[Dorotabo from the Night Parade of One Hundred Demons series (1780). A one-eyed ghost who cries for his rice fields to be returned to his descendants after the land was neglected and sold.]
Known for his series of encyclopedias depicting the various yokai and ghosts of Japanese folklore, Toriyama Sekien has profoundly influenced how we see yokai today. Described as a "person whose name is well known, but little is known about him,” Sekien was born in 1712 as Sano Toyofusa in the area which is present-day Tokyo, and took the pen name Toriyama Sekien for his artistic career. His family were high-ranking servants of the Tokugawa shogunate and their wealth and connections enabled him to be trained in the Kano school of drawing and painting, the official style of the shogunate (Auckland Libraries). In addition, Sekien was a scholar and wrote kyōka poetry. His artworks were popular and sold very well, but it was his encyclopedia of yokai titled “Night Parade of One Hundred Demons” that cemented his fame.
The encyclopedia is a series of four books published between 1776 and 1784. The first, “Night Parade of One Hundred Demons,” gave name to the series as a whole. Yokai, a term used to refer to ghosts or demons, are believed to exist throughout Japan since the eighth century, arising from a mixture of animistic, Shinto, Buddhist, and Taoist belief systems. People would hold rituals to keep their local spirits happy (Auckland Libraries). Many of the yokai were created by Sekien himself and were often depicted in black and white.
Sekien invented the “wipe shading” (fuki-bokashi) technique which is iconic in the series. This involved wiping the parts of the woodblock you want to blur with a damp cloth, then applying paint and rubbing with a brush to create a faint, blurred gradation effect. This visually created the mysterious, yet fleeting atmosphere in which yokai appear (Sekien School). Since the Night Parade was a series of books, it was easily mass-produced and the success of the first volume led to the development and publication of the subsequent three volumes, further expanding Sekien’s comprehensive catalogue of yokai.
[Iyaya from the Night Parade of One Hundred Demons series (1780). A female spirit who appears to be a beautiful woman from behind, but has the face of an old man.]
Toriyama Sekien's "Night Parade of One Hundred Demons" series has left an lasting mark on Japanese folklore and art. By blending traditional yokai stories with an innovative encyclopedic format, Sekien created a comprehensive visual representation of these supernatural beings. His work not only compiled and preserved centuries-old tales but also provided a standardized visual language for yokai that continues to influence artists and storytellers today. By making it accessible to the general public, he made yokai more approachable and less intimidating which helped to demystify yokai, transforming them from purely frightening entities to subjects of curiosity and even entertainment. The enduring impact of Sekien's work is evident in the creations of later artists like Kuniyoshi, who made the famous ukiyo-e triptych “Takiyasha the Witch and the Skeleton Spectre” in 1844, and extends even to modern manga creators like Shigeru Mizuki, manga artist of the "GeGeGe no Kitaro" series from 1960. Sekien's unique approach to documenting yokai has played a crucial role in shaping how these supernatural entities are perceived and depicted in Japanese culture, ensuring their relevance and appeal for generations to come.
Selected Notable Works
Monsters drawn by Sekien
Toriyamabiko, one of Toriyama Sekien’s first works
Sekien’s Paintings
Further Reading
Japandemonium Illustrated: The Yokai Encyclopedias of Toriyama Sekien (2017), Toriyama Sekien (trans. Matt Alt and Hiroko Yoda)
Works Cited
Kawasaki, Miyu. “A Monster That Has Taken Shape — a Focus on Toriyama Sekien’s “Gazu Hyakki Yakou”—.” Faculty of Humanities Student Paper Collection, vol. 20, Mar. 2022, lab.kuas.ac.jp/~jinbungakkai/pdf/2021/h2021_06.pdf. Accessed 11 Oct. 2024.
“Sekien School.” Touken World, www.touken-world-ukiyoe.jp/ukiyoe-school/sekien/. Accessed 11 Oct. 2024.
“Toriyama Sekien’s "Night Procession of One Hundred Demons": Creating Modern Yokai Culture.” YouTube, uploaded by Auckland Libraries, 20 December, 2022, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ESNWdgrq9KA.
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