The Great Yokai Encyclopaedia

Everyone has heard of vampires and werewolves, but how many have heard of the rokuro-kubi, the tsuchinoki or the sagari? Japan has a wealth of ghosts and monsters, collectively called yokai, which are totally unknown in the West. The bizarre and wonderful folklore of Japan includes giant corpse-eating rabbits, flaming pigs that steal human genitals, perverse water goblins, blood sucking trees, a dragon that impregnates women, cats who animate dead bodies, a zombie whale and a huge flesh eating sea cucumber that grows from a pair of discarded knickers!

Discover everything you’ve ever wondered about the legendary spirits, creatures, and figures of Japanese folklore including how they have found their way into every corner of our pop culture from the creator of the podcast Uncanny Japan. Welcome to The Book of Japanese Folklore: a fascinating journey through Japan’s folklore through profiles of the legendary creatures and beings who continue to live on in pop culture today. From the sly kitsune to the orgrish oni and mischievous shape-shifting tanuki, learn all about the origins of these fantastical and mythical creatures. This gorgeous package is complete with stained edges and stunning four-color illustrations. With information on their cultural significance, a retelling of a popular tale tied to that particular yokai, and how it’s been spun into today’s popular culture, this handsome tome teaches you about the stories and histories of the beings that inspired characters in your favorite movies, animes, manga, and games. Adventure, mystery, and amazing tales await in The Book of Japanese Folklore.

This book is your ultimate guide to Japan's scariest creatures! Yokai come in every imaginable shape and form—from frightening ghosts and cruel demons to cute fairies and enchanted animals. They can be evil monsters, harmless tricksters or prophets of doom, depending on their inclination. This book profiles 100 of the most fascinating Yokai, including: Tengu: A powerful Yokai that often takes human form with wings and a large nose who lives in mountains and forests Kappa: A deadly Yokai that lives near rivers and drags passersby into the water to drown Peroritaro: A grotesque Yokai that looks like blubbering child and has an appetite for greedy children Baku: A monstrous Yokai with an elephant's head, a bear's body, a rhino's eyes, an ox's tail and a tiger's legs that aids humans by devouring their nightmares And many more! Yokai expert Masami Kinoshita has been documenting Yokai in folklore, and in real life, for many years. This book presents her most interesting findings and has over 175 full-color illustrations that vividly depict the appearances of these weird creatures. No matter their origins, each Yokai has a strange and wonderful story that is sure to amaze you!

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 provides a lively excursion into Japanese folklore and its ever-expanding influence on global popular culture. It also 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. Ê

Discover the history and science behind these (not so) imaginary creatures—and how to search for them yourself. Cryptozoology, the study of hidden, monstrous, and legendary animals, is truly the art of discovering the unknown. Richard Freeman, Zoological Director of Centre for Fortean Zoology, has explored the corners of the five continents in search of creatures that many people believe are non-existent. In this book, he shares the exciting stories of his investigations of the Yeti, Mongolian Deathworm, Loch Ness Monster, Orang-Pendak, Ninki-Naka, and more. Cryptozoologists throughout the years have studied unknown species of reptiles, lake and sea creatures, apes, and hominins. The science and history of this field of study includes examples of creatures that were once thought to be mythological, but that have since been proven to exist. If you’re ready to begin your search for Sasquatch and learn to hunt monsters, Adventures in Cryptozoology is your guide. In these pages you’ll find: · Tales of mythical, extinct, and out-of-place creatures · Hints about Bigfoot and other ape-men · And tips for equipping your own cryptozoology adventure, including all the gear, field craft, and resources you’ll need to record your findings

From the earliest days of oral history to the present, the vampire myth persists among mankind’s deeply-rooted fears. This encyclopedia, with entries ranging from “Abchanchu” to “Zmeus,” includes nearly 600 different species of historical and mythological vampires, fully described and detailed.

Yokai Attack! is a nightmare-inducing one-stop guide to Japan's traditional monsters and creepy-crawlies. Yokai are ethereal sorts of beings, like ghosts, nearly always encountered at night; everyone has their own take on how they might look in real life and what sorts of specific characteristics and abilities they might have. This book is the result of long hours spent poring over data and descriptions from a variety of sources, including microfilms of eighteenth-century illustrations from the national Diet Library in Tokyo, in order to bring you detailed information on almost 50 of these amazing creatures for the first time in English. Illustrations, created by the talented Tatsuya Morino, detail the potential appearance of each yokai. Alongside each illustration is a series of "data points," with each yokai's important features at a glance--especially handy for any potential close encounters. Yokai Attack! will surely convince you that Japan's tradition of fascinating monsters is a long one--yet far from being history. Book 1 of 3 in the Yokai Attack! series. Others include Ninja Attack! and Yurei Attack!.