100 Ghost Stories From Japan: Hyakumonogatari

The Edo period took place in Japan between 1603 and 1867. This is the period when much of the iconic art of Japan was created. Woodblock prints and ink drawings were incredibly popular. Many can instantly picture the Great Wave of Kanagawa an example of woodblock printing. 
In this time a popular parlor game called Hyakumonogatari was played. Similar to seances popular in the US in the 1800-1900s participants would light 100 candles then take turns telling ghost stories trying to summon the spirits all together. As each story was told they would blow out a candle before a mirror believing the spirit would be summoned to the location. Could they bring all 100 spirits together in one place? What could that mean for believers? That many evil and mean, horrible creatures and people. The fear and tension grew with each story. Because you had to tell it right to get them there. Many gave up before reaching 100 due to fear but those that made it to 100 claimed to gain control of spirits or have mysterious things happen.

As popularity in printing grew artists began presenting their own illustrated versions of different ghost stories with Hokusai setting forth to show 100 and others including Yoshitoshi completing 36. 

In this class we will go though a number of the different ghost stories and legends that include mythical creatures, demons, and dragons. Many of the ghost stories over lap with tales of victorious hero's leaving morals and good. We'll consider how we would illustrate our own ghost stories. Symbols and common elements. Not all ghosts are bad but some humans are so evil they could only be demons in disguise. 

Join me in learning about Japanese myth and culture as we get ready for the spooky season