 

A quick look at comics: (Topo the octopus: Aquaman, Hoppy* the kangaroo: Wonder Woman, Beppo the Super-monkey, Krypto the Super-dog: Superman, Streaky the Super-cat: Supergirl, Ace the Bat-hound: Batman.

 * may not be named Hoppy. Be sure to correct me in the comments.

And a quick Kampai to Cheers with Chelsea!
Now I'm off to bed, I have a long drive tomorrow morning...

Tons of Yokai!

Last Monday, I asked all my students to research their favourite Youkai or monster and then present it to the class. These are all (but one) young lasses around 20 and they worked in pairs. (I'll let you know when they did NOT use chat GPT or Google Translate.)

First up, some Tengu action. (Entries in quotation marks have been typed out by me.)

"Tengu have red faces, long noses and sometimes wings. They are strong, can fly and live in the mountains. Tengu are smart, but can be proud and playful."

Another pair of students:

"大天狗 Otengu The Otengu is one of the most powerful and fearsome types of tengu found in Japanese tradition. Tengu are creatures with red faces and long noses, often holding a fan called an uchiwa. They have various supernatural abilities. They can use their fan to create strong winds, freely fly through the sky, and show illusions. Tengu are kind to honest and pure-hearted people, but those who lie or act unfairly are said to be blown away by strong winds or cast down into the valley." 

Be sure to press the Label, tengu for previous blog entries about them.

There are two gals from Sri Lanka in my class. Here is Kulu Kumaraya, an incubus that plagues their females.

 

I can see why the young girls are smitten. He's a hunk!

There's a little video at that link.

Next time I'm in Shiroishi, I'll try and track down this creature - . 場牛沼の怪物

 

A couple of Kappa stories:

"The main characteristics of kappa are that they have a shell on their back, a plate on the top of their head, and webbed hands and feet. Their bodies are green, and they are about the height of a 3-6 year old. Their favorite foods are cucumbers and fish, and they enjoy sumo, but they also have a frightening side, as they can drag people into the water."

 Here's another hand-written story that I'll reprint in all its glory.

 

"Have you heard the legend about the "kappa" in Aomori? The face looks like a monkey, and the body is black. He has a habit of luring children in rivers and eating them. 

His favorite food is cucumber. So people in olden times throw in cucumbers into the river as bait. His plate on the head has a role to support vitality and power. Therefore when it dries, he will die. 

Actually, there is kappa gulf in Toono in Iwate. And there, we can challenge "kappa fishing". But we need to gain a "kappa capture permit". It will cost 200 yen. Let's start by purchasing a cucumber, hanging it and wait. That's all. If you succeed to capture that, you gain 10 million yen in Prize money so you must try it!" 

I am sincerely very proud of what she wrote for it was her personalized translation, not AI generated! The underlining in the text is my editorializing. 

As an aside, I have been to Toono and went Kappa Fishing. But, I didn't have a permit, didn't have a fresh cucumber, didn't capture a Kappa and didn't win 2,000,000 yen! 

 

Moving along, we have two different groups and their stories about Nurarihyon.

 

That's pretty tiny, so I'll type it out.

"Today, I'm going to introduce Nurarihyon. Nurarihyon is a famous Yokai. He enters people's houses when they are busy and acts like the owner. He drinks tea, smokes a pipe, and relaxes as though the house is his own. He doesn't help people or do bad things. He just behaves in a strange and mysterious way. The family often doesn't notice him because he acts so naturally. People say Nurarihyon appears in busy houses and is known as a very mysterious Yokai in Japanese Folklore." 

 

I once spoke of Hanako-san before at this link.

This next one is Zashiki-Warashi and I once spoke of her at that link.

 

Po...Po...Po...

 

I think this is the photo that goes with the above story.

 

Finally, I have an "original" story by two young gals who mashed a couple of classic monsters together in a Chat GPT extravaganza. Throw in an AI picture and you get the full package.

 

These are from my first-year class of 19 girls and one dude. In a few weeks, I'll present my 2nd year students' works. This has taken a lot out of me, so now I'm going to watch some spooky TV. I'll leave you with a lovely spider that is hanging around an outdoor staircase to the second floor.

 

 

Trick or Treatment.

I'm late with my Halloween wrap up. For a change, it's not because I'm hungover. Just a lazy day.

100 bucks for a pumpkin! And it was too big to take on the subway.

The highlight lowlight of my day yesterday was receiving a Flu AND a Covid vaccination both in the same arm. I felt no real ill effects other than a lackadaisical attitude toward the rest of the day. I did the shopping and handed out some candies to random costumed passersby. The cutest were a mother/ daughter duo who wore matching Cop outfits, including kiddy cuffs. This quintet agreed to have their photo taken.

These are the treats I handed and eared and nosed out (Body parts gummies). 

When last we spoke, I was just about to retire before watching Hunger Games Battle Royale. I don't remember much about the movie though it was nice to see it with subtitles so I could figure out what was going on. Director's cut: though I'm not sure what footage was added/subtracted. Seems like there were more shots of their JHS before they were kidnapped to the island. If you've never seen it, watch this trailer and see why I mistook it for Hunger Games.

But before I watched this, I viewed another movie called Kwaidan. (Click for the Wiki page.)

It has four ghostly tales and my favourites were as follows: "The Woman and the Snow", now let me interrupt for a commercial from Yokai.com.

雪女 (ゆきおんな) or Yuki Onna is a Snow Woman. This description sums her up rather well. "Yuki onna prey on travelers lost in the heavy snowstorms that blanket the Japanese Alps in winter. They have an otherworldly beauty, with long black hair and dark, piercing eyes. Their skin is ageless and as white as snow, but their bodies are as cold as ice. A mere touch is enough to give a human a deep, unshakable chill. They feed on life force, sucking it from human’s mouths with an icy breath that freezes their victims solid." Check out that link for more info.

In the Kwaidan tale, a woodcutter named Minokuchi falls prey to AND falls in love with a Yuki Onna. At about the 3:20 mark of this video, you can see the highlights of the story.

The other story was regaled to me by two different students of mine. I asked my adult classes to tell me a Yokai or Ghost story and they both came up with similar versions of this tale, "Hoichi, the Earless" which is the third story in Kwaidan.

Once again, our sponsor interrupts.

耳なし芳一 (みみなしほういち) Mimi Nashi Houichi or Hoichi the Earless. "Hōichi was a blind biwa master who resided at Amidaji, a Buddhist temple in Shimonoseki. He was renowned for his skill at performing The Tale of the Heike–particularly his rendition of the Battle of Dan no ura and the death of the child emperor Antoku. His playing was said to be so splendid that he could even make ghosts and demons cry."

Although there aren't any subtitles, this story is fairly easy to follow.

I know I promised to present Junji Ito's works daily, well that plan didn't work out very well. I need to plan ahead better. Here are the covers of a few of his works that I purchased for a few hundred yen weeks ago. Someday, I hope to read them so I can get my money's worth. (Note: a few covers have been shown before.)

Speaking of covers, I was planning on showing lots of Phantom Stranger, Deadman, Spectre, etc. I didn't get around to them very often.

 

 

That's enough for now...

All in all, a pretty good Halloween day yesterday and I went to bed and had a good night's sleep, even with the sore arm.

Be sure to wander over to the main page of Countdown to Halloween to find other bloggers' missives.

I'm going to take a break and then do a Round-up of a lot of tidbits that I intended on showing earlier. 

Only 333 days until the next Countdown to Halloween!