The Japanese Yokai Handbook - by Masami Kinoshita (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

This book is your ultimate guide to Japan's scariest creatures!

Yokai come in every imaginable shape and form--from frightening ghosts and cruel demons to cute fairies and enchanted animals. They can be evil monsters, harmless tricksters or prophets of doom, depending on their inclination.

This book profiles 100 of the most fascinating Yokai, including:

• Tengu: A powerful Yokai that often takes human form with wings and a large nose who lives in mountains and forests
• Kappa: A deadly Yokai that lives near rivers and drags passersby into the water to drown
• Peroritaro: A grotesque Yokai that looks like blubbering child and has an appetite for greedy children
• Baku: A monstrous Yokai with an elephant's head, a bear's body, a rhino's eyes, an ox's tail and a tiger's legs that aids humans by devouring their nightmares
• And many more!

Yokai expert Masami Kinoshita has been documenting Yokai in folklore, and in real life, for many years. This book presents her most interesting findings and has over 175 full-color illustrations that vividly depict the appearances of these weird creatures. No matter their origins, each Yokai has a strange and wonderful story that is sure to amaze you!

Review Quotes

"An entertaining introduction to Japan's supernatural creatures." --comicsbeat.com

"Impressively illustrated, exceptionally informative, thoroughly 'reader friendly'" --Midwest Book Review

**Featured in ComicsBeat.com list of "45 Best Manga of Fall 2023"

About the Author

Masami Kinoshita is a Yokai researcher based in Japan. After graduating from Nara Women's University she wrote about Yokai on the online newspaper "Nara Monster Times" which reports on supernatural beings and folklore in Nara. She has written stories on a wide variety of Yokai, ranging from Oni and Tengu mountain spirits to Suchinoko, a snake-like creature that was reportedly encountered several times in the 1970s and 1980s.