{VIRTUAL} Introduction to Yokai 

PLEASE READ: VIRTUAL ZOOM CLASSES OPERATE AS LIVE CLASSES ONLY, WE DO NOT RECORD TO PROTECT THE INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY OF OUR TEACHERS. This class is not an in-person class, it is a live, online only offering. Your zoom link will be attached to your ticket. Please also check your junk, spam and promotions folders in your email for your ticket. Email learn@ritualcravt.com with any questions. Classes are in MDT time zone. Class fees are non transferable, we stick to the student agreements agreed upon during registration. Registration closes one hour prior to class beginning.

Yokai are supernatural entities from Japanese folklore.  They may take the form of apparitions, creatures or phenomena.  In this class, we will look at the spiritual frameworks that have led to our understanding of yokai, how they have evolved through Japanese history leading up to pop culture depictions, the different types of yokai and protective superstitions.  This class will include elements of storytelling to complement the lecture.  It is recommended, but not mandatory to have taken Daily Japanese Animism & Majutsu as a primer for this class.

YOUR INSTRUCTOR

Akemi Tsutsui-Kunitake is a visual artist, karate-ka and creator of Live Deliciously. Based in Denver, her work is informed by her identity as a third and fourth-generation (sansei-han and yonsei), mixed-race Japanese American. Her artwork blends themes of Japanese folklore with Western mysticism. She is inspired by the intersectionality of cultural tradition, ancestral wisdom and modern identity. She is a lifelong student of Shotokan karate-do under the instruction of her father, Isao Gary Tsutsui, at Colorado Budokan.

Akemi has also been fortunate to train with masters of other karate styles in California, Hawaii and Japan. As karate embodies so many elements that are integral to the Japanese American experience, she describes karate as her ethnic and spiritual identity in motion. With a formal education in Ethnic Studies, Akemi has worked in the fields of culturally specific education, advocacy and holistic health. She has continued her studies through courses on Japanese energetic healing, Shinto, deep ancestral work and radical community care. Akemi is a frequent collaborator with the Japanese Arts Network as a Cultural Consultant and artistic partner.