Artist Masako Miki Reimagines ‘Night Parade of One Hundred Demons’ in Boston Exhibit
On May 11, 2026, PBS NewsHour’s arts segment “CANVAS” showcased a new exhibition at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts featuring Japanese‑American artist Masako Miki. The show, titled “Phantoms in Color,” offers a contemporary visual interpretation of the medieval tale “The Night Parade of One Hundred Demons,” blending traditional ukiyo‑e motifs with vibrant, plush‑like sculptures that invite viewers to engage with the supernatural narrative in a playful, modern context.
The original folklore, dating back to the Heian period, recounts a nocturnal procession of yōkai—spirits and monsters—that descend upon towns, causing chaos until a priest or brave hero dispels them. In recent years, interest in yōkai has surged worldwide, influencing manga, video games, and fashion. Miki’s work taps into this resurgence, aiming to bridge cultural heritage with current artistic dialogues about myth, identity, and the role of mythic imagination in contemporary society.
Miki explained to PBS host Jared Bowen that each piece in the exhibition was hand‑stitched from reclaimed fabrics sourced from both Japan and New England textile mills, creating a tactile “cuddly” aesthetic that softens the traditional horror of the demons. “I wanted to make these beings approachable, so children and adults alike can confront fear through curiosity,” she said. Museum curator Dr. Hana Suzuki added that the installation’s centerpiece—a towering, illuminated lantern populated by 100 miniature demon figures—uses programmable LED lights to simulate the flickering atmosphere described in the original story. While PBS highlighted Miki’s statements, AP quoted the museum’s director, noting that the exhibition also includes a series of interactive workshops where visitors can create their own yōkai masks.
Art critics have praised the show for its inventive fusion of craft and narrative. The New York Times art critic Maya Rivera called the exhibit “a delightful subversion of fear, turning ancient dread into a celebration of texture and color.” Conversely, some scholars caution that the whimsical rendering risks trivializing the tale’s moral lessons about community vigilance, a point raised by Professor Kenji Tanaka of Tokyo University in an interview with NPR.
The “Phantoms in Color” exhibition will run through September 2026, with a traveling component planned for major U.S. museums in 2027, including the Asian Art Museum in San Francisco. Organizers hope the show will spark broader conversations about preserving intangible cultural heritage while encouraging contemporary reinterpretation. Audience reception, ticket sales, and the success of the planned workshops will likely inform future collaborations between Japanese artists and American institutions, shaping the landscape of cross‑cultural artistic exchange in the coming years.