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I honestly don't know where to put this, simply because the blanket term "youkai" can refer to a plethora of supernatural beings. Mods, if you wanna move this to "ghosts," feel free; however, I personally feel that that category is more for "yurei."

For those unaware, youkai (Korean: youkwe and Chinese : yao guai) are everything from nature spirits to mystical beasts to animate objects as seen in the orient. There are even a few youkai that are summoned by an onmyouji (Japanese equivalent of a sorceror), but at great risk most of the time.

These aren't deceased phenomena that only occurred in Japan's distant past, either; reports of them continue to surface today. Some even have scientists and doctors believing in their existence.

So, what's a "yurei?" A yurei is a very direct parallel to the Western ghost: A soul that, for whatever reason, is so restless that it can't move on to whatever afterlife awaits. Some class them with youkai, but as they are more closely related to the Western ghosts, whereas other youkai have little in common with any Western genre, most sources do not lump them together.

For those more interested, check out these sites:

http://www.obakemono.com/index.php
http://www.youkaimura.org/youkainame.htm

(P.S.- I finally posted a topic. Yay? I do hope you can have fun with this!)

While it's true that "youkai" tends to be translated as "demon" or "monster," not all youkai are like oni. Some, like the kirin, border on holy. Kitsune, one of the more popular youkai, even serve the rice god Inari.

P.S.- Gods = kami.

Yōkai (妖怪 meaning"fishy", "mysterious", or "implausible") are a class of obake, creatures in Japanese folklore ranging from the evil oni to the mischievous kitsune or snow woman Yuki-onna. Some possess part animal and part human features (e.g. Kappa and Tengu). Yōkai generally have a sort of spiritual or supernatural power, and so encounters with human beings tend to be dangerous. Yōkai also have different motives and agendas from human beings, which are often completely incomprehensible.

Yūrei (幽霊) are Japanese ghosts. The name consists of two kanji, 幽 (yuu), meaning "faint" or "dim" and 霊 (rei), meaning "soul" or "spirit." Alternative names include 亡霊 (Borei) meaning ruined or departed spirit, 死霊 (Shiryo) meaning dead spirit, or the more encompassing 妖怪 (Yokai) or お化け (Obake).
Like their Western counterparts, they are thought to be spirits kept from a peaceful afterlife.

Kitsune (狐) is the Japanese word for fox. Foxes are a common subject of Japanese folklore. Stories depict them as intelligent beings and as possessing magical abilities that increase with their age and wisdom. Foremost among these is the ability to assume human form. While some folktales speak of kitsune employing this ability to trick others — as foxes in folklore often do — others portray them as faithful guardians, friends, lovers, and wives.
Foxes and human beings lived in close proximity in ancient Japan; this companionship gave rise to legends about the creatures. Kitsune have become closely associated with Inari, a Shinto kami or spirit, and serve as his messengers. This role has reinforced the fox's supernatural significance. The more tails a kitsune has — they may have as many as nine — the older, wiser, and more powerful it is. Because of their potential power and influence, some people make offerings to them as to a deity.

Yuki-onna (雪女 snow woman) is a spirit or yōkai found in Japanese folklore. She is a popular figure in Japanese animation, manga, and literature. Yuki-onna is sometimes confused with Yama-uba ("mountain crone"), but the two figures are not the same.
Yuki-onna appears as a tall, beautiful woman with long hair on snowy nights. Her skin is inhumanly pale or even transparent, causing her to blend into the snowy landscape (as she is most famously described in Lafcadio Hearn's Kwaidan: Stories and Studies of Strange Things). She sometimes wears a white kimono.
Yama-uba (山姥 mountain crone) is a yōkai ("spirit" or "monster") found in Japanese folklore. The name may also be spelled Yamamba or Yamanba. She is sometimes confused with the Yuki-onna ("snow woman"), but the two figures are not the same.
Yama-uba looks like an old woman, usually a hideous one. Her unkempt hair is long and golden white, and her kimono (usually red) is filthy and tattered. Her mouth is sometimes said to stretch the entire width of her face, and some depictions give her a second mouth at the top of her head. She is able to change her appearance, though, and she uses this tactic to great success in capturing her victims.

That is all I can think of finding for the moment, hope it helps...
3nodding mrgreen

Wait....if Kami means god..... Okami means wolf, what's up with that? I know that there is a wolf god that is supposed to be the Mother God named Amaterasu....but still. Can someone clear this up to me?