title: Mythical Beasts of Japan: From Evil Creatures to Sacred Beings
author: Koichi Yumoto
description: Koichi Yumoto is a specialist in Japanese mythical beasts and heads the curatorial board at Kawasaki City Museum in Japan. He edits and writes several publications relating to Japanese specters. Hiroyuki Kano worked as the head of Department of Fine Arts at Kyoto National Museum in Japan. He is currently a professor of Culture and Information Science at Doshisha University in Japan, specializing in the paintings of the Momoyama period and the Edo period (16th&#8211;19th century), including Ukiyo-e study.
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  “Hey, you lazy Zashiki Warashi. What is this Hi no Enma thing anyway?”
  
  
  “I suppose you could call it a Japanese succubus. It’s counted as a blood-
  sucking monster, but it’s actually an enemy of Buddhism. In other words, it’s
  a female Youkai that uses her charm to get in the way of asceticism.”
  
  
  “Oh, a succubus, you say? I see, I see. A succubus!? You mean like the one in
  a micro-bikini living in our attic!?”
  
  
  “Don’t act like that, Shinobu. It’s disturbing. And I believe this kind
  destroys the victim’s family as well.”
  
  
  “That’s why I’m so mad!!”
  
  
  “But I wonder how they worked the Hi no Enma into the criminal Package.
  Especially into a Package to attract all the girls around you.”
  
  
  “It sounds ridiculous, but it’s no laughing matter. The market toward people
  who want to be popular is huge. In a broad 