Michael Foster ’87 first became interested in the mythical Japanese beasts known as “yokai” during graduate school when he was studying Japanese literature and folklore. His research culminated this year with the publication of his book, Pandemonium and Parade: Japanese Monsters and the Culture of Yokai, which was awarded the Chicago Folklore Prize by the American Folklore Society. Foster, currently working as an assistant professor of East Asian Languages and Cultures at Indiana University Bloomington, took some time out of his schedule to answer a few questions.

Argus: What inspired you to write this book?
Michael Foster: When I went to Japan during graduate school I saw all these shrines and temples all over the place that referenced these monsters. It was a really intriguing thing that even though people may or may not believe in these monsters there were all these structures built around them.

A: What exactly is a “yokai?” 
MF: The yokai is an interesting creation because they’re somewhere between what we’d call a monster, something physical and big, like Frankenstein or Godzilla, but they’re also a sort of spirit, like a ghost. Something you can see but not really feel. Ultimately, they range from a supernatural experience to a Bigfoot type creature.

A: What should I do if I meet one?
MF: It depends on the particular yokai. Some old folk legends have these gigantic long-necked creature in the woods. If you looked at it first you could just walk by, but if it looked at you first you wouldn’t be able to pass, and the yokai might even swallow you. There’s this other monster called a kappa, which is a small, incredibly strong water creature, sort of a cross between a monkey and a frog, that could pull you into bodies of water. Then it might do disgusting things like eat people’s livers through their anus, or other nasty stuff like that. But these creatures have, on the tops of their heads, a concave dish with water in it, and the thing is, they’re very polite. If you can make it bow or somehow spill the water off the top of its head it loses its power, and then you can beat them in a fight. These are just a few examples. Like all folkloric creatures, there are different legends for different regions.

A: What would be a Western equivalent?
MF: I think certainly something like Bigfoot would fit into the yokai category. Even something like a ghost could fit into the category of yokai. In an academic sense, the word is very broad, and it’s meant different things at different points in history. Bigfoot, ghosts of all sorts, even vampires could be considered yokai.

A: What influence do they have in modern Japanese culture?
MF: There are still many places and shrines dedicated to them, as they can also do good things for people in addition to all of the evil stuff. To a certain extent, they’re still a part of popular belief. For instance, there’s this one urban legend from 1979 of the “slit-mouth woman.” This woman who wears a white surgeon’s mask would walk up to a child and ask them if she was pretty. The kid would be a little surprised, and then the woman would rip off her mask to reveal that her mouth was slit from ear to ear. Then she would chase after the kid with a knife or something like that. I don’t have any concrete evidence, but I’ve come across some newspaper clippings that say that at one point this legend was so big, some schools were closed and people were told not to walk home alone. Now Yokai are in movies, like one film, Carved, that came out in 2007. They also figure prominently in anime. Hayao Miyazaki used yokai-like creatures in his films Spirited Away and Princess Mononoke. The yokai are still very much a part of popular culture in Japan, which is becoming more and more popular in the U.S. and abroad.