Kyoto becomes City of Yokai, with Night Parade of One Hundred Demons festival this autumn

Japan’s supernatural world springs to life in a special Hyakki Yagyo event you won’t want to miss. 

Many traditional festivals take place in Japan’s ancient former capital city of Kyoto, but for a lot of tourists this autumn, none of these events will hold a candle to Hyakki Yagyo. Literally translating as “Night Parade of One Hundred Demons“, Hyakki Yagyo has long held a place in the country’s folklore as a night in which supernatural beings known as “yokai” parade through the real world…and any humans who come across the procession are in danger of losing their lives and being spirited away.

In Kyoto, the myth has seeped into real life, with a parade called Ichijo Hyakki Yagyo taking place in the city’s Taishogun Shotengai shopping street in April. This parade, which began in 2005, recently ran into problems after the number of spectators surged, causing organisers to set up a crowdfunding campaign to help pay for crowd control. Now, realising the immense popularity of the event, the organisers are putting on another parade at a different location that runs for a longer period, so more visitors will be able to experience the fascinating, mysterious beauty of the monster parade.

▼ The event is called Kaikai Yokai Sai, which loosely translates as “Strange Yokai Festival”.

“Kaikai Yokai Sai” has a whimsical rhyming quality to it that matches the eerie yet endearing vibe of the monster parade. Held at Toei Kyoto Studio Park, this venue provides more room for the yokai to move, and more scope to expand the festival to include a number of events.

The main event is, of course, the parade, which features a number of famous yokai, including the uncatchable Nurarihyon, plague-protector Amabie, wedding dress-wearer Ohaguro Bettari, small river monster Hyosube, three-eyed Yagyodoji, and Tenome, who has its eyes in its palms.

▼ The park has created a series of “teaser videos” featuring yokai in some famous locations around Kyoto to show just how fantastic they look.

The festival will run from 14 September to 8 December, with the parade taking place at 2:15 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. on Saturdays, Sundays, and public holidays during the event period (excluding 2-3 November). On 14 September, 26 October and 8 December, a bigger procession called The Grand Parade will take place at 2:15 p.m. and 7:30 p.m., with 100 yokai appearing.

▼ Yokai will also be wandering around the park during the event period, scheduled to appear at various locations at 10:15 a.m., 11:45 a.m., 2:15 p.m. and 3:45 p.m. on weekdays and at 10:15 a.m., 11:45 a.m., 1:15 p.m., 3:30 p.m. and 4:45 p.m. on weekends and public holidays, so you never know who you might bump into.

Yokai will be making an extra appearance at 5:45 p.m. on 14 September, 26 October, and 8 December, and visitors who take a photo with one of them and post it on the spot with the hashtags #KaikaiYOKAImatsuri #kyotoyokaifestival, will receive a sticker to commemorate their new friendship with the yokai. Stickers will also be given to visitors who complete the “Yokai Transformation Rally“, following instructions set up at various locations to “breathe life into an antique and watch it transform into a yokai“, with the help of popular GIF animator misato.

▼ Although the exclusive yokai GIFs are yet to be revealed, this is a sample of misato’s GIF wizardry.

♡♤♢♧ pic.twitter.com/NnVXic6ZrJ

— misato. (@misato08280) July 4, 2024

There’ll also be a collection of art and videos on display, as well as yokai-themed food and souvenirs throughout the park for visitors to purchase during the festival. Die-hard yokai enthusiasts can even take things up a notch by signing up for one of two afternoon bus tours that take visitors out to various yokai-related sites around Kyoto.

▼ The “World of Demons” bus tour.

Full details for the bus tours and festival events are available at the official website, with even more bonuses like ghost stories and a costume contest yet to be finalised. There’s definitely a lot to see and do at the festival, and by combining it with a sword-fighting ninja or samurai photo shoot at the studio, it’s a place you’ll want to dedicate a full day of your itinerary to when visiting Kyoto this autumn.

Source, images: Press release
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