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Yuji Watanabe is a Japanese photographer working between Paris and Tokyo. In his series Yōkai he resurrects the spirits, creatures and apparitions of Japanese folklore within a contemporary frame: masked bodies, ritual fabrics, odd silhouettes, gestures that verge on theatre. There’s something ancient about them, yet the image speaks in a very modern tongue. Yōkai aren’t mere “monsters” in the usual sense. They inhabit Japan’s popular beliefs as ghosts, transformations, hybrid beings—figures that can be unsettling or absurd. Watanabe doesn’t explain them. They simply appear. A face hides, a body doubles, a figure stands in the picture as though it has stepped out of an old tale and into a fashion spread. This is where the work becomes compelling. Japanese folklore isn’t used as exotic set dressing or a pretty mystical nod. It’s living material: a way to talk about the body, the mask, ritual, and metamorphosis. The result feels like a hushed editorial dream—quiet, and therefore a little suspicious. As if the ghosts finally hired an excellent art director. Quick access: Work: Yōkai Artist: Yuji Watanabe Country / period: Japan / Paris / Tokyo, 2020s See his work via the link in bio. Credits: Photography: Yuji Watanabe Series: Yōkai Images: Yuji Watanabe / D.R.