The yokai — the spirits and creatures beyond the veil of the normal world — have gone mad, and the Lodge of the Hungry Ghosts works diligently and perpetually to mend this madness. This group of Japanese Bone Shadows believes that the grave disturbances caused by spirits and their forms have utterly disrupted the natural balance between worlds. All sides of the equation are in pain, and they seek to salve this wound. Other Uratha assume a dominant position over the spirits, believing themselves a kind of authority over the Shadow Realm. This, the lodge says, is a dangerous perspective that only perpetuates the problem. These Bone Shadows believe that one must seek to unravel the mysteries around the spirits, appeasing them through understanding, shepherding them toward their proper places with a guiding hand. Forcing them, acting as their masters, only widens the disparity. The yokai must not only be treated with the utmost respect, but some werewolves must sacrifice themselves in service to the spirits. This is what the lodge does in its dealings with the yokai.
The term “yokai” encompasses a number of beings existing on both sides of the Gauntlet: the “true” yokai are the spirits, the obake are any spirits that have transformed themselves and gained power beyond their normal limits (the lodge includes both Ridden and Hosts in this distinction), yurei are the ghosts of the departed and oni include other physical monsters and demons that are not composed of ephemeral matter (vampires, for instance, are oni).
