This bestiary contains over 100 illustrated entries covering a wide variety of japanese monsters, ghosts, and spirits. A field guide to japanese yokai yokai series book 1 by matthew meyer from the mists of prehistory to the present day, japan has always had stories of fantastic monsters. The book of the hakutaku is an illustrated bestiary of yokaithe spirits, monsters, and ghosts from traditional japanese folklore. While not exact, and not exhaustive, it can help you find yokai by various traits. Overflowing with great stories of japan s fantastical monsters, spirits, and other creatures of the collective imagination, the book of yokai is filled with solid information, a variety of new perspectives, and the kind of richness of detail that will enhance any reader s enjoyment of japan s monstrous folk traditions. Aburaakago an infant ghost who licks the oil out of andon lamps. Some of them are native to japan, while others have been incorporated into japanese folklore from foreign cultures. Tengu, the illustrated book of japanese monsters, gojin ishihara, i know the website doesnt seem the most legit, but it is one of the few resources i can link to with the whole book visible for free japanese santa will fuck you up. Abumiguchi a furry creature formed from the stirrup of a mounted military commander who worked for yamata no orochi.
A bestiary of devils, demons, vampires, werewolves. I brought this book at the same time as i brought night parade of 100 demons and it was interesting to cross reference the pair, as both had really good info on the subject, though this one stood out the most because of its layout and the amazing. Monsters, ghosts, fantastic beings, and supernatural phenomena of all sorts haunt the folklore and popular culture of japan. Yurei ghost, hyakkai zukan the illustrated volume of a. Apr 29, 2016 japanese folklore abounds with bizarre creatures collectively referred to as the yokai the ancestors of the monsters populating japanese film, literature, manga, and anime. The ushioni cow demon or ox demon was a legendary monster that haunted japan. Little wonder then that the japanese characters for yokai are. The book of the hakutaku was written and illustrated by matthew meyer, and will be the third in his series of books on far east mythology, with the previous entries being the night parade of one.
Monsters, animals, and other worlds is a collection of twentyfive medieval japanese tales of border crossings and the fantastic, featuring demons, samurai, talking animals, amorous plants, and journeys to supernatural realms. Gojin ishiharas artwork for the weird illustrated book of japanese. A book of illustrations somewhat similar in tone to the work of poet and artist, toryama sekiens in particular gazu hyakki yagyo or the illustrated night parade of a hundred demons, it features sketches of various creatures known in japanese mythology as yokai. The japanese monsters are getting quite popular for the kappa to the kasaobake. Onmoraki bird demon, illustrated book of japanese monsters, 1972 6. Kappa river imp, illustrated book of japanese monsters, 1972. Working with the local nureonna monsters, which were beasts with a womans head and a snakes body, the ushioni s favorite pastime was attacking fishermen. Weird monsters of japanese folklore dangerous minds. Why hokusai illustrated but five of them rather than the 100 thatd been planned is unknown. Demons of the orient the complete book of demons, 1974 20. A short course in yokai with translator zack davisson. While most of sekiens monsters were taken from japanese and, to a lesser extent, chinese folklore, many were the authors own inventions. Mar 4, 20 scans from the 1972 illustrated book of japanese monsters, illustrated. Jorogumo, japanese spider demon by schonheit on deviantart japanese mythology.
Japanese folklore abounds with bizarre creatures collectively referred to as the yokai the ancestors of the monsters populating japanese film, literature, manga, and anime. Rashomon no oni ogre of rashomon gate, illustrated book of japanese monsters, 1972. Here is a collection of wonderfully weird illustrations by gojin ishihara, whose work graced the pages of numerous kids books in the 1970s. Yokai attack the japanese monster survival guide yokai. It has over 100 yokai, each one translated from japanese folklore and fully illustrated. His book is also a compendium of illustrated yokai profiles, but.
The following is a list of demons, ghosts, yokai, obake, yurei and other legendary creatures that are notable in japanese folklore and mythology. Jun 14, 2012 raigo 11thcentury monk reborn as a giant bookeating rat a. Yokai senjafuda night parade of a hundred demons mellon. Jul 26, 2010 here is a collection of wonderfully weird illustrations by gojin ishihara, whose work graced the pages of numerous kids books in the 1970s. Within these pages youll find an evergrowing collection of yokai and legends from all parts of japan and all periods of japanese history. Jan 01, 2010 while this is not a hugely detailed book, it is beautifully illustrated showing examples and extracts from a variety of sources to take the reader through the various histories and forms of monsters, demons and animalhuman hybrids that we have managed to come up with over the years. Artist toriyama sekien 1712 88 was the first to compile illustrated encyclopedias detailing the appearances and habits of these creepycrawlies from myth and folklore. Intriguing pictorial archive of werewolves, serpents, mermaids, and other fabulous creatures, accompanied by an engrossing text with tales from around the world. Macabre kids book art by gojin ishihara pink tentacle jorogumo pictured im so scared i can barely muster the courage to pin this. One of the most important sources of japanese folklore is gazu hyakki yako or the illustrated night parade of hundreds of demons, book of toriyama sekien published in 1781.
