The Book of Yokai Mysterious Creatures of Japanese Folklore

331 Pages·2015·4.31 MB·English

by  Michæl Dylan Foster (Author)

-
The Book of Yokai

-
The Book of Yokai
mysterious creatures of
japanese folklore
Michael Dylan Foster
With Original Illustrations by Shinonome Kijin
university of california press
University of California Press, one of the most distinguished university
presses in the United States, enriches lives around the world by advanc-
ing scholarship in the humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences.
Its activities are supported by the UC Press Foundation and by philan-
thropic contributions from individuals and institutions. For more infor-
mation, visit www.ucpress.edu.
University of California Press
Oakland, California
© 2015 by The Regents of the University of California
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Foster, Michael Dylan, 1965– author.
The book of yokai : mysterious creatures of Japanese
folklore / Michael Dylan Foster ; with original illustrations
by Shinonome Kijin.
pages cm
Includes bibliographical references and index.
isbn 978-0-520-27101-2 (cloth : alk. paper)
isbn 978-0-520-27102-9 (pbk. : alk. paper)
isbn 978-0-520-95912-5 (ebook)
1. Yokai (Japanese folklore). I. Shinonome, Kijin, illustrator.
II. Title.
gr340.f66 2015
398.20952—dc23
2014025479
Manufactured in the United States of America
23 22 21 20 19 18 17 16 15 14
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
In keeping with a commitment to support environmentally responsible
and sustainable printing practices, UC Press has printed this book on
Natures Natural, a fi ber that contains 30% post-consumer waste and
meets the minimum requirements of ansi/niso z39.48-1992 (r 1997)
(Permanence of Paper).
In memory of three masterful, monsterful,
inspirational teachers:
Geraldine Murphy (1920–1990)
Alan Dundes (1934–2005)
Miyata Noboru (1936–2000)

Contents
List of Illustrations ix
Water Goblin Tales: Preface and Acknowledgments xi
Names, Dates, Places xvii
-
part i. yokai culture 1
-
1. Introducing Yokai 3
-
Yokai, Folklore, and This Book 4
-
The Language of Yokai 14
Event Becomes Object 24
2. Shape-Shifting History 33
Heroes of Myth and Legend 35
Weird Tales and Weird Tastes 42
Modern Disciplines 52
-
Postwar Animation and the Yokai Boom 61
- -
3. Yokai Practice/Yokai Theory 74
-
Yokai Culture Network 75
Zone of Uncertainty 85
-
part ii. yokai codex 101
-
4. The Order of Yokai 105
5. Wilds 115
6. Water 154
7. Countryside 172
8. Village and City 201
9. Home 228
Epilogue: Monsterful 243
Notes 245
Bibliography 277
-
Alphabetized List of Yokai in the Codex 295
Index 299
Illustrations
-
1. Hyakkiyagyo (tsukumogami) 18
- -
2. Big names of yokai studies: Inoue Enryo, Mizuki Shigeru,
Ema Tsutomu, Lafcadio Hearn (Koizumi Yakumo),
-
Komatsu Kazuhiko, Yanagita Kunio, and Kyogoku Natsuhiko 73
3. Kodama 116
4. Oni 126
5. Yamabiko 128
-
6. Raiko beheading the tsuchigumo 130
7. Daitengu and kotengu (also known as karasu tengu) 136
8. Mukade in Shiga Prefecture, near Lake Biwa 140
- -
9. Mikoshi-nyudo 143
10. Yamamba 148
11. Ninmenju 152
12. Kappa and kawauso 164
-
13. Hyosube 166
14. Azuki-arai 170
ix