The Japan Foundation (JF) held the exhibition Yokai Parade: Supernatural Monsters from Japan in Bangkok, Thailand, from June 15 to July 28, 2024. In conjunction with the exhibition, JF offered lectures, primarily for students studying the Japanese language at universities that received NIHONGO Partners from Japan in the past.
The “Yokai Parade” exhibition was supervised by YUMOTO Koichi,　Director Emeritus at the Miyoshi Mononoke Museum, and JF dispatched　KIKKAWA Naoko, curator at the Miyoshi Mononoke Museum, as lecturer. Approximately 190 people attended the lectures—mainly students from five universities: Panyapiwat Institute of Management, Chulalongkorn University, Sripatum University, Thammasat University, and Siam University. After attending a lecture, students from Sripatum University and Thammasat University were given a tour of the exhibition at the venue TCDC Bangkok, under the guidance of KIKKAWA Naoko.
The lectures and the exhibition served to heighten many participants’ interest in Japan and Japanese culture. Participants offered comments such as: “My understanding of Japanese society was deepened by my learning about the yokai, and my desire to visit Japan has grown stronger as a result,” and “I have developed an interest in studying ancient Japanese texts and exploring Japanese museums.”

Lecturer

KIKKAWA Naoko

Born in Hiroshima in 1982, she holds a master's degree from Showa Women's University, where she majored in Japanese modern-art history. She is the curator of the Miyoshi Mononoke Museum and has held her current position since April 2018. Special exhibitions that she has managed at the museum include Amabie and Amabiko: The Power of Prophetic Monsters and Yokai Parade in Japan.

The Yumoto Koichi Memorial JAPAN YOKAI MUSEUM (Miyoshi Mononoke Museum)