Autorentext

Michael Dylan Foster is Professor in the Department of East Asian Languages and Cultures at the University of California, Davis. He is author of many works on Japanese folklore, including Pandemonium and Parade: Japanese Monsters and the Culture of Yōkai.

Klappentext

Praise for the First Edition of The Book of Yōkai: "Foster creates engagingly rich portraits of yōkai. . . . Kijin's illustrations draw on Japanese artistic traditions to depict each creature's personality and visual quirks, making this field guide a delight for researchers, enthusiasts and the uninitiated alike. . . . Seen this way, even the most horrific yōkai seems beautiful."―Times Literary Supplement "Foster . . . analyses and catalogues hundreds of yōkai and tells many stories . . . enhanced by witty illustrations by Shinonome Kijin. . . . A fascinating and charming compendium."―Literary Review "An interesting cultural text highly recommended to Japanophiles or aficionados of the otherworldly."―Foreword Reviews "Highly recommend. . . . A fascinating read."―Reference Reviews "Michael Dylan Foster draws the reader into a haunting tale of the uncanny from the first page."―Journal of Religion in Japan "The Book of Yōkai is a fascinating and enormously informative study. . . . Foster's narrative is smooth and often humorous. The book is easy to read, and at the same time immensely informative on the complicated and varied ways yōkai have existed throughout Japanese history."―Western Folklore "Readers will be fascinated (as well as teased) by the kaleidoscope of creatures, malignant and benign."―International Institute for Asian Studies

Inhalt
Contents

List of Illustrations 
Preface and Acknowledgments 
Names, Dates, Places 

PART I. YOKAI CULTURE 

1. Introducing Yōkai 
   Yōkai, Folklore, and This Book 
   The Language of Yōkai 
   Event Becomes Object 
   Questioning Yōkai 
2. Shape-Shifting History 
   Heroes of Myth and Legend 
   Weird Tales and Weird Tastes 
   Modern Disciplines 
   Postwar Animation and the Yōkai Boom 
3. Yōkai Practice / Yōkai Theory 
   Yōkai Culture Network 
   Zones of Uncertainty 

PART II. YOKAI CODEX 
4. The Order of Yōkai 
5. Wilds 
6. Water 
7. Countryside 
8. Village and City 
9. Home 

PART III. YOKAI GALLERY 
10. Seeing Yōkai 
11. Illustrating Yōkai 
12. A Completely Incomplete Yōkai Exhibition 

Epilogue: Monsterful 
Notes 
Bibliography 
Alphabetized List of Yōkai in the Codex 
Index