What horrors lurk in the depths of Lake Biwa? A couple of unlucky fishermen discovered just that back in 1856. Do you dare go close to the lake's edge today? Check out my latest (free!) post on Patreon: www.patreon.com/posts/strang...

22 years ago today I set foot in Japan for the first time. I turn 44 this year. It's been half a lifetime since then, and what a life-changing moment that was.

Hey everyone! A colleague of mine is doing research for a book and is collecting information on how yokai are viewed and received outside of Japan. It would be of immense help if you could answer the brief (only seven questions) Google Form below: forms.gle/NgiGYGALVR8i... Thanks for your help!

I'm looking forward to seeing you all this weekend in at the Osaka Museum of History!

Happening this weekend in Osaka! I hope to see you there! (Pre-register at the link below!)

*That's good enough.*

"See a penny, pick it up. All the day long you'll have—" 🪙🐍 Oh god no! It wasn't a penny, it was a snake! Meet this week's yokai: the zenihebi. And take care the next time you reach down to pick up a coin you see on the street! www.patreon.com/posts/zenihe...

🎨Matthew Meyer @yokai.com I was fortunate enough to receive a wonderful signed print, book, and card!😍 The card is lovely, but the print is even more vibrant and captures the character's lifelike expression. 🐰＜There's still more to come! *Hop to it* And my favorite yokai,🦊 yokai.com/yaonokitsune/

Hey everyone! A colleague of mine is doing research for a book and is collecting information on how yokai are viewed and received outside of Japan. It would be of immense help if you could answer the brief (only seven questions) Google Form below: forms.gle/NgiGYGALVR8i... Thanks for your help!

In just over a week I'll be in Osaka to talk about yokai. There's still time to pre-register!

５月２日に、大阪歴史博物館で怪談怪議が開催されます！私と妖怪文化研究家河野隼也氏が妖怪や小泉八雲について話します。琵琶と怪談語りユニット尸童さんも出演されます。ぜひご参加ください。 docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...

Another local kidan from Fukui is up on my Patreon! What would you do if you were visited by seven heads late at night?? www.patreon.com/posts/kidan-...

It was a challenge and a pleasure to incorporate yokai and Japanese art into these images for #MTGStrixhaven The dortabō and ouni are both classic yokai and worked really well with their cards' concepts. The rabbits from Hop To It (and ouni's robe) are inspired by the animals from chōjū giga.

A Youtube version is available as well: www.youtube.com/watch?v=mk41...

My most recent interview with NHK World is up starting today, featuring a look into my work uncovering Fukui's local folklore: www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/...

My new yokai-themed cards in Secrets of Strixhaven are out! The first one is based on a dorotabō, and the second one on ouni. The third one is I'm fairly sure the first time a Chōjū Giga-inspired M:tG cards has appeared.

Bluesky was having trouble posting images last night, so here his is now, in all his glory.

What lives in a cave, devours children, speaks human languages and mimics human emotions, and has a ridiculously phallic neck? No, it's not a certain politician. It's this week's yokai, up now on my Patreon and yokai.com! www.patreon.com/posts/ikihag...

展示会で販売されていた奇談グッズがオンラインで購入できるようになりました。まだ海外発送は対応されていませんが、国内からは購入できます。👺🦊👻 → yokai-lab.com

Tomorrow is your last day to pre-order my newest book and pick up rare, locally handmade, yokai-themed, traditional Japanese crafts! Don't say I didn't warn you!

Tomorrow is your last day to pre-order my newest book and pick up rare, locally handmade, yokai-themed, traditional Japanese crafts! Don't say I didn't warn you!

Why is this fat little sparrow so happy? Find out in my latest kidan from Fukui Prefecture, posted to my Patreon here: www.patreon.com/posts/154281...

Should be some cool art coming up in this pack. ;)

Don't miscalculate! There are only a few days until the official Debut of #MTGStrixhaven, and you won't want to miss what we reveal... Tune in 3/31 at twitch.tv/magic or youtube.com/@mtg#MTGStrixhaven

５月２日に、大阪歴史博物館で怪談怪議が開催されます！私と妖怪文化研究家河野隼也氏が妖怪や小泉八雲について話します。琵琶と怪談語りユニット尸童さんも出演されます。ぜひご参加ください。 docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...

On May 2 I'll be talking about yokai at the Osaka Museum of History with Kyoto-based yokai culture researcher Kono Jun'ya. We'll discuss yokai, Lafcadio Hearn, and listen to ghost stories by a biwa player/kaidanshi. Don't miss it! More details and reservations here: docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...

The pledge manager and pre-order store for Echizen-Wakasa Kidan: Strange Tales from Fukui is locking down at the end of this month! This is the last chance to pre-order the special edition of the book and get your hands on unique traditional Japanese crafts! www.kickstarter.com/projects/osa...

What kind of yokai fox feeds on gold and clothing, gets used by nobles in biting matches, and was ordered by the shogun to be exterminated year after year (but never successfully eradicated)? Read more about the kinko at my Patreon for free: www.patreon.com/posts/kinko-...

