Kyuuketsuki

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Kyūketsuki (吸血鬼) is a Japanese vampire.

There are no actual legends about vampires in Japan, except perhaps the gaki, as Japanese vampires made their first appearances in the Cinema of Japan during the late 1950s. Tales about vampirism were common in China, but these supernatural tales did not take root in Japan.

Various folklore places them similar to western vampires, with weaknesses to sunlight, and moving water. However, as according to myth, a full decapitation was necessary to truly kill one, as sunlight merely weakened it, and it was said to possess no heart.

Some tales have kitsune played as the role of vampire, and the term would probably have arisen from kitsune who changed their forms to feed upon human prey easier.

Modern vampires include Hammer Film Productions-inspired vampire movies and manga. The best known are Vampire Hunter D and Vampire Princess Miyu.