Japanese Yokai and Other Supernatural Beings: Authentic Paintings and Prints of 100 Ghosts, Demons, Monsters and Magicians

by Andreas Marks

Superb Yokai images from the world's leading museums and private collections!

Japan's vast pantheon of supernatural creatures includes demons ( yokai ), monsters, ogres ( oni ), ghosts ( yurei ) and magicians--mythical beings from folklore and popular culture which continue to thrill readers of traditional stories and manga today.

This richly illustrated book by Andreas Marks, the leading authority on Japanese woodblock prints, presents authentic illustrations and descriptions of 100 different creatures,
The striking visual examples in this book are drawn from the rich canon of early Japanese prints, books, and paintings--sourced from leading museums, libraries and private collections worldwide. They show the "original" forms and appearances of the creatures which form the basis for all subsequent depictions.

Also included are two long handscrolls from the Minneapolis Institute of Art ( A Collection of Monsters and Night Parade of One Hundred Demons ) which are reproduced here for the very first time.

Prints and Paintings sourced from the following list of museums, libraries and private
Art Institute of Chicago
Christie's, London & New York
The Cleveland Museum of Art
Harold B. Lee Library, Brigham Young University
Kyoto University, Main Library
Library of Congress
Los Angeles County Museum of Art
The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Minneapolis Institute of Art
National Museum of Japanese History
Princeton University Library
Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam
Smithsonian Libraries

Genres: Art, Japan, Mythology, Nonfiction, Folklore

240 pages, Hardcover

First published April 11, 2023

Reviews

[Zuzana Be · Rating 3 out of 5]

Encyklopédia o 100 vybraných yokai. Keďže autor je hlavný kurátor japonského a kórejského umenia v Minneapolis Institute of Art, v knihe je najmä faktografická zbierka drevorezov, ktoré sa v Inštitúte nachádzajú (aj s tým, kto im ho daroval a prečo; to mi prišli už dosť zbytočné informácie, ale teda som sa dozvedela, že veľa drevorezov vymenil ako dar Edmond Freis na pamiatku jeho rodičov Rose a Leona Freisovcov - naložte s touto informáciou ako uznáte za vhodné), ale aj z iných múzeí po svete, s info kto, kedy, prečo a krátkym príbehom v pozadí diela.

Ale inak celkom fajn, ak sa chcete dozvedieť trochu bližšie o japonskom umení a prečo tvorili obsah, ktorý tvorili.

[Pedro Pascoe · Rating 3 out of 5]

A visual romp through Japanese Yokai, Yurei, Kabuki ghosts, Yojutsushi (Magicians), Oni and Onryo (Vengeful spirits).

Thick on images, thin on supporting text, this volume makes no apology for not being definitive nor exhausting on its subject. Interestingly the main body of work drawn on appears to be from collections held in US museums, particularly the one that the author is curator of. While this makes perfect sense, it does beg the question of what else could be out there, particularly in japan itself, that could also have been more largely drawn upon.

Some of the images are downright comical, others look like they belong on a stoner metal album cover (I'm looking at you, Gama Sennin), while others still sound like euphemisms (Captain Hairy Spear, for example). But by and large they are a great insight and window into Japanese supernatural apparitions, and this volume does contain a complete representation of the delightful 'Night Parade of One Hundred Demons' (cue Earthless album of the same name), and the book in its entirety was a delightful romp taken bite size at a time to fully savour the weird taste of the Japanese supernatural.

[Michael Doherty · Rating 4 out of 5]

Let's say you were interested in Japanese woodblock art, like Hosukai's Great Wave, and you go to an exhibit of the same. You realize, as you look through the collection of varied block prints that much of Manga art as we know it evolved from this technique. And fundamental to that art were the illustrations of Japanese folk tales. Complete with demons, ghosts, legends, ogres and so on. So on the way out you pick up this book from the gift shop, pre-Halloween. And then you can't put it down because it is both crazy and crazy interesting. Lots of interesting depictions of ghouls, ghosts, demons. I guess one fault might be they waste a lot of print on the provenance of where the current art resides with the "So and so family trust" etc where a much simpler attribution could be made. Sometimes the conceit of "100" is a little stale and could probably be broadened to ever more contemporary depictions, or monsters that have stood the test of time, like Godzilla, Mothra etc don't get a guernsey and yet they are in the international lexicon of Japanese Monsters....

[Lilith · Rating 5 out of 5]

A who's who's in the supernatural world of Janpanesse mystical and magical beings. Book offeres a brief description of each ones orgin along with personality of the entities and how they can torment their victims . Listed by category such as Demons Ghosts Ogres spirits and so on. Each page is beautifully illustrated with artwork ,with artists name ,medium and what museum they can be found in. A book I would love to own refer back to and add to my collection.

[Dylan Rock · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fascinating look at the rich and varied creatures that populate Japan's mythology and Folklore with book is lavishly illustrated with artwork.

[Jan Devrim · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent book about Japanese Myts. Any writer / reader interested in mythology must read.