Yokai Parade to March Through Ueno Park on October 31 as ZEN NIGHT TOKYO Teams Up with Shitamachi.Halloween 2026

On Saturday, October 31, 2026, ZEN NIGHT TOKYO, a nighttime event now underway at the Tokyo National Museum, will hold a special program inspired by the Important Cultural Property The Night Parade of One Hundred Demons Picture Scroll (百鬼夜行絵巻, owned by Shinju-an), which is among the works in the special exhibition 大徳寺 本朝無双之禅苑, marking the 700th anniversary of the founding of Daitoku-ji. ZEN NIGHT TOKYO is organized by the Tokyo National Museum, Nikkei Inc. and VIE Inc.

The program teams up with Shitamachi.Halloween 2026 (シタマチ.ハロウィン2026), a Halloween event held in the Ueno, Okachimachi and Yushima area. It features a special stage with performers dressed as yokai (Japanese spirits and monsters) and a Hyakki Yagyo Parade (百鬼夜行パレード) that heads from Ueno Onshi Park to the Tokyo National Museum. In the night garden where ZEN NIGHT TOKYO takes place, visitors can also have their photos taken with the yokai.

The program uses the approachable figure of the yokai as an entry point to the rich imagination and humor of the picture scroll, with the aim of widening interest to the culture of Daitoku-ji, which has handed the work down, and to the world of Zen.

The Humorous Yokai of The Night Parade of One Hundred Demons Picture Scroll

Important Cultural Property, The Night Parade of One Hundred Demons Picture Scroll (detail), attributed to Tosa Mitsunobu, Muromachi period, 15th century, Shinju-an, Kyoto. The section of the scroll on display changes midway through the exhibition.

Everyday tools transformed into yokai, and demons with strange appearances. The Night Parade of One Hundred Demons Picture Scroll depicts these yokai as if they were marching through the dark of night. Handed down at Shinju-an in Daitoku-ji, Kyoto, this work is the oldest surviving picture scroll of the Night Parade of One Hundred Demons. It is also said that Ikkyu Sojun, known as "Ikkyu-san," devised the concept.

Among yokai picture scrolls, there are also stories in which tools that have aged over many years turn into yokai and run wild, only to awaken to the Buddha's teachings and attain Buddhahood in the end. This work, too, can be enjoyed as a fun and humorous piece depicting such yokai.

Special Stage and Hyakki Yagyo Parade with Shitamachi.Halloween 2026

From 6:00 PM, yokai appear on the stage at Bentenmon-mae Plaza (弁天門前広場) for Shitamachi.Halloween 2026, livening up the venue with performances set to DJ music.

From around 6:30 PM, the Hyakki Yagyo Parade will be led by yokai through Ueno Onshi Park to the front of the Main Gate of the Tokyo National Museum. Anyone can join the march behind the yokai. Ticket holders for ZEN NIGHT TOKYO can go straight on to the garden after the march ends (tickets are checked at the Main Gate entrance).

What Is Shitamachi.Halloween 2026?

Shitamachi.Halloween 2026 is a Halloween event with a downtown (shitamachi) character, held across the Ueno, Okachimachi and Yushima area. In 2026, it takes place over three days from Friday, October 30 to Sunday, November 1, at Bentenmon-mae Plaza in Ueno Onshi Park.

• Organizer: Ueno Chuo-dori Shopping Association (上野中央通り商店会)

Photos with Yokai in the Night Garden

The garden of the Tokyo National Museum, which normally closes at 5:00 PM, is opened at night for ZEN NIGHT TOKYO. On Saturday, October 31, a lively group of yokai will appear at the venue from around 7:00 PM.

In the night garden, wrapped in fantastical light and sound, including the sound corridor 百鬼夜道, where 3,000 higanbana (red spider lilies) bloom eerily, visitors can have their photos taken with the yokai.

• A ticket is required to enter ZEN NIGHT TOKYO (free for junior high school students and younger, and for people with disabilities and one caregiver).
• Visitors in costume cannot enter the buildings of the Tokyo National Museum, including the special exhibition venue. On this day only, visitors may enter ZEN NIGHT TOKYO in the garden while still in costume.
• Certain items cannot be brought into the Tokyo National Museum. See the museum's list of prohibited items.
• The event may be canceled in case of rain. The latest information will be posted on the ZEN NIGHT TOKYO official website.

Halloween Special Event Schedule, Saturday, October 31

About ZEN NIGHT TOKYO

ZEN NIGHT TOKYO opens the garden of the Tokyo National Museum, which normally closes at 5:00 PM, at night. It features autumn foliage illumination, a large-scale sea-of-clouds effect, and sound-and-light staging with "Neuro Music™" (ニューロミュージック™), which uses VIE's own patented technology designed to promote cognitive function and concentration. Combining traditional culture with technology, it is an immersive sound art night event where visitors can experience the world of Zen, including "Walking Zen" (歩行禅), a stroll through the garden, and "Brainwave Zazen" (脳波坐禅), which is done while brainwaves are measured.

The event is an autumn special program held concurrently with the special exhibition 大徳寺 本朝無双之禅苑, marking the 700th anniversary of the founding of Daitoku-ji, at the Heiseikan of the Tokyo National Museum. A ZEN NIGHT TOKYO ticket includes admission to the exhibition.