''The Yokai King'' is an action fantasy Japanese feature film starring

Shin Koyamada is a Japanese Americans, Japanese-American actor, producer, entrepreneur, martial artist, and philanthropist. He is best known for his starring roles in ''The Last Samurai'' and the Disney's movie ''Wendy Wu: Homecoming Warrior'' on Disney+. He ...

. The film is based on the supernatural beings called

yōkai are a class of supernatural entities and spirits in Japanese folklore. The word is composed of the kanji for "attractive; calamity" and "apparition; mystery; suspicious." are also referred to as , or . Despite often being translated as suc ...

from

Japanese folklore Japanese folklore encompasses the informally learned folk traditions of Japan and the Japanese people as expressed in its oral traditions, customs, and material culture. In Japanese, the term is used to describe folklore. The academic study ...

. It was mainly filmed in English in various locations of

Okinawa, Japan is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan. Okinawa Prefecture is the southernmost and westernmost prefecture of Japan, has a population of 1,457,162 (as of 2 February 2020) and a geographic area of 2,281 Square kilometre, km2 (880 sq mi). ...

Plot

Yokai are a class of supernatural creatures that have long held a prominent place in

. They come in a variety of forms, from hideous demons to mischievous creatures to heroes with supernatural powers. They are sometimes dangerous to humans since yokai are not restrained by the laws of nature and those who are not already part animal have the ability to shapeshift. The legend goes that Ippei (Shin Koyamada) was found by his foster father in a coconut shell on a beach. Although he was brought up as a normal boy, Ippei could see nature’s spirits, including

kijimuna The Kijimuna ( Okinawan: , ''kijimunaa'', also ''kijimun'' 木の精), or Bunagaya, are creatures of the mythology native to the island of Okinawa. They are said to look around three or four years old and have red hair. About The kijimuna are ...

, invisible to human eyes. As with many legendary heroes, Ippei was initially unaware of his supernatural talents and therefore his destiny.

Cast

as Ippei *Lisa Nakama as Kana *Saki as Osaki *Kirk Dixon as Nyarl *TJ Kayama as

Shuten-dōji Shuten-dōji (, also sometimes called , or ) is a mythical ''oni'' or demon leader of Japan, who according to legend was killed by the hero Minamoto Raikō. Although decapitated, the demon's detached head still took a bite at the hero, who avoid ...

*Nicholas Rush as Shachi *

Kiki Sukezane is a Japanese actress from Kyoto, Kyoto Prefecture, working mostly in American productions. Biography Kiki Sukezane was born to parents both of samurai descent; some ancestors were involved in the 1860 Sakuradamon Incident on the side of the ...

as Nuko *Vanessa Pan as Gyuki *Kingoro Torajima as

Tengu are a type of legendary creature found in Japanese folk religion (Shinto). They are considered a type of ''yōkai'' (supernatural beings) or Shinto ''kami'' (gods). The ''Tengu'' were originally thought to take the forms of birds of prey and a ...

*Daisuke Onaga as Takeshi *Kyoko Fukushi as Hahti *Chesuka Hentona as Young Ippei *Kougi Inoue as Awati

Production

On November 11, 2013, Okinawa Entertainment Studio announced the production of the series at the media room of the

Okinawa Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan. Okinawa Prefecture is the southernmost and westernmost prefecture of Japan, has a population of 1,457,162 (as of 2 February 2020) and a geographic area of 2,281 km2 (880 sq mi). Naha is the capital and largest city o ...

Government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is a ...

Naha, Okinawa is the capital city of Okinawa Prefecture, the southernmost prefecture of Japan. As of 1 June 2019, the city has an estimated population of 317,405 and a population density of 7,939 persons per km2 (20,562 persons per sq. mi.). The total area is ...

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

. The majority of the series filmed in various cities in

. It was shot on

Red Epic Red Digital Cinema (''Red Digital Cinema Camera Company'') is an American company that manufactures professional digital cinematography cameras and accessories. The company's headquarters is in Foothill Ranch, California, with studios in Hollyw ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Yokai King 2010s American television miniseries Okinawa Prefecture Television shows set in Japan Works about yōkai Yōkai in popular culture