images courtesy ex-chamber |

Today is the first day of September, which means summer is winding down to a close. But it’s not too late to enjoy some old-school J-horror. Enter Tomiyuki Kaneko, who has made a name for himself by depicting Yokai, a class of supernatural demons in Japanese folklore.

The Yokai art arena is largely dominated by Shigeru Mizuki, the  enigmatic author of the ever-popular GeGeGe no kitaro series. However, Kaneko differentiates himself by depicting large-scale creatures with an emphasis on minute detail you won’t find in Shigeru’s comics. Another differentiating feature is that Kaneko’s Yokai lean more towards realism than other artists. As with “Red Tiger,” Kaneko takes his cue from existing animals, which he then re-imagines as demonic “substantiations.”

The images are from Kaneko’s recent exhibition, “Yokai Substantiations,” which was on display at Mizuma Art Gallery through August 13th.  Want more Yokai to chill your blood? Check out these great posts, as well as Matt Alt’s Yokai Attack!

Source: ex-chamber