Table of contents
What does this sight show you?
The world of deities, ogres and other strange beings in Japan
This sight introduces various traditional masked characters in Japan. You may feel that they are mysterious and strange like monsters or “yokai“. But…you may say “I have not seen things like these on other sights about Japan”. It’s natural for you to feel that way. They usually don’t make an appearance. They conceal themselves behind in the dark. But they exist. And they appear only on special days. These days are traditional festivals called “Matsuri“.
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I suppose you have seen many masked mysterious characters all over the world. The famous Carnival of Venice, Krampus in Germany, the Carnival in Orulo, Dogon mask festival and so on. But you overlook Japan. Certainly, any other travel sight about Japan doesn’t show them. They show Mt. Fuji, Asakusa, Fushimi Inari shrine or Kinkakuji-temple, the famous golden temple in Kyoto. They hardly show walking ogres or dancing yokai.
No.
I suppose Japan has more masked characters than any other countries. Most people imagine Japan as the country of technology, tall buildings, high-tech cars, animation or samurai. These are one side of Japan. Behind many buildings and cars, traditional strange beings hide. Many travelers are not interested in them. If travelers want to see them, it is difficult to happen to. So this sight will introduce those strange beings from all over Japan.
All images are for illustration purposes
”Don’t think, feel.” Bruce Lee said. You should watch these things carefully with an open mind. You can discover something that you had not seen before. Japan has a long history. Japanese people have not been living for nothing for so long. Many cultures have secrets waiting to be discovered. One of them may attract you. Traditional masked characters are just one of them. But it will give you a little pleasure in life.
You visited this sight and read this. Someone said “Everything happens for a reason”. In Japan, a fox spirit haunts people. You might already have been called.
How to use
This sight has two parts. One is an individual article for each event, another is a reference. You can see each article on the right part of the page (New arrival or Category). The part of “Area” shows each prefecture’s name that events are held.
The Reference section has 2 parts. “HOME” and “Reference“. They are next to the title.
“HOME” has 2 parts, “How to use this sight?” and “Introduction“.
”Reference” is divided into 3 more parts ,”Japan mythology and history” ,”easy made Japan history” and “What’s Kagura?“.
Japanese traditional events sometimes require knowledge of mythology and history. For this, please read “Japan mythology“. If you take no account of these, there is no trouble. But If you get some knowledge, you can appreciate the fun of Kagura or festivals more deeply. And you can just look at various pictures. This sight has many pictures. “What’s Kagura” shows the outline of “Kagura” which is the most important performing folk art of traditional masked characters which are still active.
