Few countries have adopted thefestival of Halloweenquite like the Japanese. Long forgotten are its Gaelic roots and instead, in Japan at least, the festival has become a celebration of the country’s incredible cosplaying talents.
However, the uniquely Japanese way of celebrating ハロウィン(harowin) can be quite confusing for a first-timer. After all, until you’ve been here for a while, it can be tough to know exactly what 衣装(costume) or character the person you are talking to is dressed up to be.
Luckily, a lot of the costumes that you will encounter are Western horror staples that most people are likely familiar with—with English names, to boot!
Expect to see plenty of ゾンビ(zombies), ヴァンパイア(vampires) and デビル(devils).
Everything is not as simple as it may seem at first glance, though. After all, Japan has a long history of interactions with traders from all over the world, so there are plenty of monsters that Westerners would recognize that have names English-speakers are likely unfamiliar with.
A ミイラ(mummy) is likely taken from the Portuguese word “mirra,” while (witches), い(magic-users) and (skeletons) are also examples of non-English words.
One of the more interesting examples of this is the キョンシー(hopping vampire). Popularized by the schlock horror movie Mr. Vampire—or 霊幻道士for any film buffs out there—this bizarre monster is a reanimated corpse wearing clothing from the ancient Qing dynasty (to show its Chinese origin) that moves around by hopping at its victim with its arms extended. When confronted by a キョンシーthis Halloween (and you will be), best to run away. Or at least walk briskly.
To accompany the ヴァンパイア, ミイラ and 骸骨 are an entire army’s worth of different ghosts and ghouls from horror movies. You may stand agape at 貞子(Sadako) from The Ringor tremble at 伽椰子(Kayako) from Ju-on, aka The Grudge.
Despite the ease of making the costume (just brush all your long black hair forward for 貞子), speaking about them is another matter entirely as there are—somewhat confusingly—a large number of words for these mystical Japanese spirits, ghosts, and ghouls—from 神to おけto 幽霊.
Generally speaking, the 神are venerated spirits that are typically found in temples and are rarely costumes as not many people have a clear idea of what they look like (and are worried about upsetting grandma).
Instead, whenever people talk about the types of spirits that they see on Halloween, the more common word is 幽霊. Both 貞子and 伽椰子would be examples of some scary 幽霊, for example.
… whenever people talk about the types of spirits that they see on Halloween, the more common word is ‘yurei.’
On the other hand, お化けare formed from the word “化ける” which means to decompose, hide or conceal something. Therefore お化け is a broader word which includes things like shape-shifting monsters as well as ghosts such as the faceless のっぺらぼう(a faceless creature that tries to pass for human, often found in legends).
Not all monsters from classic Japanese lore are お化け. One of the most interesting of these is the 鬼. This is a kind of demon found in Japanoften represented by its (club), its loincloth, red skin and the horns poking out of its head.
Other creatures from Japan’s (and Super Mario’s) rich annals of folklore are the 河童, a beaked, green water monster similar to a deranged turtle; the 狐, which is a kind of fox that uses its magical powers to torment unwitting humans; and the 天狗, a long-nosed, bird-like monster.
No Japanese コスプレ would be complete without hundreds of characters from Japanese アニメ. These include the obvious tropes drawn from Japanese legends such as 忍者(ninja), 侍(samurai) and くノ(a powerful female assassin similar to a ninja).
These are joined by classic fictional characters like セーラームーン(Sailor Moon), characters from 進撃の(Attack on Titan), ドラゴンボール(Dragon Ball), the スタジオジブリ(Studio Ghibli) films and many, many others.
Out and about this Halloween 2019? You should be able to recognize the major types of コスプレ—scary, funny and clever alike. Happy practicing!
