Legendary practices
Known from myth, story and legend rather than from recorded practice.
- Living
- Revived
- Fading
- Historical
- Legendary
- Performed
RegionSouth AsiaSoutheast AsiaEast AsiaCentral Asia and the CaucasusMiddle EastNorth AfricaSub-Saharan AfricaEuropeNorth AmericaLatin America and the CaribbeanOceania
PurposeProtectionHealingSeeing and foretellingLuck and prosperityLove and attractionCursing and harmCleansing and purificationSpeaking with spirits and the deadChange and initiationBinding and oathsPower and authorityWonder and entertainment
WhoShamansFolk healersPriests and ritual specialistsWitches, sorcerers and cunning folkDiviners and readersMediums and the possessedCeremonial magicians and alchemistsHouseholds and ordinary peopleStage magiciansScholars and sceptics
BeliefHindu and TantricBuddhistJainMuslim and SufiJewishChristianSikhZoroastrianShinto and TaoistIndigenous and shamanicAfrican and Afro-diasporicPagan and NeopaganEsoteric and occultFolk and village customSecular and stageOther traditions
🇯🇵 JapanAbe no Seimei安倍 晴明
A historical court official turned legendary Japanese onmyōji and folk heroFigure · Protection · Seeing and foretelling Legendary
🇯🇵 JapanIttan-momen一反木綿
A flying cloth yōkai from Japanese folklore that warns children to stay indoors at nightBeing · Cursing and harm Legendary
🇨🇳 ChinaLan Caihe藍采和
An ambiguous Taoist immortal known for a flower basket and wandering songsBeing · Wonder and entertainment Legendary
🇯🇵 JapanJorōgumo絡新婦 (kanji), じょろうぐも (hiragana)
A shapeshifting spider yōkai of Japanese folklore that lures victims with human guise.Being · Cursing and harm Legendary
🇯🇵 JapanOni鬼（おに）
A horned demon of Japanese folklore known for strength and evil deedsBeing · Cursing and harm · Luck and prosperity Legendary
🇨🇳 China and 2 moreXiezhi獬豸
A one-horned beast from East Asia that separates the guilty from the innocentBeing · Cursing and harm · Protection Legendary
🇨🇳 China and 1 moreYue Lao月下老人
The Chinese deity of marriage who binds destined couples with red cordsBeing · Love and attraction · Binding and oaths Legendary
🇯🇵 Japan and 2 moreTamamo-no-Mae玉藻前
A nine-tailed fox spirit from Japanese legend who possessed emperors and concubines across Asia.Figure · Cursing and harm · Power and authority Legendary
🇨🇳 ChinaNian年兽 (Nián shòu)
A mythical creature linked to Chinese New Year customs and the lion danceFigure · Cursing and harm · Wonder and entertainment Legendary
🇨🇳 ChinaTaotie饕餮
A zoomorphic mask on ancient Chinese bronzes and a mythological creature of gluttonyFigure · Protection · Cursing and harm Legendary
🇨🇳 China and 1 moreJiangshi殭屍
A Chinese corpse said to rise and hop, feared for its strengthBeing · Cursing and harm Legendary
🇯🇵 JapanKuda-gitsune管狐 (kuda-gitsune)
A small spirit kept in a tube or sleeve to aid fortune-telling and cursing in Japanese folklore.Being · Seeing and foretelling · Cursing and harm Legendary
🇨🇳 ChinaNüwa女媧
A Chinese mother goddess who created humanity and repaired the skyFigure · Wonder and entertainment Legendary
🇯🇵 JapanTengu天狗
Japanese mountain spirits that evolved from ominous birds into protective forest guardians.Being · Cursing and harm · Protection Legendary
🇯🇵 JapanKitsuneきつね
A Japanese fox spirit known for shapeshifting and trickeryBeing · Cursing and harm · Protection Legendary
🇯🇵 JapanKappa河童
A river-dwelling yōkai known for its head dish and love of cucumbersBeing · Cursing and harm · Wonder and entertainment Legendary
🇷🇺 Russia and 4 moreRusalkaрусалка
A water spirit of Slavic folklore, often linked to drowned women and seasonal ritesBeing · Cursing and harm · Luck and prosperity Legendary
🇨🇳 China and 3 moreQilin麒麟
A legendary chimerical creature from Chinese mythology that signals the arrival or death of a sage.Being · Power and authority Legendary
🇨🇳 ChinaZhang Guolao张果老
A Taoist immortal known for his white donkey and fish drum, said to be a bat spirit.Figure · Protection · Luck and prosperity Legendary
🇯🇵 JapanHyakki Yagyō百鬼夜行
A Japanese folklore concept of a night parade of supernatural creaturesBelief · Cursing and harm Legendary
🇨🇳 ChinaCao Guojiu曹國舅
A Taoist immortal who abandoned his court career to help the poor and learn magic.Figure · Power and authority Legendary
🇨🇳 ChinaHe Xiangu何仙姑
A female immortal from Chinese Taoist legend known for divination and lotus magicFigure · Seeing and foretelling · Healing Legendary
🇯🇵 JapanAshiya Dōman蘆屋道満
A legendary Heian onmyōji known for his rivalry with Abe no Seimei and his use of cursesFigure · Cursing and harm · Power and authority Legendary
🇷🇺 RussiaKikimoraКикимора
A female house spirit in Slavic folklore that reflects the state of a home.Being · Cursing and harm · Protection Legendary
🇨🇳 China and 2 moreFox spirit狐狸精
A shapeshifting creature from Chinese folklore that can take human form and live for centuries.Being · Cursing and harm · Love and attraction Legendary
🇨🇳 ChinaHundun混沌
A faceless being and the primordial void in Chinese cosmology and myth.Being · Wonder and entertainment Legendary
