Yūrei (Japanese ghosts)

Yūrei are traditional Japanese spirits or ghosts that often symbolize unresolved emotions or tragic deaths. Typically depicted as pale, sorrowful figures with long, unkempt black hair and white burial kimonos, they lack limbs or have disheveled appearances, emphasizing their ethereal nature. Yūrei are central to Japanese folklore, literature, and theater, where they embody themes of revenge, longing, and unfinished business. They are comparable to Western ghosts but are uniquely shaped by Japanese cultural beliefs about spirits and the afterlife, often appearing in stories to evoke caution, reflection, or moral lessons.