Japanese legendary creatures

Fenghuang ( ) are mythological birds featuring in traditions throughout the Sinosphere. Fenghuang are understood to reign over all other birds: males and females were originally termed feng and huang respectively, but a gender distinction is typically no longer made, and fenghuang are generally considered a feminine entity to be paired with the traditionally masculine Chinese dragon.

The qilin ( ; ) is a legendary hooved chimerical creature that appears in Chinese mythology, and is said to appear with the imminent arrival or death of a sage or illustrious ruler. Qilin are a specific type of the mythological family of one-horned beasts. The qilin also appears in the mythologies of other Chinese-influenced cultures.

Chinese mythology symbol

mythical creature in Asian folklore who lives on the Moon

Japanese supernatural beings

any of several folk traditions in East Asia describing a fox-like apparition

thumb|alt="Akaname of the Deep Dark Valley" from the pictured paper used as dice game board, Utagawa Yoshikazu|Sokokuradani no Akaname ("Akaname of the Deep Dark Valley"), a frame of something beating it to a picture print used as dice board. Hyakushu kaibutsu yōkai sugoroku (1858) by . thumb|upright|"Akaname", Gazu Hyakki Yagyō by [[Toriyama Sekien]]

thumb|293x293px|Statue of Yatagarasu at Kumano Hongū Taisha|Kumano Hongu Taisha. is a mythical crow and guiding god in Shinto mythology. He is generally known for his three-legged figure, and his picture has been handed down since ancient times. The word means "eight-span crow" and the appearance of the great bird is construed as evidence of the will of Heaven or divine intervention in human affairs.

bird in East Asian mythology

mythological creature

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thumb|260px|A pair of komainu, the "a" on the right, the "um" on the left

thumb|248x248px|Shachihoko on the roof of Nagoya Castle

thumb|Wooden mask at the Tokyo National Museum. [[Edo period, 1600s or 1700s. Important Cultural Property.]] The is a mask used in a traditional Japanese Noh theater, representing a jealous female demon. It is characterized by two sharp bull-like horns, metallic eyes, and a leering mouth. In Noh plays, the type of mask changes according to the degree of jealousy, resentment, and anger of the female characters. The is a mask that represents a female even more resentful, jealous, and angry than the , a woman on the verge of becoming a demoness.

right|thumb|200px|"Ameonna" (雨女) from the Konjaku Hyakki Shūi by [[Toriyama Sekien]] right|thumb|200px|"Hyakumonogatari Ameonna" (百物語 雨女) by Utagawa Yoshiiku Ameonna (, "rain woman") is a Japanese yōkai thought to call forth rain, illustrated in Toriyama Sekien's Konjaku Hyakki Shūi as a woman standing in the rain and licking her hand.

thumb|A statue depicting a wingless Karura from Kōfuku-ji, Nara, 8th century. thumb|An illustration from an 1866 Japanese book. Karura, who is an incarnation of Guanyin|Bodhisattva Kannon in this scene, gives a sermon to folks.

thumb|upright|The Raijū as depicted in Ban Kōkē's Kanda-Jihitsu. thumb|A Raijū depicted under the title "Kaminari" in Takehara Shunsen's [[Ehon Hyaku Monogatari.]]

thumb|A shōjō rolling a ( barrel of sake).

Wikimedia list article

Japanese folk story

fictional being

thumb|A 19th century carved nut, depicting the mask of Hyottoko

right|thumb|167x167px|A statue of Datsue-ba in Kawaguchi, Saitama is often depicted sitting by the Sanzu River in literary, visual, and religious depictions of the Buddhist underworld. Although Buddhist hell is imagined in a great number of texts and images ranging from places such as China, India, and Tibet, Datsueba appears to be unique to Japanese iterations of Buddhist hell. Throughout these depictions, Datsueba is broadly imagined and illustrated as an old, frightening ogress who takes the clothes from the deceased as they cross the Sanzu River.

