The Book of Yokai: Mysterious Creatures of Japanese Folklore
2016; Western States Folklore Society; Volume: 75; Issue: 2 Linguagem: Inglês
ISSN
2325-811X
Autores Tópico(s)Japanese History and Culture
ResumoThe Book of Yokai: Mysterious Creatures of Japanese Folklore. By Michael Dylan Foster. (Oakland, CA: University of California Press, 2015. Pp. xix + 309, preface and acknowledgements, illustrations, notes, alphabetized list of in the codex, bibliography, index. $29.95 paper.)The Book of is a fascinating and enormously informative study of yokai, often translated as weird or mysterious creatures, monsters or fantastic beings, spirits or sprites-but in fact they are even more complex and interesting beings. are part of the folklore and popular culture of Japan and have attracted significant international attention in recent years in large part because of manga, anime, film, and gaming. In spite of the popularity of yokai, scholarly work on this subject has been limited, thus the publication of The Book of is most welcome to scholars as well as to general readers. Michael Dylan Foster has helped open up the rich world of yokai-their roots, their surroundings, and the social and historical environment that gave birth to such wonderful creatures-to an English-speaking audience.The Book of consists of two parts. Part One, Yokai Culture, provides a cultural history of folklore and studies, and explores selected concepts that inform how and humans interact. This part is further separated into three chapters, all presented succinctly and with a natural flow. Chapter 1 presents key concepts pertaining to and their study, and explores how they come into existence. Chapter 2, Shape-Shifting History, introduces several well-known figures from lore, studies, and popular culture: from Susa-no-o (dragon slayer, thunder god) and Abe no Seimei (legendary practitioner of Onmyodo), to Yanagita Kunio (father of Japanese folkloristics), and Mizuki Shigeru (manga artist). This chapter also introduces key texts, such as Hyaku monogatari (One Hundred Spooky Tales) and Ubume no natsu (The Summer of the Ubume). Chapter 3, Yokai Practice/ Theory, describes the yokai culture network, i.e., people who are closely involved with the production of knowledge today. This includes the scholars described in Chapter 2 as well as local regional communities and aficionados such as Shinonome Kijin, a schoolteacher and illustrator who provided most of the illustrations in the book. This chapter also explores within the context of creative activities, commercialism, and a larger global context.Part Two, Yokai Codex, constitutes a wonderful, small encyclopedia of yokai. It is organized according to zones, the places where humans and come in contact with each other. …
Referência(s)