Photo/Illutration Spectators flock to the Taishogun shopping street in Kyoto’s Kamigyo Ward in October 2022 for the Ichijo Hyakki Yako monster parade. (Provided by Junya Kono)

KYOTO--Beware the “yokai” ghouls and hobgoblins that prowl the boundary between the netherworld and the human world.

Business operators here have seized on this legend of old Kyoto to ramp up excitement for their shopping streets after dark.

And the city government is doing its bit by staging its first-ever crowdfunding campaign under the “furusato nozei” hometown tax contribution system to raise funds and organize monster-themed events in two key shopping streets.

Kyoto is dotted with areas associated with yokai legends.

According to folklore, the Suzaku-mon gate of the old capital of Heiankyo was haunted by an “oni” demon, while a spider-like monster called “tsuchigumo” could be found lurking near Kitano Tenmangu shrine.

In the Saga-Arashiyama district, it was said there is an exit from hell. The area is where Abe no Seimei, a yin-yang practitioner in the Heian Period (794-1185) and sort of Merlin-like character from Arthurian legend of ancient Japan, is buried.

While the district is usually packed with visitors, there is a widespread sense that only inbound tourists make up the madding crowd, prompting Japanese people to shy away from the sightseeing spot to the consternation of locals.

To break the deadlock, yokai monsters were singled out to lure visitors and entertain them at night when the district is quiet.

An organization that comprises shop operators from four shopping streets, including Arashiyama shopping street, is planning to host a walking and illumination event in the Arashiyama district in August 2024.

The idea is that when visitors walk from the famed bamboo forest to the Togetsukyo bridge carrying a lantern, yokai monsters will appear in front of them while eerie music plays.

The organization intends to use the funds raised through the city's crowdfunding drive to prepare “andon” lanterns and yokai gimmicks.

“We want to foster this event into one that attracts loads of tourists in the future,” said Keisuke Ishikawa, 54, head of the Arashiyama shopping street association.

NIGHT PARADE OF 100 DEMONS

And then there is Taishogun shopping street located in the city’s Kamigyo Ward.

It runs parallel to Ichijo-dori street, the northern limit of Heiankyo frequented nightly by a parade of ghouls and hobgoblins known as “hyakki yako” (night parade of 100 demons), according to legend.

It is a small-scale shopping street that stretches only about 400 meters east to west.

But compared to bygone times, the number of shops has fallen off dramatically and consequently it attracts fewer shoppers.

To remedy the situation, shop operators introduced the yokai-themed Ichijo Hyakki Yako costume parade in October 2005 to help revitalize the area.

The event was canceled in 2020 and 2021 due to the novel coronavirus pandemic.

Although it was held last year with fewer people dressed as yokai, the event was ruined by a commotion among spectators who pushed and shoved each other.

As a result, members of the shopping street decided to call off the event this fall because they felt the parade should not be held unless proper safety measures were in place.

They applied to the city’s crowdfunding campaign effort to raise funds to make announcements in foreign languages and hire guards to regulate the flow of people.

“Like samurai and ninja, the Japanese word yokai is widely accepted around the world in this day and age,” said Junya Kono, 41, vice president of the shopping street association, calling for support for the crowdfunding drive. “We want to ensure safety to continue the Hyakki Yako parade and expand its scale.”

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