Arthur Graham’s Reviews > The Book of Yokai: Mysterious Creatures of Japanese Folklore > Status Update
Arthur Graham
is on page 5 of 336
One common characteristic of yōkai is their liminality, or "in-between-ness." They are creatures of the borderlands, living on the edge of town, or in the mountains between villages, or in the eddies of a river running between two rice fields. They often appear at twilight, that gray time when the familiar seems strange and faces become indistinguishable. They haunt bridges and tunnels, entranceways and thresholds.
— Aug 08, 2025 12:47PM
Like flag
Arthur’s Previous Updates
Arthur Graham
is on page 157 of 336
The kappa is associated with water, usually rivers, ponds, and swamps. It is one of the most famous of all yōkai in Japan. Different legends and beliefs about it are distributed throughout the country, but generally speaking, the kappa is thought of as scaly or slimy, greenish in color, with webbed feet and hands, and a carapace on its back.
— Sep 29, 2025 07:25PM
Arthur Graham
is on page 133 of 336
Often characterized as a "mountain goblin," tengu tend to have birdlike characteristics and superlative martial arts skills and are often associated with Buddhism and mountain ascetic practices.
— Sep 28, 2025 08:03AM
Arthur Graham
is on page 129 of 336
The word tsuchigumo, literally "earth spider," seems to have been used as a derogatory and demonizing label for the indigenous inhabitants of Japan. That is, the people writing the texts used the term negatively to describe the natives they were conquering; they portrayed them as having short bodies and long arms and legs, and as living in holes in the ground.
— Sep 28, 2025 07:55AM
Arthur Graham
is on page 124 of 336
Strictly speaking, setsubun refers to a "joint" in the year when one season changes into another [...], much like New Year's Eve, a dividing point between the old year and the new and therefore a ritually meaningful moment of transition. This is a crack in the flow of time, a potentially dangerous bridge between one period and another, during which both good and bad spirits might enter.
— Sep 28, 2025 07:50AM
Arthur Graham
is on page 117 of 336
It is said that when a tree reaches the age of one hundred, it has a kami that will show its form.
— Sep 28, 2025 07:44AM
Arthur Graham
is on page 33 of 336
One question often asked about yōkai is whether people actually believe in them. [...] Implicit in a question like this, however, is the assumption that there are only two possibilities—belief or doubt. One thing yōkai teach us is that between belief and doubt, between the literal and the metaphorical, lies a zone of ambiguity that is fertile ground for the imagination.
— Sep 19, 2025 06:28AM
Comments Showing 1-1 of 1 (1 new)
date
newest »
newest »
message 1:
by
Arthur
(new)
-
added it
Aug 08, 2025 12:51PM
(cont.) It is appropriate that this book about yōkai also fits somewhere in between. While it is based on years of academic research and fieldwork, it is not intended only for scholars of Japan or experts on supernatural folklore. I hope it will contribute to their discussions, of course; but more important, I hope anybody with even a passing curiosity about these subjects will find it of interest.
reply
|
flag
