In Ghostly Japan

This thrilling collection of seven Japanese ghost stories will captivate lovers of yokai stories! These classic Japanese ghost stories are based on those written by famed author Lafcadio Hearn between 1890 and 1904. Here, they are retold by award-winning comic book writer Sean Michael Wilson, who has garnered a worldwide fan base for his manga adaptations of works of Japanese literature, including such classics as The Book of Five Rings and The Demon's Sermon on the Martial Arts. Manga Yokai Stories includes: Nuke-kubi: A masterless samurai is trapped in a house haunted by headless goblins The Screen Maiden: A young man develops an obsession with a woman in a painting that almost kills him Corpse Rider: A woman's unburied corpse cannot rest until she has taken her revenge on the man who divorced her A Dead Secret: A young mother terrifies her family when she returns as a ghost, unable to find peace until she puts to rest a shocking secret she has left behind Wilson's skillful adaptation of Hearn's ghostly tales--along with superb manga illustrations from UK-based Japanese artist Inko Ai Takita--make these fascinating stories come to life. This book is in traditional Japanese reading order--from back to front--so that fans and manga lovers can enjoy an authentic reading experience.

A delightfully creepy telling of Japanese ghost stories. Japanese folklore is abundant with tales of ghostly creatures and the supernatural. In Haunted Japan, author Catrien Ross reveals the legends that have been passed down for generations and continue to terrify us today. To research this book on the country's ghosts, demons and paranormal phenomena, Ross collected accounts from across Japan including: Sacred Mount Osore, a Japanese gateway to the land of the dead, where people gather to contact those who have passed on The Tokyo grave of the samurai Taira no Masakado, where passersby regularly witnessed his ghost until prayers finally laid him to rest The mummified remains of the monk Tetsumonkai at the Churenji Temple on Mount Yudono--a place where bizarre happenings are common The ruins of Hachioji Castle in Tokyo, which was abandoned for many years because of its many hauntings The result is an unparalleled insight into the dark corners of the Japanese psyche--a world filled with horrifying creatures including Oni (demons with fierce and ghastly appearances), Yurei (Japanese ghosts who inhabit the world of the living), and Yokai (supernatural monsters). The book also includes several traditional Japanese legends, concluding with two of the most famous ghost stories--that of the wronged wife Oiwa and the tale of the Peony Lantern. This book is richly illustrated with 32 pages of full-color prints of frightening ghosts and legendary creatures from Japan's shadowy past. Haunted Japan is the ideal book for anyone interested in exploring the darker side of Japanese history.

Japan has perhaps the most lively and richly developed tradition of supernatural lore of any civilization. It is comprised of some of the most relentlessly fearsome goblins, demons, metamorphosed animals and ghosts ever known to man. Japanese poets, actors, dancers, and artists have all delighted in portraying these monsters, often with a playfulness and humor that mitigates the demons' more ferocious qualities, but also with a bold, dramatic fervor designed to impress upon their audiences the lessons of folklore. For, like our own mythological and fairy-tale characters, Japan's supernatural inhabitants suggest much about the morals of the Japanese people and of their efforts to understand the mysteries of the world. This is the first book devoted to the study of the supernatural world and its representation in Japanese art. From the 17th to the 19th centuries many of Japan's most brilliant artists, including Hiroshige, Hokusai, Yoshitoshi, and Zeshin, allowed their imaginations free rein to present these mysteries in a variety of media, including paintings, woodblock prints, screens, netsuke and inrō sculptures, and fans. The 49 color plates and 75 black and white illustrations presented here show a stunning array of Japan's most fiendish figures. Each of the ten chapters focuses on one of the most important themes in Japanese lore, discussing its anthropological meaning and literary and artistic interpretations. -- from back cover.

"I lived in a haunted apartment." Zack Davisson opens this definitive work on Japan's ghosts, or yurei, with a personal tale about the spirit world. Eerie red marks on the apartment's ceiling kept Zack and his wife on edge. The landlord warned them not to open a door in the apartment that led to nowhere. "Our Japanese visitors had no problem putting a name to it . . . they would sense the vibes of the place, look around a bit and inevitably say 'Ahhh . . . yurei ga deteru.' There is a yurei here." Combining his lifelong interest in Japanese tradition and his personal experiences with these vengeful spirits, Davisson launches an investigation into the origin, popularization, and continued existence of yurei in Japan. Juxtaposing historical documents and legends against contemporary yurei-based horror films such as The Ring, Davisson explores the persistence of this paranormal phenomenon in modern day Japan and its continued spread throughout the West. Zack Davisson is a translator, writer, and scholar of Japanese folklore and ghosts. He is the translator of Mizuki Shigeru's Showa 1926–1939: A History of Japan and a translator and contributor to Kitaro. He also worked as a researcher and on-screen talent for National Geographic's TV special Japan: Lost Souls of Okinawa. He writes extensively about Japanese ghost stories at his website, hyakumonogatari.com.

人気TVシリーズ「まんが日本昔ばなし」から、「鶴の恩返し」「雪女」「舌切り雀」「耳なし芳一」「分福茶釜」など8編を収録。

A wonderful collection of ghostly tales from Lafcadio Hearn.