New World Yōkai
By Curt Belshe and Lise Prown, 2015
Yōkai (妖怪, ghost, phantom, strange apparition) are a class of supernatural monsters in Japanese folklore. The word yōkai is made up of the kanji for “bewitching; attractive; calamity” and “apparition; mystery; suspicious”. Yōkai are also precursors of Pokemon and other creatures of contemporary Japanese pop culture.
Our “Yokai” are creatures that blend current technological obsessions, urban legends, cartoonlike features and familiar animals. We have designed several “New World Yōkai” that reflect these spirits that lurk in the valley from the river valleys, to the Hudson Highlands, to our pockets.