Yokai Attack

Ninja Attack! introduces dozens of unforgettable real-life ninja straight out of the annals of Japanese history--many of whom are all but unknown outside their home country. Ninja masters. Solo assassins and operatives. Femme fatales as deadly as they were beautiful. Swordfighters out of legend. And the Shogun and warlords who commanded them. Each individual in this graphic novel is profiled with a full-page manga-style drawing and a dossier brimming with top-secret information, including photos, anecdotes, and dramatic stories of the individuals in action. The book covers ninja clothing styles, the types of weapons that were used, ninja tools, ninja tricks of the trade, and the basics of the ninja diet. It also includes a do-it-yourself tour of ninja related spots in modern Tokyo. Ninja Attack! is everything you always wanted to know about ninja but were too afraid you'd get a shuriken in the eye to ask. Legendary ninja covered in this book include: Prince Shotoku Mochizuki Chiyojo Hattori Hanzo Matsuo Basho Mamiya Rinzo Jiraiya Book 2 of 3 in the Yokai Attack! series. Others include Yokai Attack! and Yurei Attack!.

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!.

Yurei Attack! is a nightmare-inducing one-stop guide to Japan's traditional ghosts and spirits. Surviving encounters with angry ghosts and sexy spectres. Haunted places. Dangerous games and how to play them. And more importantly, a guided tour of what awaits in the world of the dead. Yurei is the Japanese word for "ghost." It's as simple as that. They are the souls of dead people, unable--or unwilling--to shuffle off this mortal coil. Yurei are many things, but "friendly" isn't the first word that comes to mind. Not every yurei is dangerous, but they are all driven by emotions so uncontrollably powerful that they have taken on a life of their own: rage, sadness, devotion, a desire for revenge, or even the firm belief that they are still alive. This book, the third in the authors' bestselling Attack! series, after Yokai Attack! and Ninja Attack! gives detailed information on 39 of the creepiest yurei stalking Japan, along with detailed histories and defensive tactics should you have the misfortune to encounter one. Japanese ghosts include: Oiwa, The Horror of Yotsuya Otsuyu, The Tale of the Peony Lantern The Lady Rokujo, The Tale of Genji Isora, Tales of Moonlight and Rain Orui, The Depths of Kasane Book 3 of 3 in the Yokai Attack! series. Others include Ninja Attack! and Yokai Attack!.

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 significant 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. Together with Yurei Attack! and Ninja Attack!, Yokai Attack! is the last guidebook to Japan you'll ever need.

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.

"Since ancient times, the Japanese have lived with superstitions of strange presences and phenomena known as "yōkai," creating a culture by turns infused with unease, fear, and divinity. Tsukimono spirit possessions. Fearsome kappa, oni, and tengu. Yamauba crones. Ghostly yūrei. Otherworldly ijin ... Where did they come from? Why do they remain so popular? Written by Japan's premier scholar of yōkai and strange tales, this book is both an introduction to the rich imagination and spirituality of Japan's yōkai culture and a history of the authors and writings that have shaped yōkai studies as a field"--Back cover.

This thrilling collection of seven Japanese ghost stories will captivate lovers of yokai stories! These classic Japanese ghost stories are based on those written by famed author Lafcadio Hearn between 1890 and 1904. Here, they are retold by award-winning comic book writer Sean Michael Wilson, who has garnered a worldwide fan base for his manga adaptations of works of Japanese literature, including such classics as The Book of Five Rings and The Demon's Sermon on the Martial Arts. Manga Yokai Stories includes: Nuke-kubi: A masterless samurai is trapped in a house haunted by headless goblins The Screen Maiden: A young man develops an obsession with a woman in a painting that almost kills him Corpse Rider: A woman's unburied corpse cannot rest until she has taken her revenge on the man who divorced her A Dead Secret: A young mother terrifies her family when she returns as a ghost, unable to find peace until she puts to rest a shocking secret she has left behind Wilson's skillful adaptation of Hearn's ghostly tales--along with superb manga illustrations from UK-based Japanese artist Inko Ai Takita--make these fascinating stories come to life. This book is in traditional Japanese reading order--from back to front--so that fans and manga lovers can enjoy an authentic reading experience.

The untold story of how Japan became a cultural superpower through the fantastic inventions that captured—and transformed—the world’s imagination. “A masterful book driven by deep research, new insights, and powerful storytelling.”—W. David Marx, author of Ametora: How Japan Saved American Style Japan is the forge of the world’s fantasies: karaoke and the Walkman, manga and anime, Pac-Man and Pokémon, online imageboards and emojis. But as Japan media veteran Matt Alt proves in this brilliant investigation, these novelties did more than entertain. They paved the way for our perplexing modern lives. In the 1970s and ’80s, Japan seemed to exist in some near future, gliding on the superior technology of Sony and Toyota. Then a catastrophic 1990 stock-market crash ushered in the “lost decades” of deep recession and social dysfunction. The end of the boom should have plunged Japan into irrelevance, but that’s precisely when its cultural clout soared—when, once again, Japan got to the future a little ahead of the rest of us. Hello Kitty, the Nintendo Entertainment System, and multimedia empires like Dragon Ball Z were more than marketing hits. Artfully packaged, dangerously cute, and dizzyingly fun, these products gave us new tools for coping with trying times. They also transformed us as we consumed them—connecting as well as isolating us in new ways, opening vistas of imagination and pathways to revolution. Through the stories of an indelible group of artists, geniuses, and oddballs, Pure Invention reveals how Japan’s pop-media complex remade global culture.