This book, divided into several chapters dealing with specific subjects as present in traditional japanese art forms, is one of the few books on japanese folklore in print in the english language and of those few, it is one of the even fewer that not only deal with the ghosts and monsters of that folklore, but does so accurately and is well researched. Oct 25, 2016 yamasei mountain sprite, illustrated book of japanese monsters, 1972 14. Japanese folklore abounds with bizarre creatures collectively referred to as the yokai. This field guide contains over 100 illustrated entries covering a wide variety of japanese yokai. A version of the tetralogy translated and annotated in english was published in 2016. Artist toriyama sekien 171288 was the first to compile illustrated encyclopedias detailing the appearances and habits of these creepycrawlies from myth and folklore.
They are available from in paperback and kindle formats the night parade of one hundred demons, written and illustrated by matthew meyer, is a 224page fullcolor yokai encyclopedia containing over 100 creatures from japanese folklore. Japanese monsters in childrens book art by gojin ishihara when we was a kid, we went through a phase where we was way into monsters draculas, frankensteins, demons from the pits of hell, all that good stuff and, as these were the dark days before the internet, i would hit the library on a weekly basis checking out books illustrated. Shigeru mizukis yokai pages scanned from an august 1974. A bestiary of japanese monsters yokai meyer, matthew, meyer, matthew on. Monsters, animals, and other worlds columbia university. Illustrated book of japanese monsters by gojin ishihara. The 19 most dangerous japanese demons and their significance. These are 10 legendary monsters, ghosts and demons that terrify japanese locals. Scans from the 1972 illustrated book of japanese monsters. The japanese word used at the time was mononoke, meaning things of mystery.
The most comprehensive compendium of short medieval japanese fiction in english, monsters, animals, and other worlds illuminates a rich world of literary, buddhist. So you have an ox demon and a snake woman trying to kill you. The night parade of one hundred demons and the hour of meeting. Matthew meyer the night parade of one hundred demons a. Behind the tales though lies quite monstrous and deathly beasts that have not been so much popular yet. Rokurokubi longnecked woman, illustrated book of japanese monsters, 1972 5. Each yokai is described in detailincluding its habitat, diet, origin, and legendsbased on translations from centuriesold japanese texts. A field guide to japanese yokai yokai series book 1 by matthew meyer the night parade of one hundred demons. This encyclopedia contains over 125 illustrated entries detailing the monsters of japanese folklore and the myths and magic surrounding them.
Broadly labeled yokai, these creatures come in infinite shapes and sizes, from tengu mountain goblins and kappa water spirits to shapeshifting foxes and longtongued ceilinglickers. Monsters, animals, and other worlds columbia university press. Gazu hyakki yagyo, the illustrated night parade of a hundred demons or the illustrated demon hordes night parade is the first book of japanese artist toriyama sekiens famous gazu hyakki yagyo ehon tetralogy, published in 1776. Our goal is to keep old friends, exclassmates, neighbors and colleagues in touch.
The night parade of one hundred demons matthew meyer. They remain surprising and fascinating because, on this occasion, the artist departed from the japanese landscape one of his most recurrent motifs to illustrate the universe of japanese ghosts, demons, ghosts and monsters. Kappas gojin ishihara, in illustrated book of japanese monsters, 1972 nevertheless, slotted among the bloodcurdling images of horrific female entities with hyperextensible necks, maniacallygrinning strangler demons, bizarre ceilingdwelling scareghouls, and numerous other equally macabre monstrosities in human or semihuman form, are. Nov 01, 2015 while most of sekiens monsters were taken from japanese and, to a lesser extent, chinese folklore, many were the authors own inventions, according to pandemonium and parade. Jan 01, 2014 japanese folklore abounds with bizarre creatures collectively referred to as the yokai the ancestors of the monsters populating japanese film, literature, manga, and anime. The demons or yokai as they are called range from charming and mischievous to dangerous and frightening with great summaries of the yokai and fantastic illustrations i highly recommend this book to all interesting in japanese superstionghost stories. Illustration by gojin ishihara kubireoni strangler demon, illustrated book of japanese monsters, 1972. Jul 29, 2010 in the early 1970s, japanese illustrator gojin ishihara did some wonderful artwork for series of childrens books entitled, illustrated book of japanese monsters 1972, illustrated book of hell 1975, the complete book of demons 1974, illustrated book of world monsters 1973, and mysteries of the world 1970. Raigo 11thcentury monk reborn as a giant bookeating rat.
