This is also the time period which saw the rise of “Artifact Spirits,” which reside in antique goods. Animism, the belief that all things hold their own spirit, started in an earlier time and focused on aristocratic musical instruments and antiques, but as the distance between Yōkai and the common people lessened, objects in an ordinary home, like tools and furniture, started to house these spirits as well.

The Japanese people believe that if you use an object for 100 years, it will become a spirit and start to move, so they throw it out during its 99th year. However, if furniture is thrown out or used roughly, it grows resentful. That is when it becomes a Yōkai. From a bowl to a pitcher, from a Biwa lute to a broom or scissors, all objects eventually become Yōkai and gather together in the night. They would plot revenge against the wrongdoings of humans, but in the end, most just ended up being exorcised.

I believe humans began to think they had more power than us Yōkai during the Edo period. Since they no longer feared us, we became an object of amusement and were even used as a pattern on folding screens and Kimonos. Money also became more popular during this time, and humans believed that as long as they made a monetary offering to the gods, they would be blessed. For the people of Edo, they would switch from god to god if there was a god who seemed to have more benefits, and while they said Yōkai didn’t actually exist, it was more fun to pretend we did. It’s shocking to see depictions from the time of Yōkai even passing gas!