🇨🇳 China and 3 moreFenghuang鳳凰 (fènghuáng)
A mythological bird symbolizing virtue and imperial harmony in East Asian cultureBeing · Power and authority · Love and attraction Legendary
🇯🇵 Japan and 1 moreRokurokubiろくろ首
A Japanese spirit with a stretching neck or a flying headBeing · Cursing and harm · Speaking with spirits and the dead Legendary
🇯🇵 JapanNurarihyon滑瓢 or ぬらりひょん
A slippery Japanese monster that slips away and haunts homes in folklore and pop culture.Being · Wonder and entertainment Legendary
🇯🇵 JapanUchide no kozuchi打ち出の小槌
A legendary Japanese magic hammer that taps out desired items from thin airFigure · Luck and prosperity · Power and authority Legendary
🇯🇵 JapanOsaki尾先
A mountain spirit in Japanese folklore that brings wealth or possession.Being · Luck and prosperity · Cursing and harm Legendary
🇯🇵 JapanTide jewels潮干る珠 (Shiohiru-tama) and 潮満つ珠 (Shiomitsu-tama)
Two magical gems from Japanese mythology that control the tides to drown or save enemies.Charm · Cursing and harm · Power and authority Legendary
🇯🇵 JapanNamazu鯰
A giant catfish myth believed to cause earthquakes in JapanBeing Legendary
🇨🇳 ChinaYeren野人
A Chinese cryptid apeman reported in remote mountains since ancient timesBelief · Wonder and entertainment Legendary
🇯🇵 JapanAbura-sumashi油すまし
A mountain spirit from Amakusa folklore said to be a thief turned yōkaiBeing Legendary
🇯🇵 JapanGashadokuroがしゃどくろ
A giant skeleton spirit born from the bones of those who died in war or famine.Being · Cursing and harm Legendary
🇯🇵 JapanRaijū雷獣
A Japanese lightning creature that sleeps in navels and falls from stormsBeing · Cursing and harm Legendary
🇯🇵 JapanSatori覚
A mind-reading monkey-like yōkai from the mountains of JapanBeing Legendary
🇯🇵 JapanKijo鬼女
A demon woman from Japanese folklore, born of resentment and karma.Being · Cursing and harm Legendary
🇯🇵 JapanYōsei妖精
A Japanese term for spirits drawn from Western legends and native folkloreBeing Legendary
🇰🇷 South KoreaGwisin귀신
A Korean ghost of a human who died, lingering to finish unfinished business.Being · Cursing and harm · Protection Legendary
🇯🇵 JapanShikome黄泉醜女 (Yomotsu-shikome)
A hag from the Japanese underworld who pursued Izanagi after he shamed Izanami.Figure · Cursing and harm Legendary
🇯🇵 JapanMazoku魔族
Supernatural beings in Japanese myth and fantasy, often evil.Being · Cursing and harm Legendary
🇨🇳 ChinaQiongqi窮奇
A winged beast from Chinese myth that rewards wickedness and punishes virtueBeing · Cursing and harm Legendary
🇯🇵 JapanTesso鉄鼠
A Japanese yōkai born from a monk’s curse and the destructive power of ratsBeing · Cursing and harm · Power and authority Legendary
🇯🇵 Japan and 2 moreChimimōryō魑魅魍魎
A Chinese term for mountain and river spirits that spread to Japan and VietnamBeing · Cursing and harm Legendary
🇨🇳 China and 2 moreShen蜃
A sea creature from Chinese mythology said to create mirages through shape-shiftingBeing · Wonder and entertainment Legendary
🇨🇳 ChinaZouyu騶虞
A legendary Chinese creature said to appear only under benevolent ruleBeing · Luck and prosperity Legendary
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Lan Caihe: Internet Archive Book Images, No restrictions, source
- Tesso: Katsushika Hokusai, Public domain, source
- Onmyōdō: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Zhang Guolao: Hong Zicheng, Public domain, source
- Curse: Katsushika Hokusai, Public domain, source
- Hyakki Yagyō: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Cao Guojiu: Zhang Lu, Public domain, source
- He Xiangu: Zhang Lu, Public domain, source
- Ashiya Dōman: Unknown author, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Kikimora: Гиппиус Татьяна Николаевна (1877-1957), Public domain, source
- Fox spirit: Chen Menglei, Public domain, source
- Fenghuang: Supremo Editor, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Hundun: Oldie~commonswiki, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Rokurokubi: Unknown author, CC BY 4.0, source
- Nurarihyon: Brigham Young University, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Jiangshi: Dick Thomas Johnson, CC BY 2.0, source
- Nüwa: 山胖z, CC BY 3.0, source
- Uchide no kozuchi: Yashima Gakutei, CC0, source
- Kitsune: Yoshitoshi, Public domain, source
- Kappa: Unknown author, CC0, source
- Tide jewels: Shizhao, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Rusalka: Andrey Shishkin, CC BY 3.0, source
- Qilin: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Namazu: Anonymous Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Yeren: Rolf Müller, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Abura-sumashi: Triton, CC BY 3.0, source
- Gashadokuro: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Shikome: Raita Futo, CC BY 2.0, source
- Zouyu: Chen Menglei, Public domain, source
- Taotie: anonymous, CC0, source
- Tamamo-no-Mae: ウィキ太郎 Wiki Taro, Public domain, source
- Yue Lao: 仔仔好帥, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Xiezhi: Carty239 at English Wikipedia, Public domain, source
- Oni: Katsushika Hokusai 葛飾北斎 (1760-1849), Public domain, source