This spooky spectacle is the second exhibition at the Grand Gallery inside the new Kadokawa Culture Museum in Tokorozawa, Saitama prefecture. The exhibition is supervised by Japanese author Hiroshi Aramata, who is also a member of the World Yokai Association. Here you can learn about different types of yokai – supernatural spirits, demons and other scary creatures in Japanese folklore – through sculptures, paintings and artefacts.
You can even see some yokai which have become celebrated as Shinto gods, like the local Yamada no Jinjo-sama, two straw dolls from Yamada, an area in Akita prefecture’s Odate city. During a festival at the end of the year, these dolls are carried through the town by young men, accompanied by the sounds of taiko drums and flutes, and are eventually enshrined in a ceremony to protect the town for another year.
The Yokai Pandemonium also displays some pieces from a collection of strange and spooky objects put together by Heibonji Mita, who was active during the Meiji (1868-1912) and Taisho (1912-1926) periods. Plus, you’ll see items collected by contemporary yokai researchers, such as Natsuhiko Kyogoku and Hiroshi Aramata himself.
Note that tickets have to be booked in advance.