Japandemonium Illustrated: The Yokai Encyclopedias of Toriyama Sekien
$258.69
Related Products
Beyond Representation: Chinese Painting and Calligraphy, 8Th-14th Century (Princeton Monographs in Art and Archaeology, No 48)
The Arts of India, Southeast Asia, and the Himalayas at the Dallas Museum of Art
Painting Texture (Best of Watercolor)
Spirit of the Brush: Chinese Brush Painting Techniques: Simplicity, Spirit, and Personal Journey
Japanese Tattoos: History * Culture * Design
“A fascinating, scholarly, beautifully illustrated, miscellanea of strange beasts, quelling demons, and otherworldly apparitions. JapandemoniumIllustrated will instruct you, amaze you, and transport you to a quintessential realm of Japanese lore.” — Guillermo del Toro, filmmaker
“Such beautiful nightmares — why bother to wake up? Long before Pokémon took to the streets, the Japanese saw monsters everywhere and in everything. Scholarly without being monstrously studious, Sekien’s classic compendia of outlandish everyday demons compiled in this one fiendishly clever volume is sure to enchant even the most rational readers (poor misguided souls!) I sleep less now that I recognize the tenjo-name behind the spots on the ceiling.” — Alfred Birnbaum, editor/translator of Monkey Brain Sushi
Japanese folklore abounds with bizarre creatures collectively referred to as the yokai ― the ancestors of the monsters populating Japanese film, literature, manga, and anime. Artist Toriyama Sekien (1712–88) was the first to compile illustrated encyclopedias detailing the appearances and habits of these creepy-crawlies from myth and folklore. Ever since their debut over two centuries ago, the encyclopedias have inspired generations of Japanese artists. Japandemonium Illustrated represents the very first time they have ever been available in English.
This historically groundbreaking compilation includes complete translations of all four of Sekien’s yokai masterworks: the 1776 Gazu Hyakki Yagyō (The Illustrated Demon Horde’s Night Parade), the 1779 Konjaku Gazu Zoku Hyakki (The Illustrated Demon Horde from Past and Present, Continued), the 1781 Konjaku Hyakki Shū (More of the Demon Horde from Past and Present), and the 1784 Hyakki Tsurezure Bukuro (A Horde of Haunted Housewares). The collection is complemented by a detailed introduction and helpful annotations for modern-day readers.
Read more
294 reviews for Japandemonium Illustrated: The Yokai Encyclopedias of Toriyama Sekien
Add a review
$258.69
Chrystal Johnson –
O livro é muito bom para servir como referência para quem tem interesse em estudar criaturas fantásticas japonesas do ponto de vista japonês anterior às alterações que elas sofreram depois de sua explosão na cultura pop. A minha única reclamação é que as explicações inseridas pelos editores são muito curtas.
Em relação ao vendedor, o produto foi entregue no prazo sem problemas. Minha única sugestão seria utilizar algum invólucro protetor, como plástico bolha, ao redor do livro pois, por ser um livro em brochura e não capa dura, a capa pode ser danificada durante o transporte.
Connor Lewandosky –
The book is has the illustrations of Toriyama Sekien, the illustrations are small yet serviceable (about 3/4 of the page), but the margins are filled with the translations of Sekien’s notes. Sorry about the quality of the picture, but hopefully it shows how the book is formatted. The translations vary in length, depends on how much Sekien wrote about the illustration. Even Sekien’s forward is translated. If you love yokai or looking to learn more about the superstitious side of Japan that is often ignored by school curriculums, this is a great book for it!
Linda Lombardi –
I recently bought a Japanese edition of some of this material, thinking that I was getting close to the point in my language study of being able to read it. Now that I have Japandemonium, I have to laugh at that idea. As it turns out, for Seiken’s work to make sense you need a lot more than just the words and the sentence structure. And this book gives you what you need.
