Light the lantern.
Unseal a scroll.
A quiet library of Japanese kami, yokai, legends and folklore. Guess the being from five clues, and its scroll opens.
Five shelves, nine scrolls each
Every shelf is a painting you can step into. Choose one, or let the game choose for you.
- Kami and Shrine TraditionsDeities of the Kojiki and Nihon Shoki, and the shrines where they are still honored today.9 scrolls
- Yokai of FolkloreCreatures of village and mountain tradition, and where each one began.9 scrolls
- Ghosts, Night Tales and Haunted ThingsSpirits, apparitions and objects that wake after dark.9 scrolls
- Legends and FolktalesHeroes and wanderers from old tales, and how the tales changed in the retelling.9 scrolls
- Buddhist Figures and Sacred GuardiansBuddhist figures, luck deities and the guardians that stand at the gate.9 scrolls
Six essential scrolls
If you read only a few, read these. Each one separates what is believed, what is told and what is written.
Who Is Amaterasu? The Sun Kami in the Kojiki and at Ise
Amaterasu is the sun kami of Shinto, honored as the ancestral kami of the imperial house and enshrined at the Inner Shrine of Ise. Her story comes from two early eighth-century court chronicles, the Kojiki and the Nihon Shoki, which differ on her birth and on why she entered the cave.
Who Is Inari? The Rice Kami of Fushimi, Foxes and Torii
Inari is the Shinto kami of rice and food, honored at Fushimi Inari Taisha in Kyoto and at Inari shrines across Japan. The kami is identified with Ukanomitama of the Kojiki, and foxes are its messengers, not the kami itself.
What Is a Kitsune? Shrine Messenger, Fox Wife and Possession Belief
The kitsune is the fox of Japanese folklore, a shape-shifting wife and a possessing spirit in tales that came from China, and also the messenger of Inari at shrines. These are separate traditions, known from tales, shrine pages and records of belief.
What Is a Yurei? The White-Robed Dead of Edo Books and Stage
A yurei is the soul of someone who died in anger, grief or attachment and could not pass on. The pale, white-robed figure is mostly an Edo-period image, built from funeral dress, printed books, theater and storytelling.
Who Is Urashima Taro? The Fisherman, the Tortoise and the Box in Early Records
Urashima Taro is a fisherman of Japanese legend who visits a land beneath the sea and returns to a changed world. His story appears in an early chronicle, a provincial record and a poem, and later in medieval tales and Meiji retellings.
Who Is Jizo? The Roadside Bodhisattva of Children and Travelers
A Buddhist bodhisattva shown as a monk with a staff and a wish-granting jewel. Worship in Japan is attested from the Nara period; the roadside, child-protecting and riverbank-of-stones traditions are later layers of temple practice and folk belief.
Five clues, one lantern
Each round hides one being. You see a word in blanks and a first clue. Guess letters; every wrong letter darkens one panel of the lantern. Win, and a red seal stamps the scroll into your album and the full article opens.
Three levels: Bronze, Silver, Gold. No timer, no daily limit, no prizes. Your progress stays in your browser.
Play a roundLegend, folklore or religion?
The same name can mean a living faith, a village tale or a book character. Every scroll carries one of four labels, and a short box that keeps the three apart.
- ReligionBeings and practices honored today at shrines and temples. We write about them as living faith.
- FolkloreBeliefs, customs and tales passed through communities and regions, often with many variants.
- LegendStories tied to a hero, a place or an event, set down in old texts and retold ever since.
- Modern retellingA form or story that took its present shape in recent centuries, in books, prints, theater or later media.
What we promise
Every scroll lists the sources that were opened and read, with the date they were checked. We never invent a quotation. When sources disagree, we say so. Kami and Buddhist figures are treated as living faith, not as monsters.
Read our editorial policy, the methodology and credits, or send a correction.