The Book of Yokai: Mysterious Creatures of Japanese Folklore
$25.99
Monsters, ghosts, fantastic beings, and supernatural phenomena of all sorts haunt the folklore and popular culture of Japan. Broadly labeled yokai, these creatures come in infinite shapes and sizes, from tengu mountain goblins and kappa water spirits to shape-shifting foxes and long-tongued ceiling-lickers. Currently popular in anime, manga, film, and computer games, many yokai originated in local legends, folktales, and regional ghost stories.
Drawing on years of research in Japan, Michael Dylan Foster unpacks the history and cultural context of yokai, tracing their roots, interpreting their meanings, and introducing people who have hunted them through the ages. In this delightful and accessible narrative, readers will explore the roles played by these mysterious beings within Japanese culture and will also learn of their abundance and variety through detailed entries, some with original illustrations, on more than fifty individual creatures. The Book of Yokai invites readers to examine how people create, transmit, and collect folklore, and how they make sense of the mysteries in the world around them. By exploring yokai as a concept, we can better understand broader processes of tradition, innovation, storytelling, and individual and communal creativity.
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Lauren Auty –
This is an absolutely fascinating read not only detailing what each yokai is but how the stories, myths and legends came to be. Each chapter is thoughtfully laid out with text interspersed with really beautiful period art work and details about the drawings. The stories are rich and informative giving an insight into Japanese history that can only come in folklore.
Another aspect of this book is really liked was the faithfulness to the Japanese language. As a student of Japanese it was really nice to see words writen not only in English but in hirigana, katakana and kanji with an explanation of the characters and symbols and how’s they break down into the name of each yokai. It gives an extra dimension to the topic.
The book is academic without being heavy going and I have really enjoyed reading and researching this amazing aspect of Japanese history. I would recommend this book to anyone who not only is interested in Japan and it’s history but to those who love folklore and all the tales that come with it.
Kat001 –
Book received on time and in perfect condition!
Wayne Rish –
While I have not finished the book yet, I will say I fully enjoy it. I am very interested in Japanese culture and also the various stories/myths/etc..Also as an artist always looking to learn more about the legends and creatures of different cultures. This book is more of the academic. If you are looking for something with just a bunch of stories of youkai and pictures, then this isn’t exactly the book for you. The first part of the book gives a nice look into the history of the youkai in Japanese culture, their evolution, and so on. The second part of the book has a few illustrations and a listing of various youkai with descriptions and mentions some of the tales surrounding them. I would say if you are someone who has been interested in the subject and are looking to learn more about how these various entities appear and evolved in Japanese culture you might enjoy it. If you are looking for a quick summary of youkai, or a more illustrated piece, then you may be disappointed. For me, I gave it 5 stars because I find it quite enjoyable and interesting. Although, that is just my opinion.
Chrissy B –
I thought that this would be a collection of stories about the yokai. Like a fairy tale book. This is more like reading a text book on the study of yokai, with shortened basic versions of the stories of yokai. I do not regret getting it, and its extremely informative. Great addition to my books on the yokai.
Ana Cristina de Souza Neves Pessuti –
Reading this book was a joy, every day learning a little bit more about Japanese culture and the history behind Yokai as legends and as essential elements behind the formation Japan’s culture.
I reccomend it for anyone with an interest in Yokai/Japanese culture, even if you are not familiar with the subject, the book is very easy to understand and consume.
samunddean –
Wie schon bei “Pandemonium and Parade” angeführt, macht halt der Inhalt dieses Buch unumgänglich für Yokai-Fans, die auch an den geschichtlichen und anderen Inhalten interessiert sind, ohne aber in Japanologie gebildet zu sein oder Japanisch-Kenntnisse zu besitzen.
Die Qualität des Buches selbst (Papier etc . ist etwas besser als bei “Pandemonium an Parade”.
Ich würds aber wahrscheinlich auch auf Klopapier geschrieben kaufen, der Preis ist halt im Vergleich zu unseren Taschenbüchern etwas hoch, aber man kanns halt auch nicht in der Trafik um die Ecke kaufen.
Marie Ranney –
The most important thing to know about yōkai is you may not be able to see them, but they’re there. 😉
john de la cruz –
First half has history and theories about yokai and discusses up to yokai watch.
For the origin of Gegege No Kitaro, I heard the creator of Hakaba Kitaro was Masami Itou for his kamishibai, and was based on the story of the kosodate yurei and some local folklore. The notes at the back of the book do mention Gegege No Kitaro was based based on the 1932 work of Masami Itou. The yurei parents of Hakaba Kitaro as yokai and the Yurei Tribe as a yokai tribe was probably the innovation of Shigeru Mizuki. Neko Musume was also based on kamishibai which was based on much older stories.
An american yokai artist is mentioned in the text but not sure why his name Matthew Meyer is not mentioned in the text but his name is mentioned in the notes at the back of the book. If Matthew Meyer continues to draw more yokai, maybe one day, he will be able to do more than 900 japan yokai in color. Shigeru Mizuki has done about 900 japan yokai in color.
2nd half of the book is a small yokai encyclopedia arranged by wilds, water, countryside, village/city, home and includes about 37 non color yokai art. Most of the about 37 yokai art are original drawings by manga artist shinonome kijin whose day job is a school teacher. Some entries have no art such as nurikabe, kijimunaa, ningyo, gamishiro (like an ocean version of kappa), mouryou, sunakakebabaa, yukionna, mujina, baabuu (something scary), kubikireuma, jinmenken, zashikiwarashi, so the encyclopedia has about 51 entries.
Tania Agüero Dejo –
Buen libro. Muy poco dibujos. No llego tan rápido como esperaba.
Carmilla –
I picked up this book because I really enjoy reading and learning about the lore in all cultures and yokai themselves are such a fascinating topic. I think the thing that makes yokai so fascinating is that they continue to evolve and even to this day they are everywhere in Japan. I think it’s one of the few places in the world that’s really like that (maybe Iceland to an extent as well). I definitely recommend this book to anyone interested in folklore and/or yokai in general. I know that there were complaints about the lack of images in the book and their quality. However, there are 30 images in a 310 page book(that’s counting the back pages of notes, references, and index) so about 10 images per 100 pages. That’s pretty decent for an academic-esque book. Also, the images are drawn in a traditional style so yeah. The notes and bibliography are both incredibly useful and have given me a list of more books to buy.
Karret –
The information in this book was well organized. It starts out more getting into the psychology behind how some yokai start out and cultural/historical moments of note before going into the descriptions of various yokai, to give folks context who might not have otherwise had it, to various things such as Japan’s perspective of yokai throughout the centuries among other things. Really interesting read, loved it!
Brian Jason Swain –
Daughter is thoroughly enjoying reading this book.
Jelena Petrovic –
Always had an interest in Yokai and have been looking for a book that neatly organizes and explains them. This is it! This book has great visuals and pictures that outline different Yokai and really go in to who they are and how they came to be. Also provides you with a reason or purpose behind each one. Great book, so glad I found it!