The hour of meeting evil spirits is 286 pages, with over one hundred fullcolor paintings. Welcome to, the illustrated database of japanese folklore. Bill tsutsui, president of hendrix college and author of godzilla on. Abumiguchi a furry creature formed from the stirrup of a mounted military commander who worked for yamata no orochi aburaakago an infant ghost who licks the oil out of andon lamps aburasumashi a spirit with a large head who lives on a mountain pass in kumamoto prefecture akabeko a red cow involved in the construction of enzoji in yanaizu, fukushima. The book of the hakutaku is an illustrated bestiary of yokaithe spirits. The weird artwork of gojin ishihara for the illustrated book of japanese monsters 1972 a book aimed at children. Terrifying childrens book art of japanese monsters by gojin ishihara. These three texts illustrate more than two hundred of these japanese demons, each with its own brief description and commentary. A window into a longvanished culture that still fascinates, this collection of 170 tales introduces us to a broad tableau of characters. Sep 09, 2019 an example of a colorful threepanel woodblock print of japanese spirits and demons from the book yokai. Gojin ishiharas artwork for the weird illustrated book of. These are the most weird illustrations created by japanese artist gojin ishihara for children books. In 1881, artist nabeta gyokuei updated this incredible volume when he produced a picture book or ehon of sekiens 100 demons.
Contact with korea, china, and india brought the idea of monsters, which japan happily adopted. It encompasses monsters, demons, gods, ghosts, magical animals, transformed humans, urban legends, and strange phenomena. Flashbak has a free digest of the weeks best stories and pictures get yours. Kubireoni strangler demon, illustrated book of japanese. Japanese monsters in childrens book art by gojin ishihara. Matthew meyer is raising funds for the book of the hakutaku. If you enjoy this site, please consider supporting the artist by buying the books. The series was known as gazu hyakki yagyo series, meaning illustrated night parade of a hundred spirits, although in this context, one hundred just means many.
The first 16 images below appeared in the illustrated book of japanese monsters 1972, which profiled supernatural creatures from japanese legend. Anecdotal accounts of demons and monsters parading through the streets of kyoto at night can be found in sources as far back as the early 12th century, but the modern visual imagination of this phenomenon is generally traced to a painting scroll in the collection of the temple of daitokuji. An art critic who has studied the eerie and macabre in japanese folk art, he states that monsters appear in japanese art in an abundance unequalled in any other culture 78 and insists. In the early 1970s, japanese illustrator gojin ishihara did some wonderful artwork for series of childrens books entitled, illustrated book of japanese monsters 1972, illustrated book of hell 1975, the complete book of demons 1974, illustrated book of world monsters 1973, and mysteries of the world 1970. They remain surprising and fascinating because, on this occasion, the artist departed from the japanese landscape one of his most recurrent motifs to illustrate the universe of. As an avid fan of manga and anime, i was interested in learning more about the monsters and mythology of japan, and this book was brilliant. Dramatic images of the sphinx, centaur, and the plumed serpentbird of the aztecs, as well as pictures of the whale, octopus, armadillo, and other real animals once associated with supernatural powers. Yamasei mountain sprite, illustrated book of japanese monsters, 1972 14. Big book of dragons, monsters, and other mythical creatures. There are hundreds of them, many harmless, many tragic, and more than a few just mischievous.
The book profiles supernatural creatures from japanese legend. Nothing exists in the english language that quite captures the essence of yokai. Japanese shop illustrated ebooks and art supplies today. The concept of monsters with physical form didnt happen until the asuka period, around 500700 ce. Monsters of japanese mythology come to life in the book of. Currently popular in anime, manga, film, and computer games, many. This book was first funded on kickstarter in 2011 and then revised in 2015. The night parade of one hundred demons is one of the best when it comes to japanese monsterology. Some of them have never appeared in english before, while others will be intimately familiar to fans of japanese folklore.
The ehon hyaku monogatari, picture book of a hundred. An example of a colorful threepanel woodblock print of japanese spirits and demons from the book yokai. Most of these images were published in the illustrated book of japanese monsters illustrated books of japanese monsters. The stories are variously witty, allegorical, mystical, gross, funny and enigmatic. Yokai is not simply the japanese word for demon, as is sometimes believed. Nekomata, gazu hyakki yagyo the illustrated night parade of. Although the title translates to the illustrated night. The kaibutsu ehon or illustrated book of monsters features beautiful woodblock prints of each of the yokai and its special powers. The night parade of one hundred demons is 224 pages, with over one hundred. Macabre kids book art by gojin ishihara pink tentacle. This cartoonist is one of the most important representatives of the japanese stamp, genre of autochthonous painting of japan. When i was a kid, i went through a phase where i was way into monsters draculas, frankensteins, demons from the pits of hell, all that good. Please practice handwashing and social distancing, and check out our resources for adapting to these times. Get cozy and expand your home library with a large online selection of books at.
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