The Definitive Yokai Field Guide

by Shigeru Mizuki, Tracy Hurren (Editor), Zack Davisson (Translator)

Genres: Manga, Folklore

184 pages, Paperback

Published April 14, 2026

About the author

Shigeru Mizuki (水木しげる) was a Japanese manga cartoonist, most known for his horror manga GeGeGe no Kitaro. He was a specialist in stories of yōkai and was considered a master of the genre. Mizuki was a member of The Japanese Society of Cultural Anthropology, and had travelled to over 60 countries in the world to engage in fieldwork of the yōkai and spirits of different cultures. He has been published in Japan, South Korea, France, Spain, Taiwan, the United States and Italy. He is also known for his World War II memoirs and his work as a biographer.

Reviews

[Lois Young · Rating 4 out of 5]

Complete RTC.

[Jaime · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

"the Definitive Yokai Field Guide" is charming book with a decent amount of information on various yokai. I adored the illustrations and the book is nicely organized by separating the different yokai by region, by type, etc. There's also a hand map and an index. While I realize that yokai fall under the realm of folklore/supernatural, I kind of wish that the book had delved a little more into the history of yokai and had included more "fact-based" examples of potential yokai origins. All of the information provided feels very vague and you only get a tiny snippet of information for each entry. Overall an enjoyable read, though!