Kami is a large format book of photographic images of domestic and nature scenes and objects that allude to legendary creatures and spirits in Japanese folktales. I title the images with the names of these characters to suggest narratives and their presence in the settings.
KAWA AKAGO. An infant monster who lurks near rivers and drowns people
GASHADOKURO. A giant skeleton spirit of the unburied dead
TENJONAME. The ceiling-licking spirit
AME ONNA. A female rain spirit
UMI NYOBO. A female sea monster who steals fish
SORAKI GAESHI. The sound of trees being cut down, when later none seem to have been cut
TAKA ONNA. A spirit who can stretch its neck and spy into spaces
MAIKUBI. The quarreling heads of three dead miscreants
YAMA BIKO. A creature that creates echoes
UBUME. The spirit of a woman who died in childbirth
ASHINAGATENAGA. A pair of characters, one with long legs and the other with long arms
KEUKEGEN. A creature made of hair
JUBOKKO. A vampire tree
BAKENEKO. A shape shifting cat
KAPPA. A water monster with a water-filled head and a love of cucumbers
YAMA UBA. The mountain hag
AMANOJAKU. A small demon that instigates people into wickedness
SHOKERA. A creature that peers in through skylights
SAZAE ONI. A turban snail that turns into a woman
RAIJU. A beast that falls to earth in a lightning bolt
ASHIMAGARI. A spirit who entangles the legs of travelers
MIAGE NYUDO. A spirit that grows as fast as you can look up at it
OIWA. The ghost of a woman with a distorted face who was murdered by her husband
