The Night Parade of One Hundred Demons: A Field Guide to Japanese Yokai

Okay, full disclosure: Matt did the cover for my first novel.However, the reason I approached him to do my cover in the first place was because I loved his artwork so much.Matt's illustrations perfectly captures the look of classic yokai ukiyo-e (many of his works even have faint impressions of wood grain, a common feature of actual block-printed ukiyo-e) while still possessing a style unique to him.He's clearly put hundreds of hours into researching even the most minute details of the yokai he presents, making this one of the definitive guides to Japanese monsters.I particularly like that this book presents the creatures "in scene" rather than isolating them on a white page as many field guides to monsters often do. You get a sense of how they would actually look and behave as actual creatures in the countryside of Japan.The only small quibble I have is that the cover of the book is rather plain and the words a bit hard to read. I get that Matt wanted it to look like an old bound tome-- something you might dig out from a pile of moldy tatami mats in the back of a forgotten temple. But if I saw this cover in a store, I would probably breeze right by. Again, though, that's a very, very small complaint about a gorgeous, well written encyclopedia of yokai lore.

Insightful, well researched, useful and well written. As an avid reader of Japanese lore, this book is one of the best I’ve read about Yokai so far.

Fun read. I lived in Japan for five years, loved hanging around the temples and shrines. My wife and I were married in a Shinto shrine. I experienced Yokai on a few occasions, believe it or not!!I'm not faulting Mr. Meyer for my one complaint. Editing, reading over one's own work again and again can become nauseating, that's why we have editors/friends... Too many silly little misplaced words for such an otherwise excellent piece of work...Both of my sons also read and enjoyed the book. Some friendly argument about waiting to see the illustration after reading the description or skipping straight to the awesome illustration first...Anyhow, if this type of stuff floats your boat, don't hesitate, buy it now! You won't be disappointed....

Splendid introduction to some of the best-known Yokai, Japanese entities that we (in the West) call monsters/ghosts/spirits/gods - or some combination of all of the preceding. The book is softcover, with full-page, original illustrations of each Yokai following their description, and clever, artistic "touches" throughout to make the book appear old (faux foxing, yellowing/discolouration on margins, "mould spots" that are actually printed on the page). These little touches never interfere with the writing or the pictures, appearing only in margins and "gutter space."The pictures are wonderful, bright, clear and lively. They're all coloured pictures in the Western style, with strongly depicted central characters, but settings and backgrounds deliberately reproduce traditional Japanese styles; lots of misty watercolour-like effects, trees, mountains and water with stylised designs and patterns. Most of the human (or once-human) characters depicted look Japanese.The text is generally clear, with a little bit of humour gleaming through. Some of the Yokai _are_ funny, to say nothing of absurd! The sections are neatly arranged and easy to follow, with the "header" on each page listing the Yokai's vital statistics (Translation, Alternate Names, Habitat and Diet) helping the reader determine what (or who) they're looking at. The divisions of the book seem natural, not forced, and the introductory material (Contents, Map of Japan, Language Notes and Introduction) is all very helpful in the effort to understand the mindset of the creators, the time and place in which they lived.These Yokai all represent an on-going effort by humans to control the things they don't understand by explaining and demystifying them (*Those footsteps you hear behind you late at night, and there's never anybody there? It's just the Betobeto. It doesn't do any harm, and all you have to do to get rid of it is move aside and say, "After you, Betobeto-san."*) If the Yokai seem bizarre or ridiculous, just remember that they represent explanations a culture completely different from our own came up with.There are several text errors scattered throughout the book - spelling mistakes, misprints, missing text - which give the book (to me, anyway, but I have a real problem with editorial mistakes) a bit of an amateurish air. It's half the reason I took one star off the rating... but while annoying, the text errors don't significantly interfere with the pleasure of reading this book - and looking at the pictures! I'm very sorry this book is only 223 pages long; I'd have liked more of the same!I do understand this book is only an introduction to the fascinating world of the Yokai, but I do feel that the Behaviour, Interactions and Other Forms sections on each Yokai could have been expanded, specifically with info on how/why the description of the Yokai has has changed over time (eg. the Kasha going from funeral carriage to fiery catlike demon), and how each Yokai is perceived by humans; how the Japanese of earlier eras regarded it and how the modern Japanese feel about it now (eg. the Kerakeraonna going from a beloved bringer of joy and mirth to a cruel, scathing old whore who brings only mockery and distress).And this is the other half of the reason I took off a star, making my rating a 4-star rather than a 5-star.Overall, though, this is a very entertaining (and quite informative) book that's a pleasure to read through or even just flip through, looking at the pictures!

This is not an A to Z field guide, rather, just like field guides to real fauna, it is in sections, as in, where to find certain yokai. The first section concern yokai that dwell in the wild. The better known ones are baku, hoo, tatsu, kirin, kappa, yuki onna, kona inu, jorogumo, and tsuchigomo. Less well known beings are nozuchi and yamabia. Ghost lights are aosagbi and kodamahitodama. Ancient animals are itachi (a marten) and Kama itachi (sickle weasel). A Bigfoot type is Yamawaro. Section two deals with sea and sea side dwellers such as the apelike shojo,a version of a mermaid, the ningyo, and the octopus-like koromodako. Section three concerns city dwellers such as nurarihyon and hari onago. At a Festival it the title heading for section four. Quite a variety of yokai in this section, examples are kawauso (river otter), mujina (badger), tanuki (raccoon dog), kitsune (fox), kitsunebi (foxfire) and bakeneko (ghost cat). The final section concerns domestic beings such as shokra (a mole cricket spirit), chopirako and shiro uneri. Most beings have a color illustration, a few pages have more than one, as in two or three, and one one of those of such a small group will have an color picture. Many are scary to look at, which is to be expected for a book on yokai, yurei and oni.

Comprei a versão para Kindle que estava bem barata em relação a versão física do livro. O livro é basicamente uma enciclopédia de Yokai. Mostra a escrita original do nome de cada Yokai. Habitat, do que se alimentam, como se comportam, quais são suas vítimas, se são agressivos ou dóceis. Enfim é bem detalhado.

Ich hatte zunächst erhebliche Zweifel wegen des hohen Preises von über 40 Euro für ein bloßes "Taschenbuch". Die Qualität des gelieferten Produkts ist aber in der Tat hervorragend. Das Buch ist wirklich wunderschön gemacht und in jeder Hinsicht hochwertig. Zudem in Japan und nicht in irgendeinem Billiglohn-Land gedruckt. Für mich vollkommen den Preis wert.Über den Inhalt muss man aus meiner Sicht sowieso nicht diskutieren. Fachkundig und gut geschrieben. Auch ein ideales Geschenk für Leute, die sich für Monster, Geister und Sagen (egal welchen Ursprungs) interessieren.

Très beau livre sur les yokais, très bien illustré !

Questo libro è stato una splendida sorpresa. Descrive in modo semplice ma esaustivo i vari yokai, suddividendoli per habitat e tipologia, inoltre ognuno di essi viene rappresentato con immagini che rendono il tutto ancor più interessante. Consigliatissimo a chi è curioso di saperne di più sui numerosi e straordinari spiriti del Giappone!

Me ha encantado, Mi nivel de ingles no es perfecto todavia, pero tampoco me ha resultado dificil de comprender, quitando el idioma que para mi no representa ningun problema, el precio esta bastante justificado, son muy pocas las enciclopedias de yokais que puedas comprar, esta sin duda recopila cerca de 100 de ellos. Si te gustan mucho el folklore japones y quieres aprender mas de los yokais, bestias sagradas etc. este es tu libro. yo lo recomiendo sin duda!