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YOKAI
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December 8, 2025
A shame that the goodreads version does not include the cover off the book as it shows but a few of the many delightful drawings that populate this booklet.
Bilingual English Japanese so not just Japanese; reading about the Yokai is always a treat! It is fun to decipher such cultural folkloristic elements and what it can tell you about the worldview of people and cultures that choose to believe and preserve for ages. I think when it comes to Yokai, especially the ghost variants of them, there is still a lot of belief out there in Japan as shrines and temples dedicated to placating them are maintained, small customs related to warding them off and new ones are still created such as the famous slit face woman who haunted childrens, overworked salary men and drunkards in the 60ties till 90ties or the station one can't reach and so forth.
For a western audience these are not as familiar to us but if you have watched anime and ghibli movies you will have seen a few especially movies such as Pom Poko and many more where allusions to Yokai are not even that prominent but recognizable for a Japanese audience. Given that for many of these Yokai the place of origin is such a featre of their story, the Yokai also play into the Japanese love for the locale and regional differences that also plays out in the culinary and historical figures remembrance such as per example Kappabashi Doguga in Tokyo near Ueno station.
It was a fun souvenier to acquire :)
Bilingual English Japanese so not just Japanese; reading about the Yokai is always a treat! It is fun to decipher such cultural folkloristic elements and what it can tell you about the worldview of people and cultures that choose to believe and preserve for ages. I think when it comes to Yokai, especially the ghost variants of them, there is still a lot of belief out there in Japan as shrines and temples dedicated to placating them are maintained, small customs related to warding them off and new ones are still created such as the famous slit face woman who haunted childrens, overworked salary men and drunkards in the 60ties till 90ties or the station one can't reach and so forth.
For a western audience these are not as familiar to us but if you have watched anime and ghibli movies you will have seen a few especially movies such as Pom Poko and many more where allusions to Yokai are not even that prominent but recognizable for a Japanese audience. Given that for many of these Yokai the place of origin is such a featre of their story, the Yokai also play into the Japanese love for the locale and regional differences that also plays out in the culinary and historical figures remembrance such as per example Kappabashi Doguga in Tokyo near Ueno station.
It was a fun souvenier to acquire :)
Displaying 1 of 1 review