Things We Can't Explain

What made that noise in the next room? Why does one sock always disappear? Why does my internet always crash when I try to join a Zoom class? Well, the answer is simple. It's the yokai ! The yokai are various supernatural creatures found in Japanese lore, and they often are there to explain many of the unexplainable (or downright annoying) occurrences in our lives. We learned about this unique aspect of Japanese culture thanks to a visit by Dr. Todd Munson, Professor and Director of Asian Studies at Randolph-Macon College. As part of his engaging lecture, we all created some yokai of our own to help explain away some of our modern-day problems, from chronic neck pain, to spotty internet, to... to.... hmmm I forgot... darn you yokai !