Mythical creature

thumb|right|A depiction of a Tennin. thumb|A man with an irezumi tattoo of a Tennyo.

thumb|160px|right|The amanozako as illustrated by Toriyama Sekien.

The or is the Japanese equivalent of the North American Bigfoot or the Himalayan Yeti. Sightings have been reported since the 1970s around Mount Hiba in the Hiroshima Prefecture.

right|thumb|250px|Karyōbinga in a depiction of the Amitabha Sutra Kalaviṅka ( kalaviṅka; Pali: karavika; Jiālíngpínqié; , ; ; karawik; , Malay: karawek) is a fantastical immortal creature in Buddhism, with a human head and a bird's torso, with long flowing tail.

thumb|right|150px|Painting of Keneō by Tosa Mitsunobu

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Luan (), also known as luanniao (), is a mythological bird in East Asian mythology. The name is sometimes reserved for males, while female luan are called jīnjī (; lit. golden chicken). The luan is sometimes referred as simurgh by western sinologists when they translate the Chinese term luan; however, they do not refer to the same bird creature and is therefore an inappropriate translation of the term. It is also sometimes inappropriately translated as roc and phoenix. The luan is one of the birds which have been deified in ancient China. It is also sometimes confused with the fenghuang by wes

thumb|right|200px|Binbōgami shrine (Binbōgami Jinja), Koto, Tokyo|Kōtō, Tokyo, Japan

right|thumb|280px|"Yamato Takeru's battle against an Akugyo" from Koura Urakawa's Kanpira Shrine Tour Akugyo (悪魚 or 悪樓, "evil fish") or daigyo (giant fish) or raichōgyo (thunderbird fish) is a type of sea monster or aquatic yōkai in Japanese mythology.

yōkai that appear above the surface of some body of water

Japanese fairy tale about a heroic samurai Tawara Tōda, based on real-life figure

Amorōnagu (天降女子, "girl who fell from heaven"), is a tennyo (celestial maiden) from the folklore of the island of Amami Ōshima, in Kagoshima Prefecture. She bathes in pools and waterfalls in ravines.

thumb|upright=0.8|"Tesso" (鉄鼠) from the Gazu Hyakki Yagyō by [[Toriyama Sekien. The text on the top left reads, "it is the place known to the world where Raigō's spirit turned into a rat" (頼豪の灵（霊）鼠と化(かす)と世尓(に)志(し)る所也)]] thumb|upright=0.8|"Mii-dera Raigō Ajari Akunen Nezumi to Henzuru Zu" from the Shinkei Sanjūrokkai Sen by [[Tsukioka Yoshitoshi. It faithfully depicts the writings in the Genpei Jōsuiki.。]] thumb|upright=1.25|"Raigō Ajari Kaisoden" (頼豪阿闍梨恠鼠伝) by Takizawa Bakin and illustrated by [[Katsushika Hokusai. The big rat that appears in front of Nekoma Michizane is written in the text to

Akurojin-no-hi (悪路神の火, "fire of the god of the bad road") is a ghostly flame from the folklore of Mie Prefecture, Japan. It often appears on rainy nights. People who encounter it and do not run away become gravely ill.

is a ghostly phenomenon from the folklore of Kagawa Prefecture in Shikoku, Japan. It is a soft thing, like a kitten or a wad of cotton, which is felt wrapping itself around a person's legs at night, impeding their ability to walk. While it is not generally visible, it is often believed to be the trick of a tanuki.

Japanese mythological figure

The is a ghost in Japanese folklore which eats the heads of its victims, be they living or dead, animal or human. The creature is said to be headless itself and its presence can be distinctively detected by the smell of fresh blood. Late at night, it haunts graveyards in order to look for its own head.

thumb|upright=1.0|"Hashihime" as depicted in the Kyōka Hyaku Monogatari (1853), illustrated by Ryūkansai Masasumi.

thumb|Lake Kussharo from Tsubetsu, Hokkaidō|Tsubetsu Mountain pass

creature from Chinese mythology