iEtnografiska museet · Gärdet
Yokai – Spirits of Japan
Sweden's first major yokai show: Edo-period scrolls and woodcuts by Hokusai, Kuniyoshi and Kyosai, through to Godzilla, Pokémon, J-horror and Nordic spirits.
You start on a red bridge over running water, with Mount Fuji on your right and yokai silhouettes projected on your left. Then you're in a dark Edo-period village of narrow lanes, where scrolls and woodcuts by Hokusai, Kuniyoshi and Kyosai show spirits ranging from tricksy raccoon dogs to kappa that drag swimmers under.
The second half switches the lights on: a recreated Shibuya crossing ringed with big screens, manga rooms, video games you can play, a Yo-kai Watch dance and a stamp rally. A separate 15+ room shows Ringu, Ju-On and the ghosts said to haunt Japan's public toilets. The museum's opening text says yokai live in the gap between the train and the platform, which gives the tunnelbana's mind-the-gap warning a new edge.
Svenska Dagbladet called it eye candy for manga fans, ghost enthusiasts and gamers. Labels are in English and Swedish. It's included in the museum's 160 SEK ticket, free for under-19s, and closes on 6 December.
Editor's pick
Sweden's first major yokai show: Edo-period scrolls and woodcuts by Hokusai, Kuniyoshi and Kyosai, then Godzilla, Pokémon and J-horror, with Nordic spirits representing the home team.
Look for
The red bridge
The show opens on a red bridge over a running stream, with Mount Fuji on one side and yokai silhouettes projected on the other.
The octopus samurai helmet
Look in the corner showcases of the Edo section for a samurai helmet with an octopus on it, beside netsuke figures and a yokai wedding.
The Shibuya crossing
The modern half is built around a recreated Shibuya crossing, with large screens facing you in every direction.
The tea room library
Take your shoes off and sit down with Japanese manga in a room laid out like a tea room.
Näcken meets the kappa
Illustrator Johan Egerkrans draws Swedish spirits next to Japanese ones, so you can set Näcken beside the kappa, two water spirits that pull people under.
Good for
- Small Kids
- Teenagers
With kids
Recommended from age 7, and under-19s get in free. Kids can play the video games, collect stamps and join the dance; the J-horror room, with violent images, is marked 15+.
Free in the same building
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Image credits
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- Yokai – Spirits of JapanCourtesy of Etnografiska museet
- Wonderful Colour – Gothenburg Colourism in a New LightFrancesco Bini / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
- MUCHA – Beyond Art NouveauCourtesy of Artipelag
- Reflections through timePhoto: Karin Björkquist
- Etnografiska museetHolger Ellgaard / Wikimedia Commons
- Tekniska museet (National Museum of Science and Technology)Jonas Bergsten / Wikimedia Commons, Public domain
- Swedish Maritime Museum (Sjöhistoriska museet)Anneli Karlsson, SMM / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 3.0
- SkansenHolger.Ellgaard / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Prins Eugens WaldemarsuddeArildV / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0