YAKO is a project that brings 36 Japanese artists together to share a new Japanese culture of Reiwa with the world.
(Reiwa is the name of the new Japanese imperial era and represents auspicious harmony.) through the co-creation of a collectible NFT with 36 amazing Japanese artists and the theme of the art is "Night Parade of One Hundred Demons".
Our 36 artists are working on 10 different visual patterns for 12 different Yokai (Tengu, Kappa...etc) that come from Japanese folk stories. And we’re going to put the 10 visual patterns into a picture scroll that we call “Emaki” and make 3,600 of it. Each one of the Emaki is unique. A variety of visual effects will be applied to the picture scrolls to create a new collectible NFT that no one has yet seen, merging the good old Japanese style with the latest modern technology. You can call it “YAKO”.
This is just a preview and the NFT will be randomly drawn after the reveal.
Information
- Network:
- Ethereum
- Type:
- ERC721
- Total Supply:
- 3600
- Price:
- Free
- AL Mint Date:
- DECEMBER 16TH (10AM JST)
- Public Mint Date:
- DECEMBER 19TH (10AM JST)
- Reveal Date:
- TBA
YOKAI ARTISTS
Muto Yuya
mikehige
KINTOKI
rippi
Tsumichara
Lily-K
Tagawa Makoto
Hiroaki Hasumi
hasaqui yamanobe
RIBBON
magome
Shin Ringo
Sawaco
Saori
AURORA
zawawa
ONE a.k.a give me IQ
Izuru Shinonome
Little Artist CHIBI
Emma
gamaccho
Satoshi Miyachi
Reilly illustration
Little People
NauGhtEd
kumoxel
Shiro1
Miura Donuts
mera takeru
Ladybrown
(((o)))
TAKUROMAN
Hikage
kikkawa keita
BroccoliSP
SHIS
Gen Art Artist
About Hyakki Yako
Sometimes an orderly procession, other times a riot, it refers to a parade of thousands of supernatural creatures known as oni and yōkai that march through the streets of Japan at night. As a terrifying eruption of the supernatural into the real world, it is similar (though not precisely equivalent) to the concept of pandemonium in English. (From wiki)
Makimono
Have you ever seen Japanese picture scrolls called “Makimono”? This makimono is a very huge part of our Japanese history and culture, in fact, there is still a lot of mystery and things that we haven’t found out yet. So, what is it? An Emaki usually consists of two things, text and illustration. The text generally comes first and tells the story, then the Illustration shows many scenes from it. Most Emaki are made with Washi (Japanese traditional paper) if you might have heard of it.
“Yokai”
- Who are they?Japanese folklore is really filled with mythical creatures. We call it “Yokai”. They look scary. but are really big parts of the culture. “Yokai” is sometimes called “demon” in other countries, but if you see the pictures posted below, you can feel the slight differences between them in terms of their visuals and the atmospheres. Very unique right?
Of course, there are actually many kinds of Yokai in Japanese Emaki history, and we have a total of 12 Japanese Yokai appearing in our NFT. So let me just introduce them.
kappa
“Kappa” is an amphibious Yokai said to inhabit ponds or rivers in Japan. They are typically depicted as green and turtle-like feet. The description itself varies from region to region, but all Kappa has a small bowl-like dent on top of their heads that holds a small pool of water. The word “Kappa” translates roughly to “water child”. Some kappa just enjoys causing mischief and trouble towards humans, but some Kappa is dangerous and has been known to try to kidnap kids and eat them. What a scary guy...
tengu
“Tengu” is originally known as evil spirits that caused destruction wherever they went like carrying off monks and robbing temples, but they are seen as good or bad depending on the story. They are known as good protectors sometimes. All the Tengu has a red face with a long nose carrying a fan.
Kitsunebi
“Kitsunebi” is what we call “fox fire”. They appear as floating balls of light at night. There can be a long line of the Kitsunebi as if there are lanterns carried by someone invisible, that’s Kitsune (fox). By the way, following kitsunebi is never a good idea. They only lead people to places they should not be like luring humans into the darkness towards a group of hungry Yokai. So please be careful.
Nekomata
“Nekomata” is said to have powers of necromancy, and upon raising the dead, will control them with ritualistic dances using their paw and tail. They even use their powerful influence to blackmail or enslave humans into doing their bidding. By the way, people say that the most dangerous Nekomata live in the deep mountains.
Inugami
“Inugami” is a very powerful Yokai possessing emotionally unstable and weak people. He’s looking for it and trying to get inside you. Once you got possessed by an Inugami, you are in for some serious misfortune. The signs of the possession are chest pain, hand pain, feelings of deep jealousy, and suddenly barking like a dog. The only way to cure is to hire another sorcerer to remove it. But we never know if it will work. It’s not that easy. It’s said that the possession could be passed on to their families...
Oni
“Oni” is the greatest icon of Japanese folklore. They are tall and scary having red or blue skins with two or three horns. Oni is said to live in hell where they work for Great Lord “Enma”. They are basically servants of this Enma. Their work? Their work is to mete out horrible punishments for wicked sinners...
Dokuro
“Dokuro” is created when people who couldn't find piece and die unknown in the wilderness rarely have proper burial. The causes of this could be sickness, starvation and even war as there would be so much anger and pains. Their souls are reborn as ghosts longing eternally for the things they once had. The more anger natured is within them, the longer they will live. Only way they can die naturally if that anger fades away...
YukiOnna
“Yuki-Onna” is probably the most good-looking beautiful Yokai if you look at other Yokai, but you better watch out. She lives near mountains trying to prey on travelers lost on the road or break into houses to flash freeze the people inside during the night. But she is not entirely cold-blooded actually. Some guys go too far and fall in love with the intended prey and beauty. But the end of the love is always the same when the husband finds out who she is...
Rokurokubi
“Rokurokubi” is just like an ordinary woman except for the time when she sleeps. At the night, her body sleeps while her neck stretches out to incredible heights and moves around freely. She might now kill you, but she likes to scare people and make trouble by licking up some lamp oil with their long tongues and attacking small animals.
Nue
“Nue” is one of the oldest Yokai having its first appearance in Kojiki. The Nue has the head of a monkey, the body of a raccoon, the tail of a snake, and the legs of a tiger. The Nue is said to have the ability to transform into a black could and fly.
Nurarihyon
“Nurarihyon” is a mysterious and very powerful Yokai. Nurarihyon is known as the commander and leader of all the Yokai. So every Yokai listens to him and respect him so much. That goes to show that Nurarihyon wears a splendid kimono most of the cases.
Kamaitachi
“Kamaitachi” lives near mountain and attack people in threes. The first one slices at people’s leg to know him down to the ground and the second eves slice up more of the prone victim with thousands of dreadful cuts. But the third one gives a magical salve that heals up the wounds instantly. They move too fast to perceive them. So from his perspective, he thinks he just trips and gets up with a bit of pain and a few scratches here and there.
