Why were supposedly frightening yokai depicted with such charm? This exhibition solves the mystery of yokai paintings, the last bastion of Japanese art history. Because of their popular nature and caricatural or caricature-like expressions, yokai paintings have not been often discussed as a theme in the history of art. However, in Japan, yokai has long been familiar to everyone from children to adults, and is an important subject closely related to indigenous Japanese culture and religion, such as nature beliefs and local folklore. This project will provide an opportunity to reconsider the characteristic aspects of Japanese art, such as laughter and play, by reviewing the genealogy of "yokai" paintings, which have not been discussed as a mainstream art form in art history. The book contains an abundance of yokai paintings (picture scrolls) from the Heian period to the early Meiji period, and its popular nature and caricature-like expressions allow us to trace the ancestry of yokai painting, which has rarely been attempted in art history, and to decipher its genealogy. Foreword: Tadayo Tsuji Art Direction: Shin Sobue Works: [Night Parade of One Hundred Demons Picture Scroll (Matsui Bunko)] / Toriyama Sekien [Illustrated Night Parade of One Hundred Demons] / Yoshimitsu [Hyakki no Zu] / [Bakemono Zetsu Emaki] / Tosa Mitsuki [Hyakki Yagyo no Zu], and others. Size: Bunko size