This week is the last chance to see Young V&A’s first major creative installation, inspired by our current exhibition Japan: Myths to Manga.

Lost and Found Yōkai draws from traditions of yōkai, a class of supernatural beings and entities that abound in Japanese folklore, literature, art and popular culture, in particular, the kasa-obake or umbrella monster. These playful spooks are a type of tsukumogami, everyday objects that receive a spirit and find new life as yōkai on their 100th birthday.

For the installation, 22 contemporary artists transformed ordinary umbrellas, previously lost on London’s public transport, and generously donated by TfL’s Lost Property Office, into a joyous ‘parade’ of yōkai, a class of supernatural beings that populate Japanese folklore. The Yōkai Onomatopoeic Machine, by artist and designer Yuri Suzuki helps bring them to life with supernatural sounds from Japan.

To mark the installation’s final week, we’re spotlighting our last round of artists whose work will be available to view as part of the installation until 1 September. Catch it whilst you can!

Meet the Artists

We asked the participating artists to share snippets about their yōkai and what inspired them.

Clara Chu

Fashion accessories designer and artist Clara Chu works with everyday objects to make unique pieces.

“SOFT LAUNDRY features a yōkai with eyes crafted from frying pan splatter meshes, surrounded by household items like dustpans, dish gloves and laundry pegs. Driven by a desire to evoke feelings of comfort and warmth, my yōkai celebrates the resilience of often-overlooked everyday objects, intertwining them to highlight their innate softness while imbuing them with playfulness and endurance. Through the revitalisation of lost treasures and object biographies, SOFT LAUNDRY is a visual tale that breathes new life into these items, inviting viewers on a sensory journey through the familiar scents and memories of home.

Vintage telephone, a cherished line.
The scents of clean from a washing line.
Plush carpet, soft beneath our feet,
In cozy corners, stories meet.“

Sam Wilde

Artist Sam Wilde looked to the growing threat of mining exploitation and plastic pollution on the deep-sea environment for inspiration for his yōkai, Deepstaria umbra. A fully mechanised biosynthetic lifeform born from the fusion between a deep-sea jellyfish and six discarded umbrellas that floated to the ocean’s floor, visitors can encounter Deepstaria umbra at the start of Kasa-obake Alley.

Rio Kobayashi

Rio Kobayashi is a maker and designer based in London, who for his yōkai FRANKENSCHIRM, looked to give new life and purpose to previously forgotten umbrellas.

“Five abandoned umbrellas were delivered to my studio, and I imagined that each had once belonged to an individual who relied on them. I couldn’t help but feel a pang of loneliness on behalf of these forgotten objects, which had dutifully protected their owners throughout their lives.

Perhaps some of them had passed through the hands of previous owners, each carrying with them untold stories and memories. However, we may never know for sure.

In an attempt to give these discarded umbrellas a new purpose, I decided to combine them into one large ‘Frankenstein’s Yōkai.’ Sometimes, I find myself reminiscing about my own lost possessions and wonder about the lives they lead now. I hold onto the hope that they’ve found new owners who appreciate them as much as I once did.”

*FRANKENSCHIRM* (right), Rio Kobayashi, 2024

Kristi Minchin

Kristi Minchin is a 3D artist, maker and painter based in London.

Inspired by the movement of children mobiles, Face Time is designed to be viewed from multiple perspectives. As your viewpoint shifts around the installation, Minchin asks visitors “what do you see in the shapes: Is it a lost umbrella or is it a yōkai?”

Dame Zandra Rhodes

Celebrated fashion and textile designer Dame Zandra Rhodes looked to her 1977 punk collection to bring her yōkai, Punky Yōkai, to life.

Flaunting its long and wiggly pink tongue, bearing its glittering teeth and fluttering its jet-black eyelashes, Punky Yōkai marries the form of a yōkai with elements from her 1977 Punk collection: rips and tears, beaded safety pins and chains. Inspired by the tsukumogami class of yōkai that spring to life when they become 100 years old, Punky Yōkai incorporates archival Zandra Rhodes printed silk chiffon fabrics and reuses various fabric offcuts. The giant pink tongue references Rhodes’ signature pink wiggle and the use of beading and buttons throughout display Rhodes’ affinity for embellishment.

Andrew Kenny at The London Embroidery Studio and John Booth

Bobby is a collaboration between friends Andrew Kenny from London Embroidery Studio and artist John Booth. Mixing both of their practises, Andrew has turned John’s drawing into a textile. Their version of a yōkai is inspired by Andrew’s two year old son Bobby, incorporating Bobby’s love of monsters and a visit to Japan: Myths to Manga. A fun and playful monster, with a cheeky character, Bobby brings together components of lost umbrellas and offcuts from Andrew’s studio.

*Bobby,* Andrew Kenny and John Booth, 2024

Lilah Fowler

Lilah Fowler is a contemporary artist based in London.

“I have been contemplating aspects of Japanese culture, including the aesthetics, crafts, and arts practised within my own family, to gain a deeper appreciation of my heritage and the forms it takes within my art.

“Matsu,” meaning “pine tree,” and “matsu,” meaning “to wait,” share the same pronunciation but carry distinct meanings. The possessed object here is bound with braided fabric and knotted paper, as signs of its potential transformation into something else. Kumihimo braided cords have been used for various purposes, such as kimono obi, samurai sword hilts, and ceramic decoration; originating from Korea and China, they came to Japan with Buddhism. The term “kumihimo” translates to “coming together” or “connecting things”.

Omikuji are folded papers containing fortunes purchased at shrines. Traditionally, those with unfavourable predictions were folded into strips and tied to pine trees on shrine grounds. These intricacies are reflected in Matsu, which explores the metaphorical concepts of waiting and transitioning between states.”

Ikuko Iwamoto

Ikuko Iwamoto is an artist based in London, who uses porcelain to create eccentric tabletop pieces and sculpture. As part of Lost and Found Yōkai, Iwamoto created two works.

Inspiration for her yōkai Yatsume (八つ目) came from “a vague image I [Iwamoto] had of one of the characters that appeared in the game my son was playing (Minecraft). “Yatsume” means “Eight eyes” in Japanese. I named it after the fact that its eyes appear in all eight sections of an umbrella.“

For Chagama (茶我魔), “because I am fundamentally a ceramic artist, I kind of thought that I had to apply the material I usually use to create a yōkai character. I thought it would be interesting to create the yōkai’s face by using some parts of a teapot, so I slip-casted some, and attached them to the handle of the umbrella. “Cha” means “tea” in Japanese.”

Anzhela Hayrabedyan and Luca Grosso

Artists Anzhela Hayrabedyan and Luca Grosso looked to gloomy weather for inspiration for their yōkai, Blown Away.

“Our little creature was blown away by the gusty winds of London. His hair has grown a tad too long and he’s in desperate need of a haircut.”

*Blown Away*, **Anzhela Hayrabedyan and Luca Grosso**, 2024

Yuri Suzuki and Very Very Far Away

To complement Lost and Found Yōkai, sound artist and designer Yuri Suzuki, in partnership with design and research studio Very Very Far Away, presentsYōkai Onomatopoeic Machine, a new sound and sculpture work, where sounds of supernatural Japan come to life through colourful horn-shaped sculptures. At the entrance to Kasa-obake Alley, individual soundscapes transport visitors to a world where every creak and rustle tells a tale, from the echo of distant drums to the sound of the shamisen.