#What Is a Yoma?

Contents

A yoma is not a monster. A yoma is a neighbor — a little strange, but still within this world.

#One Word, Many Layers

Yoma (妖魔) — two characters. Yo (妖) means "something abnormal," ma (魔) means "something that carries a demonic nature." Together — a being that has slipped slightly outside the order of this world.

In the original Japanese, however, the term "yokai (妖怪)" is far more common — a combination of yo (妖) and kai (怪, strangeness). When rendered into Korean, the translation "yoma" is widely used. This book follows that tradition.

What matters is — the word yoma holds an enormous range. It is not narrow like the Western "monster." Yoma includes:

The oni (鬼) of the mountains
The tengu (天狗) of the forests
The kappa (河童) of the rivers
An umbrella (傘) 100 years old that walks — that, too, is a yoma
A dead person who carries a grudge — that, too, is a yoma
A fox that takes human form — that, too, is a yoma

All of these are gathered under one name. By Western categories, monsters, spirits, ghosts, gods, and demons are all included. This breadth is the hallmark of the Japanese view of yoma.

#The Boundary Between Yoma and Gods

"There are gods that are well enshrined, and gods that are not. The latter may be called yoma." — a folklorist's words

Surprising as it is — yoma and gods can be the same thing. The boundary is blurred.

#Examples

Inari (稲荷) — god of grain. A god. But when the fox that serves as Inari's messenger plays tricks, it is called a yoma. "Fox yoma (狐妖 · Kitsune)."
Hachiman — great god of war. A god. But call his name carelessly and you will be punished. In that moment, Hachiman operates like a "punishing yoma."
Sugawara no Michizane — one who was an onryo and then became a god. In the state of onryo: a yoma. After being enshrined as a deity: a god. The same person; different treatment.

This blurriness is the core of Japan's spiritual world. It is not the nature of a being that distinguishes yoma from god. It is how people treat it. Enshrine it and it becomes a god; leave it unenshrined and it becomes a yoma.

#The Origins of Yoma — Three Roots

Yoma are typically born from one of the following three.

#First — Things Born of Nature

The spirits of mountains, seas, and rivers. The personification of nature. These beings were always here — before human beings existed.

Oni — beings that dwell in mountains. A different species from humans. Large bodies, horns, skin that is red or blue.
Tengu — beings that dwell in deep forests. The features of a bird on a human body. Arrogant and wise.
Kappa — beings that dwell in rivers. A body like a human child's, with webbed limbs. A dish-shaped vessel of water on the head. When that water dries out, they weaken.
The old woman of the mountain (Yamauba) — a being in the form of a woman who dwells deep in the mountains. Said to lure the lost and devour them — or, in other accounts, to help them.

#Second — Old Things That Have Changed

100 years — this number matters. The folk belief that after 100 years, an object gains a spirit. This is tsukumogami (付喪神).

A 100-year-old umbrella that walks (Karakasa-kozo).
A 100-year-old lantern that speaks (Chochin-obake).
A 100-year-old broom that sweeps the yard on its own.

These are generally not harmful — they cause mischief at most. But if handled improperly, they can become harmful yoma.

#Third — Things Born from People

The most numerous and most sorrowful kind. Crystallized emotions (結晶).

The yoma of this category do not come alone. Sometimes they move in swarms — Hyakki Yako (百鬼夜行), the night procession of a hundred yoma. In the dead of night on a main road, countless yoma pass in a long line. A human who encounters this procession must — hide and wait for it to pass. Do not call out their names. Do not meet their eyes. Get entangled by mistake and you will be pulled into the procession.

Onryo (怨霊) — the spirit of a person who died carrying a grudge. Curses the one who killed them or their kin.
Ikiryo (生霊) — a form taken by the intense obsession of a living person. What is frightening is — the person does not even know. Their body is here, yet a part of their soul stands in another person's bedroom, glaring at that person.
Gaki (餓鬼) — the spirit of one who starved to death. Unable to be freed from hunger, they gnaw at corpses.
Tatarigami (祟り神) — a god that was not properly enshrined and has turned to resentment. The place where the boundary between god and yoma has dissolved.

What these share — the unresolved emotion of a human being is the core of their existence. The reason it is so hard to defeat a yoma is that even if you cut it with a blade, the emotion remains. Resolving the emotion is the only true defeat.

#The Difference Between Yoma and Yurei

Just as "ghost" and "monster" differ in the West, yurei (幽霊) and yoma (yokai) are somewhat different in Japanese.

#Yurei (幽霊)

The spirit of a dead person. A specific individual. They have a name. They appear to specific families or specific places. They generally have no feet. White robes. A sorrowful face. When the grudge is resolved, they vanish.

#Yoma

A broader category than yurei. Includes yurei, but also encompasses nature spirits, shape-changers, object deities, and primordial beings. They may have no name. They may have feet. They may have no grudge.

Yurei are a subset of yoma. Most yurei are classified as onryo or gaki. But not every yoma is a yurei. Oni are not yurei. Tsukumogami are not yurei.

#The Difference Between Yoma and Demons

Another common confusion. The Christian demon (Demon) and yoma are different.

Demon — an evil being opposed to good. It induces moral corruption. It drags humans to hell. Its nature is evil.
Yoma — outside the category of good and evil. They simply do not follow human ethics; it is difficult to call them "evil." When an oni eats a person, that is the oni's nature, not a wicked act. The same as a hungry wolf eating a sheep.

This distinction sets the tone of Japan's spiritual world. Yoma are not evil; they are different. It is the human's responsibility to find a way to coexist with that difference.

#And Yet, Yoma Are Dangerous

Even if yoma are not evil — they are dangerous. An oni can eat a person. An onryo can bewitch the living and bring about their death. A fox can deceive a person and ruin their life.

The relationship with yoma is one of negotiation and boundaries. You can fight, compromise, or avoid. Some yoma — actually give help. A yamauba may set out a meal for a traveler who has lost their way; a kappa may bring medicinal herbs to a sick child.

This complexity is the depth of the Japanese view of yoma. Not a clear-cut enemy, but an uncertain neighbor.

#The Special Quality of This Age

Since the Spirit Realm opened — the number of yoma has grown. The blood of war creates onryo. The starving become gaki. Abandoned objects become tsukumogami. This era of Japan is the age when yoma are most numerous.

And so the yoma-sense of the people of this age is sharper than before. What was once heard only in the stories of distant ancestors is now heard as something that happened next door.

#In One Sentence

A yoma is not a monster. It is something that lives alongside us inside this world — something that simply does not follow our rules. A neighbor, but a strange neighbor.