Ariel
An air spirit in Shakespeare's play The Tempest. Serving the magician Prospero, Ariel raises a storm and is finally granted freedom. A moon of Uranus is named after this spirit.
Mystery Timeline｜1603–1867
Mysteries of the Edo Period
The era when Toriyama Sekien's yokai paintings and ghost stories such as Yotsuya Kaidan flourished, and countless yokai were depicted in art and tales.
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c. 1611 (The Tempest)
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Ainu oral tradition (from before the Edo period)
Korpokkur
Little people of Ainu folklore, whose name is said to mean "people under the butterbur leaves" in the Ainu language. They once traded with the Ainu but are said to have left after being seen. It is one of the best-known legends of Hokkaido.
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Early 19th century (the legend takes shape)
Lorelei
A rock towering over the banks of the Rhine in Germany, and the legend of a beautiful maiden who sings there and lures boatmen to their doom. The song "Die Lorelei," Silcher's setting of Heine's poem, was also loved in Japan as a school song.
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1841 (Andersen's fairy tale)
Ole Lukoje
A sleep spirit of Danish folklore, made famous by Andersen's fairy tale "Ole Lukoje." Over good children he opens an umbrella with pictures on it and shows them pleasant dreams.