I got another one today. I really cannot emphasize enough how *terrible* it is to use AI to write your emails. Don't do it. I won't reply. Here's a good video by Angela Collier that does a better job than I can of explaining how bad this is: www.youtube.com/watch?v=7pqF... Just don't do it.

I've always made it a point to try to reply to every email that people send me, whether it's a question or a comment or whatever. But lately I've been getting more and more AI-written emails, and, just... no. If you can't take the time to write it yourself, then why should I bother with a reply?

Do you ever hear mysterious voices? Maybe from under the floor? ...Do they recite ancient chronicles of civil wars? You may have a yokai in your house. Today's members-only post covers my latest kidan, straight from Fukui Prefecture! -> www.patreon.com/posts/kidan-...

The pre-order still will be closing later this month. If you've been putting off pre-ordering Echizen-Wakasa Kidan, this is your last chance to get premium editions of the book, plus unique traditional Japanese crafts based on the yokai from the book that won't be available in stores!

This week: a new yokai to justify your fear of swimming in the ocean. Meet tsunakiri ika, the rope-cutting squid. Straight out of your nightmares! Read about it for free on my Patreon or on yokai.com -> www.patreon.com/posts/152446...

デジタル時代の妖怪学 is out now! Grab it from Kasama's website, Amazon, yokai.com, or your local bookstore! (I'll sign it if you order it from me.) -> yokai.com/product/%e3%...

Awesome Humble Bundle right here! Witcher Ronin is included, which reimagines The Witcher in a mythical Japanese setting. I consulted on the yokai in the book and wrote the bestiary in the back of the comic.

New free yokai post up on my Patreon and yokai.com! Kaninotoko no igyō, a mysterious crab-thing that looks like something out of Ultraman, haunted the shore of Nagato during the Edo period. Swimmers beware! 🦞 www.patreon.com/posts/kanino...

A remember to all to not buy AI-written yokai books! There are so many great books on yokai written by humans, like Zack's translation of Mizuki below. My own books, of course, and books by other flesh-and-blood authors. We work hard to make sure you get real information, not hallucinated slop.

I make my work available for free on yokai.com my ebooks are relatively cheap specifically because I love yokai and want to share this culture with the world. So it's all the more infuriating when some charlatan not only steals my content but gets the facts wrong. It undoes so much of my hard work.

It happened again. This time it's @dailykos.com who is publishing a plagiarized AI-generated slop version of my work, brazenly right down to the title, "A Field Guide to Japanese Yokai" which is lifted directly from my book "The Night Parade of One Hundred Demons: A Field Guide to Japanese Yokai."

From @kasamashoin.bsky.social's X account: 『デジタル時代の妖怪学』、今月下旬に書店に並びます！！　闇が減っていき、科学技術が発展した現代において、妖怪や怪異はどのように私たちの目の前に現れるのか？　気鋭の研究者と妖怪絵師による論集です。 【編著者】渡部瑞希　【著者】香川雅信・マット マイヤー・廣田龍平・松本健太郎・武村政春 x.com/kasamashoin/...

I wonder if this is how love happens for people like Sagiotoko Sōsuke... www.patreon.com/posts/150208744/

Heron man, heron man Catches things like a heron can See his neck? Very long Eating fish makes him strong

Next time you see someone fishing by the river without a rod, take a closer look. It might just be Sōsuke the Heron Man! My latest yokai, from Chikuzen bakomono emaki, is up for free on my Patreon and yokai.com! Check it out here: www.patreon.com/posts/150208...

Lovers of Japanese ghost stories will want to check out my latest Patreon post, where I share a spooky tale from Ono, Fukui: www.patreon.com/posts/kidan-...

Next time you go swimming in the ocean, watch out for these man-eating micro octopuses called chokosai. The good news is they taste great when grilled on skewers and sprinkled with salt! In the yokai world, sometimes it's eat or be eaten... www.patreon.com/posts/chokos...

I don't usually share non-yokai stuff, but Cory Doctorow wrote an excellent article on why AI is a scam, and since it's a subject that a lot of people don't know enough about, it's worth sharing: www.theguardian.com/us-news/ng-i...

What's special about finding a severed head in your garden on New Year's Day? Find out in this week's creepy kidan, only on my Patreon! www.patreon.com/posts/kidan-...

My latest book (or rather, book that I contributed to) is now available for pre-order from @kasamashoin.bsky.social and Amazon! It is an honor to have contributed and to see my name listed alongside such yokai scholars as these.

２０２４年に帝京大学で行われたシンポジウムの内容が書籍になりました。この素晴らしい先生方と同じ書籍に掲載されることはとても光栄です。 事前注文はこちらからできます： shop.kasamashoin.jp/bd/isbn/9784...

Many people on BSKY already know this, but it's worth mentioning. Nobody should be on that site anymore. There's no more excuse. As an artist who relies on a small fanbase, it wasn't easy to rip the Twitter band-aid off last year... but it was the right thing to do. gregpak.net/2026/01/10/s...