Demons and Monsters is a digital mixed-media art project that reimagines the stories behind Katsushika Hokusai's One Hundred Ghost Stories through the lens of artificial intelligence. Inspired by the ancient Japanese game Hyaku Monogatari, where people tell ghostly tales by candlelight, the project invites audiences to "play" alongside Hokusai, delving into the legends that shaped his iconic works.
The project reinterprets three stories—The Mansion of the Plates (Sara-yashiki), Oiwa (Oiwa-san), and Kohada Koheiji—by transferring their characters and narratives to modern-day Tokyo, with locations tied to Hokusai’s life. Each episode blends cinematic noir with surrealism, preserving the eerie mood of the original tales while exploring contemporary themes.
The project reinterprets three stories—The Mansion of the Plates (Sara-yashiki), Oiwa (Oiwa-san), and Kohada Koheiji—by transferring their characters and narratives to modern-day Tokyo, with locations tied to Hokusai’s life. Each episode blends cinematic noir with surrealism, preserving the eerie mood of the original tales while exploring contemporary themes.
In The Mansion of the Plates, the story unfolds in a modern wealthy Tokyo home, drawing inspiration from real-life crime events and featuring an AI-generated version of Hokusai’s burial site.
Oiwa reimagines its central character as a webcam model, reflecting the atmosphere of today’s Japanese restaurants.
Meanwhile, Kohada Koheiji explores the duality of masks in modern Japanese theater and life.
This project uses video as its primary medium, crafting standalone works of video art that immerse viewers in a haunting yet contemporary retelling of Hokusai’s spectral dramas.
This project uses video as its primary medium, crafting standalone works of video art that immerse viewers in a haunting yet contemporary retelling of Hokusai’s spectral dramas.