True, the text for some of the illustrations consists of fairly straightforward descriptions. (My favorite: “The Nobusuma is essentially a flying squirrel. Its shape resembles a bat, covered in fur and with webbed wings. Its four limbs are short and its claws long. It eats nuts, and also fire.”) But for many of them, if they’re going to be more than just odd pictures, you definitely need the additional material that Yoda and Alt have researched and written for this volume. Especially in the early sections, some of the illustrations have no explanation at all. Others have text all right, but it doesn’t make a whole lot of sense – for one short example, the entire text with one picture is “They say Raigo’s spirit transformed into a plague of rats.” Uh, OK, and? Maybe in Seiken’s time it was obvious who Raigo was and what he has to do with this picture, but the modern reader has no clue. In the commentary on each illustration and in the excellent introduction, Yoda and Alt provide us with all the cultural, historic, and linguistic background (there’s lots of wordplay, too) we need.
The book is also very visually pleasing, both the reproduction of the art and the layout. Obviously necessary for the library of a yokai fiend like me, this book is also worth taking a look at if you’re a history buff with an interest in this period in Japan even if you don’t already know much about the folklore. Also highly recommended for anyone with a serious interest in weird folkloric creatures of any culture.
JuniorSenior –
This book is a weird recommendation because its mostly a book of illustrations with very little content. People looking to actually learn about yokai would be better off buying a more traditional format book like “yokai attack” or “the night parade of 100 demons”. That said, if you are simply looking for another slice of japanese culture or some beautiful illustrations this book will certainly meet those needs. Its a bit pricy so think about what your needs/expectations are before buying. Personally, im very satisfied with my purchase!
Marie Ranney –
A must read if you’re interested in Japanese folklore.
Connor Lewandosky –
Its a lovely book with neat images and info. The only downside is that the creases of the book tend to go through the center of each entry.
Nickolas Gucker –
I was so happy to receive this book in the mail. It’s much larger than I had expected and packs a ton of information within. I finally had a chance to sit down and dig in, I kept reading entries to my wife out-loud, who was highly engaged and amused at the weirdness of it all. this book is pure joy. So many creatures, ideas, and cultural curiosities to explore. I do wish the artwork it’s self was larger on the page, but does not take away from the fun of reading about some of the weirdest spooks from the land of the rising sun. Highly recommended to anyone interested in the subject.
Kyle M. –
Magnifique Ouvrage,
Belle Édition,
Contenu exceptionnel,
Service Irréprochable.
Merci 🙏
Bruno Garcia –
The translation & explanatory notes are easy to follow. The production quality is top-notch – thick paper, spacious layout, generous font sizes, & above all, the artwork is reproduced beautifully!
Nathan C. Brindle –
I have been looking for these books for quite some time, and ran across this compilation purely by accident. It is mostly a joy to behold; however, one nitpick as an author myself: The layout does not provide sufficient “gutter” (margin at the spine) between the pages and this makes it slightly difficult to view the art without breaking the spine of the book. Other than that, a lovely piece of work, for which my thanks.
Astrid –
Item was as expected and arrived quickly and in good condition. Reads back to front, because of the translation from Japanese I suppose. Odd experience, still a great read, thanks!
EmceeGraffiti –
Great book. Wonderful compilation of Sekien. Does a good job giving backstory on Sekien and the illustrated Yokai. Also does a wonderful job giving contextual references to why an illustration may be presented how it is. This should be a must have for beginner Yokai nuts.
Ensei –
i would have loved to read the yokai stories and look at the many beautiful illustrations. i hoped that the kindle edition would be a bit better than the real book the other users described, but the layout of the kindle edition is faulty and simply horrible. this is very sad! the kindle edition has many display errors (illustrations are all cut in the middle because of bad page layout, text is misplaced which makes it partially unreadable, etc. => see green marks in attached screenshots). this should not happen for that price. please fix & re-release.
i’ve returned the book but i would buy it again when these issues were fixed.