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

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 labeledyōkai,they appear in many forms, fromtengumountain goblins andkappawater sprites, to shape-shiftingkitsunefoxes and long-tongued ceiling-lickers. Popular today in anime, manga, film, and video games, many yōkai originated in local legends, folktales, and regional ghost stories.The Book of Yōkaiinvites 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 yōkai gallery of stunning color images tracing the visual history of yōkai across centuries. In clear and accessible language, Michael Dylan Foster unpacks the cultural and historical contexts of yōkai, interpreting their varied meanings and introducing people who have pursued them through the ages.Michael Dylan Fosteris 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, includingPandemonium and Parade: Japanese Monsters and the Culture of Yōkai.
 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 lƒ(