EPISODE ONE
Tsuchigumo
Tsuchigumo are purseweb spiders who if lived long enough can transform into “yokai.” They will gradually grow in size until they are able to prey on human. Tsuchigumo relies on their illusion and trickery to deceive their preys. They often lived in forest and mountains where they await passersby.
EPISODE TWO
Inugami
Inugami are possession spirits created from a brutal ritual of beheading a starved dog at its greatest desperation. The spirit becomes an “onryō,” a resentful spirit with the ability to harm the living, and then is enshrined to be used by its master. Like living dogs, they are loyal but if abused, they become resentful.
EPISODE THREE
Zashiki Warashi
Zashiki Warashi are house spirits known to bring good fortune and prosperity to the residence they haunt. They are mischievous ghost children who are known to play pranks on others. The Zashiki Warashi is mostly harmless; however, if they are driven out of the house, the residence may fall into ruin or worse.
EPISODE FOUR
Yuki Onna
Yuki Onna are ghostly snow women who prey on travelers on snowy roads and mountains in the winter. They possessed an otherworldly beauty and feed on life forces from human’s mouths by freezing them to death. They are immortal and remain ageless forever, making it difficult to blend with human society.
EPISODE FIVE
Kitsune
Kitsune are foxes with paranormal abilities such as shapeshifting and possession. They are often divided into two categories: celestial foxes who serve the god, Inari, or wild foxes who commonly practice mischief and evil. Depending on their longevity, a Kitsune can have as many as nine tails.
EPISODE SIX
Tsuru Nyōbō
Tsuru Nyōbō are cranes who are able to transform into beautiful women to repay the kindness received from human by marrying them. One popular tale tells of a crane who married her savior, and used her own feathers to weave into brocade to repay her husband’s kindness.
EPISODE SEVEN
Oni
Oni are one of the most prominent yokai in Japanese folklore. They are usually large in size, possesses immense power, and sometimes excels in sorcery. Oni are born from the death of sinners who end up in Buddhist hell, or from the transformations of living human beings whose souls are beyond redemption.
EPISODE EIGHT
Toyotama Hime
Toyotama Hime is the daughter of the Sea God, Watatsumi, in Japanese mythology. Toyotama Hime married a hunter named Hoori who later betrayed her by peeking at her true dragon form. She left behind her son with him and closed the path between sea and land. Her grandson later becomes the first emperor of Japan.
