Best Photos of the Day

Entries from previous yokai contests on a shelf at the Yokai Art Museum on the Japanese island Shodoshima, March 13, 2023. In the pantheon of yokai, spooky beings of Japanese folklore embody anxieties ancient and modern. (James Whitlow Delano/The New York Times).

Mitsuo Takeda, an artist, at the Yokai Art Museum on the Japanese island Shodoshima, March 13, 2023. In the pantheon of yokai, spooky beings of Japanese folklore embody anxieties ancient and modern. (James Whitlow Delano/The New York Times).

An isthmus at low tide on the Japanese island Shodoshima, March 14, 2023. In the pantheon of yokai, spooky beings of Japanese folklore embody anxieties ancient and modern. (James Whitlow Delano/The New York Times).

A sculpture where a yokai licks off the faces of subway riders in thrall to their cellphones at the Yokai Art Museum on the Japanese island Shodoshima, March 13, 2023. In the pantheon of yokai, spooky beings of Japanese folklore embody anxieties ancient and modern. (James Whitlow Delano/The New York Times).

A yokai, invoking a campaign against rules requiring women to wear heels in the office, on the Japanese island Shodoshima, March 13, 2023. In the pantheon of yokai, spooky beings of Japanese folklore embody anxieties ancient and modern. (James Whitlow Delano/The New York Times).

An abandoned house in the maze district on the Japanese island Shodoshima, March 13, 2023. In the pantheon of yokai, spooky beings of Japanese folklore embody anxieties ancient and modern. (James Whitlow Delano/The New York Times).

A yokai underneath vines on the Japanese island Shodoshima, March 14, 2023. In the pantheon of yokai, spooky beings of Japanese folklore embody anxieties ancient and modern. (James Whitlow Delano/The New York Times).

A ferry arriving in Shodoshima, a small island in the Seto Inland Sea of Japan that hosts a yokai art contest, March 12, 2023. In the pantheon of yokai, spooky beings of Japanese folklore embody anxieties ancient and modern. (James Whitlow Delano/The New York Times).

A yokai, created by Chubei Yagyu, a local artist, painted on the wall of the Yokai Art Museum on the Japanese island Shodoshima, March 13, 2023. In the pantheon of yokai, spooky beings of Japanese folklore embody anxieties ancient and modern. (James Whitlow Delano/The New York Times).

A 1,600-year-old juniper tree on the Japanese island Shodoshima, March 12, 2023. In the pantheon of yokai, spooky beings of Japanese folklore embody anxieties ancient and modern. (James Whitlow Delano/The New York Times).