Book of Yokai

The Book of Yokai, Expanded Second Edition: Mysterious Creatures of Japanese Folklore

Significantly expanded and updated-a lively excursion into Japanese folklore and its increasing influence within global popular culture.

Monsters, spirits, fantastic beings, and supernatural creatures haunt the folklore and popular culture of Japan. Broadly labeled yokai, they appear in many forms, from tengu mountain goblins and kappa water sprites, to shape-shifting kitsune foxes and long-tongued ceiling-lickers. Popular today in anime, manga, film, and video games, many yokai originated in local legends, folktales, and regional ghost stories. 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.

Revised and expanded, this second edition features fifty new illustrations, including an all-new yokai gallery of stunning color images tracing the visual history of yokai across centuries. In clear and accessible language, Michael Dylan Foster unpacks the cultural and historical contexts of yokai, interpreting their varied meanings and introducing people who have pursued them through the ages.