The Book of Yokai: Mysterious Creatures of Japanese Folklore - Hardcover

Foster, Michael Dylan

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0520271017 ISBN 13: 9780520271012

Publisher: University of California Press, 2015

Synopsis

A lively excursion into Japanese folklore and its ever-expanding influence on global popular culture through the concept of yokai.

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.
 

About this title

About the Author

Michael Dylan Foster is Professor of Japanese, Department Chair of East Asian Languages and Cultures at University of California, Davis. He is the author of Pandemonium and Parade: Japanese Monsters and the Culture of Yokai (California) and numerous articles on Japanese folklore, literature, and media.

Shinonome Kijin is an artist and scholar of yokai. He lives and works in Chiba Prefecture, Japan.

From the Back Cover

"Overflowing with great stories of Japan’s fantastical monsters, spirits, and other creatures of the collective imagination, The Book of Yokai is filled with solid information, a variety of new perspectives, and the kind of richness of detail that will enhance any reader’s enjoyment of Japan’s monstrous folk traditions."―Dr. Bill Tsutsui, President of Hendrix College and author of Godzilla on My Mind

"Foster's yokai are living beings, real in their own way: they migrate from the woods and ponds of rural prefectures to books, games, anime, and the toy stores of Tokyo. With writing that flows like water and a fluid command of yokaiology, Foster produces a complete picture for any fan interested in knowing more."―Paul Manning, Trent University

Edition details

• Publisher: University of California Press
• Publication date: 2015
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0520271017
• ISBN 13: 9780520271012
• Binding: Hardcover
• Illustrator: Kijin Shinonome
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 336