In Japanese mythology and folklore, the personification of jealousy is often associated with female figures who transform into demons or spirits due to their powerful emotions, rather than a single specific "god" of jealousy.
Hannya, a Japanese demon whose name comes from 知恵, meaning “wisdom,” has a signature wide, leering grin, metallic eyes, and two sharp horns that identify her. This demon embodies female jealousy, and her expression can reveal both anger and sadness, depending on the angle.
Little is known of the origin of umibōzu but it is a mythical sea-spirit creature and as such has multiple sightings throughout Japan.
Introducing Ryujin, God of the Sea. One of the most iconic and celebrated Deities in Japanese legend is Ryujin, God of the Sea.
The term refers to the heavenly and earthly manifestations of the benevolent Shinto divinity of water (mainly freshwater), as well as to a wide variety of mythical and magical creatures found in lakes, ponds, springs, and wells, including serpents (snakes, dragons, eels, fish, turtles), and the flesh-eating kappa.
In Japanese, the most common term for "femboy" is 男の娘 (otokonoko), a playful pun meaning "male daughter," contrasting with 男の子 (otokonoko), meaning "boy". Other terms include 女装男子 (josou danshi) for cross-dressing boys, while the concept itself is linked to bishōnen (beautiful young men) and pop culture like anime/manga.
Fujin and Raijin are the most feared and respected of all Japanese deities.
12 Major Japanese Gods and Goddesses You Should Know About
There isn't one single "rarest" Japanese surname, as many obscure ones exist, but extremely rare examples include those with unusual kanji or meanings like Kuni (国), Akasofu (赤祖父) (red grandfather), Jinja (神社) (shrine), or Keana (毛穴) (skin pores), often tied to specific places or concepts, with some having fewer than a few hundred bearers. Names like Takanashi (小鳥遊) (little birds play, but reads as "no hawk") or Ichimakase (一番合戦) (first battle) are also very uncommon.
There's no single "most beautiful" Japanese girl's name, as beauty is subjective, but popular and beloved options often evoke nature, light, or positive traits, like Sakura (cherry blossom), Himari (sunflower/light), Hina (sun/light), Akari (bright), and Yui (bond), with meanings like "love," "hope," and "beauty" common across names like Ai, Emi, and Mio (beautiful cherry blossom).
Traditionally, 4 is unlucky because it is sometimes pronounced shi, which is the word for death. Sometimes levels or rooms with 4 do not exist in hospitals or hotels. Particularly in the maternity section of a hospital, the room number 43 is avoided because it can literally mean "stillbirth".
Japanese people say "草" (kusa, meaning grass) as slang for "LOL" or "hahaha" because a string of repeated "w"s (wwww) used to express laughter looks like blades of grass, evolving from the kanji 笑 (wara) for laugh, shortened to 'w'. It signifies amusement, similar to typing "lol" in English, but context matters, and it's generally used in informal online settings.
Young female oni are called kijo, which means female oni, while elderly female oni are called onibaba, which means old lady oni. Like male oni, kijo and onibaba are grotesque ogre-like creatures, however, they may shapeshift to disguise themselves as beautiful young women to lure travelers.
The Japanese kanji 月 (tsuki/getsu/gatsu) translates to moon or month, referring to the celestial body and the lunar calendar, used in words like getsuyōbi (Monday, "moon day") or ichigatsu (January, "one month").
Yūrei (幽霊) are figures in Japanese folklore analogous to the Western concept of ghosts. The name consists of two kanji, 幽 (yū), meaning "faint" or "dim" and 霊 (rei), meaning "soul" or "spirit".
Before Nihon came into official use, Japan was known as Wa (倭) or Wakoku (倭国). Wa was a name early China used to refer to an ethnic group living in Japan around the time of the Three Kingdoms period.
Yamamoto (written: 山本 lit. "base of the mountain") is the 9th most common Japanese surname.
渡辺, means 'to cross over a river'.
Things which are usually regarded as bad in Shinto are: things which disturb kami. things which disturb the worship of kami. things which disrupt the harmony of the world. things which disrupt the natural world.
According to the annual statistical research on religion in 2015 by the Agency for Culture Affairs, Government of Japan, followers of Shintoism make up 70.4% of the total population, followers of Buddhism make up 69.8% of the population, followers of Christianity make up 1.5% of the population, and followers of other ...
The kuchi sake onna has perhaps the most unsettling appearance out of all the Japanese ghosts on this list. She is an onryo of a woman who had her mouth slit from ear to ear, giving her a menacing appearance. Thus, she has returned as a vengeful spirit to exact revenge on her wrongdoers.
“Thunder God”) is a god of lightning, thunder, and storms in Japanese mythology and the Shinto religion. He is typically depicted with fierce and aggressive facial expressions, standing atop a cloud, beating on den-den daiko drums with tomoe symbols drawn on them.
Mikaboshi: The Japanese god of evil. An obscure deity who was originally the god of the pole star and of chaos. Fujin: The god of wind and brother to Raijin.