Yokaigaku: The Study of Yokai
Schedule
Fri, 23 Jan, 2026 at 12:45 pm
UTC-05:00Location
Ann Arbor Marriott Ypsilanti at Eagle Crest | Ypsilanti, MI
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Location: Panel Room 3Badges to Isshocon required for attendance
Panel is rated PG-13
This panel addresses the historical developments in yokai study from premodern Japan to the present, and addresses how some specific yokai have evolved over time.
Topics include:
1) Defining yokai
Rough vs placated spirits; path to being a kami; cryptids vs yokai
2) Premodern yokai
Yokai influences from China; Heian era superstition; yokai in the Tale of the Heike; European science, technology, and the development of yokai encyclopedias; use of yokai stories to criticize Tokugawa government and social stratification
Yokai covered in this section: tengu, gashadokuro, oni, yurei (Oiwa, Okiku)
3) Modern yokai
Inoue Enryō's systematic attempt to prove yokai do not exist;
Development of folklorism to preserve "old Japan" in response to rapid modernization; Godzilla as a post-war criticism; development of popular culture in the 60s through anime such as Gegege no Kitaro; Studio Ghibli and the "folkloresque"; J-horror boom
Yokai covered in this section: kappa, kitsune, yurei, kaiju
4) Evolving yokai
Collaborative storytelling in online spaces (forums, VR chat)
Yokai covered in this section: Hachishakusama, Momo
#isshocon #isshocon2026
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Where is it happening?
Ann Arbor Marriott Ypsilanti at Eagle Crest, 1275 S Huron Rd, Ypsilanti, MI 48197-7020, United StatesEvent Location & Nearby Stays:
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