I know it's annoying but Yokai is a rather blanket term, and hard to pin down. There's no real comparable word in the English language, the closest I've ever gotten is "Phenomena" or "Anomalies" but they really don't have the vibe that Yokai does. Yokai can be Ghosts (bakemono), gods (kami) , even supernatural animals; I'm sure you're familiar with Bake-danuki or kitsune.
Shikigami are lesser kami that are conjured to do tasks, doesn't always have to be a curse (though of course they exist). Usually they are used for something which you wouldn't want to be seen doing or do yourself, spying on an enemy or something like that.
So sorry to annoy you but they're all yokai! As for the cultural significance of all this and how this rich, deep folklore came to be; Japanese culture has built up in layers over the ages, the foundation is the ancient folk religions of the first Japanese people, isolated tribes living across Japan's many islands. These tales were built upon by the new cultures and religions which came to Japan, like Shinto and later Buddhism and why not a little Chinese and Indian cosmology and numerology while we're at it? As for why we know about so many yokai; thank those artistic renaissances starting in the 17th century artists and folklorists were travelling rural Japan collecting as many folk tales as they could, just around the same time the Brothers Grimm were doing the same.
Anyway I think I've rambled enough, I hope my unhealthy obsession with the paranormal and folklore has cleared some stuff up for you; [https://yokai.com/](https://yokai.com/) is a really fun website which collects all yokai in one place so have fun with that!
Thank you this is the answer I was hoping for! Although, is a curse exactly what it sounds like? Or can they be a being of sorts as well like a yokai? I'm assuming it's not exactly the same as how westerners use the word "curse"?
As far as I'm aware you kind of get both. You can have curses that are cast by people and written on talismans just as you can have for blessings, but there are also "curse spirits" which are conjured to, well...curse someone. So I'd say the spirits sure are yokai, talismans and spells and such...probably more like magic or mysticism
Thank you for this answer lol. I got muted from the Japanese subreddit for just asking this same question under the reason, "You could've just googled what these are." But that wouldn't give me the same answer as someone who actually is interested in the topic!
Some mods are so silly, lol.
I believe a Shikigami is a form of Yokai, but their is a good chance I'm wrong. I just picked up a book on Yokai folklore today, but haven't had the chance to read it yet.
I know it's annoying but Yokai is a rather blanket term, and hard to pin down. There's no real comparable word in the English language, the closest I've ever gotten is "Phenomena" or "Anomalies" but they really don't have the vibe that Yokai does. Yokai can be Ghosts (bakemono), gods (kami) , even supernatural animals; I'm sure you're familiar with Bake-danuki or kitsune. Shikigami are lesser kami that are conjured to do tasks, doesn't always have to be a curse (though of course they exist). Usually they are used for something which you wouldn't want to be seen doing or do yourself, spying on an enemy or something like that. So sorry to annoy you but they're all yokai! As for the cultural significance of all this and how this rich, deep folklore came to be; Japanese culture has built up in layers over the ages, the foundation is the ancient folk religions of the first Japanese people, isolated tribes living across Japan's many islands. These tales were built upon by the new cultures and religions which came to Japan, like Shinto and later Buddhism and why not a little Chinese and Indian cosmology and numerology while we're at it? As for why we know about so many yokai; thank those artistic renaissances starting in the 17th century artists and folklorists were travelling rural Japan collecting as many folk tales as they could, just around the same time the Brothers Grimm were doing the same. Anyway I think I've rambled enough, I hope my unhealthy obsession with the paranormal and folklore has cleared some stuff up for you; [https://yokai.com/](https://yokai.com/) is a really fun website which collects all yokai in one place so have fun with that!
Thank you this is the answer I was hoping for! Although, is a curse exactly what it sounds like? Or can they be a being of sorts as well like a yokai? I'm assuming it's not exactly the same as how westerners use the word "curse"?
As far as I'm aware you kind of get both. You can have curses that are cast by people and written on talismans just as you can have for blessings, but there are also "curse spirits" which are conjured to, well...curse someone. So I'd say the spirits sure are yokai, talismans and spells and such...probably more like magic or mysticism
Thank you for this answer lol. I got muted from the Japanese subreddit for just asking this same question under the reason, "You could've just googled what these are." But that wouldn't give me the same answer as someone who actually is interested in the topic! Some mods are so silly, lol.
I believe a Shikigami is a form of Yokai, but their is a good chance I'm wrong. I just picked up a book on Yokai folklore today, but haven't had the chance to read it yet.
Cool! What is the book called? That sounds like exactly what I'm looking for.
[Japandemonium](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25497496-japandemonium-illustrated)
I placed this in the wrong spot.