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Ultimate Guide to Japanese Yokai: Ghosts, Demons, Monsters and other Creepy Creatures from Japan
"A modern day Lafcadio Hearn is picking up his ghostly torch. Zack Davisson is the author, translator, and folklorist following in Hearn's footsteps." --tofugu.com
Mysterious demons, ghosts and monsters have haunted Japan for centuries! The Ultimate Guide to Japanese Yokai presents 100 of the strangest creatures you have ever seen--from evil demons and terrifying monsters to mythical ghosts and enchanted beasts.
In this book, Yokai expert Zack Davisson explains how Yokai are highly elusive, and yet without understanding them you will never truly know Japan. The Yokai profiled in this book
Packed with interesting facts and entertaining stories, this book is richly illustrated with over 250 woodblock prints and modern illustrations that reveal the fascinating world of the Yokai.
Mysterious demons, ghosts and monsters have haunted Japan for centuries! The Ultimate Guide to Japanese Yokai presents 100 of the strangest creatures you have ever seen--from evil demons and terrifying monsters to mythical ghosts and enchanted beasts.
In this book, Yokai expert Zack Davisson explains how Yokai are highly elusive, and yet without understanding them you will never truly know Japan. The Yokai profiled in this book
Packed with interesting facts and entertaining stories, this book is richly illustrated with over 250 woodblock prints and modern illustrations that reveal the fascinating world of the Yokai.
- GenresNonfictionMythologyJapan
293 pages, Kindle Edition
Published June 18, 2024
12 people are currently reading
102 people want to read
About the author
Zack Davisson
66 books97 followersZack Davisson is an award-winning translator, writer, and folklorist. He is the author of YUREI: THE JAPANESE GHOST, YOKAI STORIES, and KAIBYO: THE SUPERNATURAL CATS OF JAPAN, and the translator and curator of Shigeru Mizuki’s famous folklore comic KITARO, Matsumoto Leiji’s CAPTAIN HARLOCK, and Go Nagai’s DEVILMAN.
Davisson lectured on translation, manga, and folklore at Duke University, UCLA, University of Washington, Denison University, as well as contributed to exhibitions at the Wereldmuseum Rotterdam and Henry Art Museum. He has been featured on NPR, BBC, and The New York Times, and has written articles for Metropolis, The Comics Journal, and Weird Tales Magazine.
As a manga translator, Davisson was nominated for the 2014 Japanese-US Friendship Commission Translation Prize for his translation of the multiple Eisner Award-winning SHOWA: A HISTORY OF JAPAN. Other acclaimed translations include Satoshi Kon’s OPUS and THE ART OF SATOSHI KON, Mamoru Oshii’s SERAPHIM: 266613336 WINGS, Leiji Matsumoto’s QUEEN EMERALDAS, Kazuhiro Fujita’s THE GHOST AND THE LADY, Go Nagai’s CUTIE HONEY, and Gou Tanabe’s Eisner Award-nominated HP LOVECRAFT’S THE HOUND AND OTHER TALES.
He lives in Seattle, WA with his wife Miyuki, a dog, two cats, and several ghosts.
Davisson lectured on translation, manga, and folklore at Duke University, UCLA, University of Washington, Denison University, as well as contributed to exhibitions at the Wereldmuseum Rotterdam and Henry Art Museum. He has been featured on NPR, BBC, and The New York Times, and has written articles for Metropolis, The Comics Journal, and Weird Tales Magazine.
As a manga translator, Davisson was nominated for the 2014 Japanese-US Friendship Commission Translation Prize for his translation of the multiple Eisner Award-winning SHOWA: A HISTORY OF JAPAN. Other acclaimed translations include Satoshi Kon’s OPUS and THE ART OF SATOSHI KON, Mamoru Oshii’s SERAPHIM: 266613336 WINGS, Leiji Matsumoto’s QUEEN EMERALDAS, Kazuhiro Fujita’s THE GHOST AND THE LADY, Go Nagai’s CUTIE HONEY, and Gou Tanabe’s Eisner Award-nominated HP LOVECRAFT’S THE HOUND AND OTHER TALES.
He lives in Seattle, WA with his wife Miyuki, a dog, two cats, and several ghosts.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
May 23, 2025
Ένα Monster Manual για τα υπερφυσικά πλάσματα της Ιαπωνικής παράδοσης. Χωρισμένο σε λογικές κατηγορίες, περιέχει καταχωρήσεις που ξεκινάνε από τη μυθολογία και φτάνουν σε πρόσφατους urban legends. Πολύ κατατοπιστική και η εισαγωγή, όπως και η βιβλιογραφία. Το μόνο αρνητικό είναι η έλλειψη καλής επιμέλειας, που έχει ως αποτέλεσμα την ύπαρξη πολλών εκφραστικών λαθών, πράγμα που αφαιρεί το πέμπτο αστέρι από ένα κατά τα άλλα απολαυστικό εγχειρίδιο.
July 18, 2024
Thank you to Edelweiss and Tuttle Publishing for providing a copy for me to review.
4.5 ⭐️
I enjoyed reading this book! I know very little about Yokai or Japanese history. I've read one other book that was intended for kids.
The introduction provided a satisfyingly complex definition of Yokai. There is so much information about each Yokai. I appreciate the inclusion of how each history links to modern-day iterations and their cultural influence.
The in-text citations provide a grounded source for each Yokai and allow you to follow the connections to each other, history, art, and storytelling. I found this book took much longer than usual for me to read because I kept finding things I wanted to investigate further; leading me down Wikipedia rabbit holes. This is a positive for me! I love books that spark a deeper curiosity that leads me to further education and reflection.
My only critique is that it did start to feel a bit dry and repetitive towards the end. I think we arrive at a point where there's a lot of similarity to other Yokai presented earlier in the text. I'm not sure that's avoidable.
I loved the variety of illustrations incorporated into the book. They are beautiful. Some are quite funny. If you pay attention to the dates, you can follow the artistic trends.
One note that doesn't count towards my rating since it's a first print: The book could go through another edit. Many words are spelled correctly but not appropriate in context. For example, "bread" was used instead of "breed."
4.5 ⭐️
I enjoyed reading this book! I know very little about Yokai or Japanese history. I've read one other book that was intended for kids.
The introduction provided a satisfyingly complex definition of Yokai. There is so much information about each Yokai. I appreciate the inclusion of how each history links to modern-day iterations and their cultural influence.
The in-text citations provide a grounded source for each Yokai and allow you to follow the connections to each other, history, art, and storytelling. I found this book took much longer than usual for me to read because I kept finding things I wanted to investigate further; leading me down Wikipedia rabbit holes. This is a positive for me! I love books that spark a deeper curiosity that leads me to further education and reflection.
My only critique is that it did start to feel a bit dry and repetitive towards the end. I think we arrive at a point where there's a lot of similarity to other Yokai presented earlier in the text. I'm not sure that's avoidable.
I loved the variety of illustrations incorporated into the book. They are beautiful. Some are quite funny. If you pay attention to the dates, you can follow the artistic trends.
One note that doesn't count towards my rating since it's a first print: The book could go through another edit. Many words are spelled correctly but not appropriate in context. For example, "bread" was used instead of "breed."
April 3, 2025
Spooky and elusive, just like me!
May 20, 2025
Great introduction book into japanese yokai, but there were a lot of english mistakes that made it sometimes hard to follow.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews