In Japanese, O is a prefix denoting respect, and bakemono literally means a changed thing — perverted and altered and moved beyond its natural state — a monster.

To most Western eyes, traditional Japan is a serene veneer of stoic samurai, porcelain-skinned geisha, Mount Fuji and cherry blossoms. It seems like the last place you’d look for things bizarre, grotesque, and morbid. And yet the Japanese archipelago is home to as rich a tradition of goblins, ghouls, and monsters as you’ll find anywhere on Earth. Imported from the mainland along with Buddhism or Chinese culture, or springing from fertile local imaginations and ancient animistic traditions, this impressive array of animated objects, transformed animals, ogres, demons, and human freaks is known collectively known as yōkai (yoh-kye), or bakemono (bah-keh-mo-no). They feature in countless folktales, prints, and paintings, often rendered with as much humor as horror, a troupe of beasts as charming as they are terrifying.