This book is so cool! As someone who is already somewhat familiar with this topic, I still learned a lot. I had no idea I already knew who the author was from their podcast!

It was very digestible to get through, and I like the way the information is organized. It's the perfect read for those who like short story collection like reads. The art is fantastic too. I highly recommend it for everyone; from those even slightly interested to those already knowledgeable.

Reading this book felt like deja-vu from a presentation I did in undergrad about how the cultural folklore of Japan gave birth to the biggest Japanese boom of the 90s, Pokemon. In that presentation, and paper, I explored how Japan used their cultural and traditional tropes to export themselves on the world stage, spreading a worldwide love of Japanese anime and manga through the familiar stories that permeate the cultural landscape of the country. If you want to understand this long and storied practice, but in bite size amounts, I would suggest you pick up this book.

Loved this. Opened up a part of the world I'm not super familiar with. Very beautifully written and engaging to read.

This was a wonderfully charming, entertaining, and sometimes chilling adventure through Japanese myth and legend. Matsuura introduces readers to the amazingly long history of Japanese folklore, while sharing snippets at the end of each chapter of references in current popular culture, from manga and anime to Pokemon characters. I read the book through from beginning to end—that is, from Abe No Semei to Zashiki Warashi—but those who have an interest in a particular being, spirit or creature can turn to those pages first; the book works either way.

Again, this was a very enjoyable diversion, wonderfully illuminating and accessible. Many thanks to Adams Media and NetGalley for early access.

I highly recommend this book to readers interested in Japanese culture. “The Book of Japanese Folklore” by Thersa Matsuura introduces 45 Japanese supernatural creatures in an entertaining and very approachable style. Each creature is described with an overview followed by background and popular stories, and any roles that this creature still plays in modern media (including stories, movies, video games, etc.) along with well done and colorful illustrations. Many of the sections include brief retelling of actual folktales which really make these creatures come alive. Similarly, the author offers concrete advice on the identification of these creatures and occasionally concrete suggestions to survive the encounter. For example, if a tsuchinoko is rushing to attack you, all you need to do is wait until the last moment and jump out its way, since they can’t change direction easily. Or very practically, “if you suspect a shape-shifting kitsune (fox) is masquerading as a human, offer it a drink of alcohol and keep an eye out for the moment it lets its guard down and its tail suddenly appears.”

Speaking of shape-shifting foxes (kitsune), I knew that these fox creatures served the god Inari Okami. (They are featured prominently in the many shines dedicated to this god.) I also knew there was a relationship between this and the name of the rice snack “Inari Zushi”. However, reading the entry on Kitsune (shape-shifting supernatural foxes) I learned that these foxes like thin slices of deep-fried tofu known as abura-age, which explains why soba and udon dishes adorned with slices of abura-age are called Kitsune Soba or Kitsune Udon. Similarly, since abura-age is a key part of “Inari Zushi”, explaining why this rice snack uses the name “Inari”.

I really enjoyed reading this book, and look forward to listening to the author’s “Uncanny Japan” podcasts. I suspect I will enjoy those also! I thank the author and publisher for kindly providing a temporary electronic review copy of this excellent and entertaining reference.

tl;dr: Definitely not a bad choice to introduce you into Japanese folklore. If you're already familiar, this could work as a reference book or reminder too. I personally enjoyed the illustrations (very much kid-friendly), however my biggest gripe was just the sheer lack of artwork. Lots of text with basically nothing to go with it. Incorporating historical works, especially given how often they are referenced, would've been a huge help with this book. I still enjoyed it though, and in general would recommend it :)

I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review.

Not tl;dr:

Really fantastic start, eases you in to the subject really nicely. I love the humor and writing style, and the play of these spirits/gods/monsters/etc being real. (Makes the book also kid friendly in that way!)

From the well-known stories of kappa, oni, and Mamotarou, to the lesser known nue, rokurokubi, and tsuchigumo, this book covers dozens of spirits, monsters, gods, and more! Nightmarish ghouls to playful and sly foxes, this book has them all.

Each entry has the name, pronunciation (though that's hit/miss for me personally), translation of the name, and when applicable, alternative names and etymology. Then written descriptions of the thing in question, including history, stories, physical description, and where you can find references in modern pop-culture. (The latter being one of my favorite parts! I wish there had been more here.) I also love the author's speculations as to how the spirits/creatures came about into the culture, real world explanations for the strange phenomenon attributed to these beings. That added a lot of texture and interest for me, ironically made everything feel more real. It wasn't included for every entry, but was always nice when it was!

It's a very easy book to read, and a nice one to use as a reference. It's alphabetical (English), so you can quickly skim through to find whichever spirit or monster you're looking for.

One MAJOR thing I would've LOVED that I feel like this book is really hurt by with lacking: more images! There are a handful of original artworks to go along with a few of the entries, which are wonderfully done!, but there is a LOT of text with otherwise nothing to go with it. And several entries don't have any artwork at all, but I don't know if that's because I have an early copy or not. But putting little images here and there, maybe even at the title to go along with the name so we can have a better idea of what the creature/god/etc looks like--just something!

There were quite a few times too where the author references other artistic depictions of the creatures and spirits, and I understand wanting to have a particular look with the book given the original artworks, but it just feels a bit awkward to have those elements missing. I don't think it would detract from the original art included as well. Just while I'm reading the description of the artworks I'm not seeing, it makes me feel left out. I want to see the artworks too! It would've added so much to the immersion and depth of the stories and creature to use some photos of original artworks of how Japanese people depicted these spirits and monsters. It could help you connect with the history and culture.

And just an idea, but could've been a fun addition: include a map of Japan! I only say this as the author explicitly says to look up a map online so you can follow along with where various spirits or creatures make an appearance. But having a map right there would be handy, and line up with the author's suggestion.

Included at the back of the book are several books for reference and further reading, as well as a short glossary of terms.

This book was a really fun and fantastic read! I loved the author's writing style, and the artworks included are a wonderful addition. There is clearly a lot of passion and love that was put into this book, and I'm glad I had the opportunity to read it. If you're a fan of Japanese culture, or just want to dive into some fantastical folklore, I say give this one a look!

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Nit pick: But on page 87 for the entry of Jorougumo, I would've flipped either the kanji in the title or the translated names so they match 1-to-1.

I was already really interested to learn more about Japanese culture/folklore and I was absolutely delighted that the author talked about the connections of many of the yokai in modern day media. I love Manga, anime, and games, which I think made this an even better read. The illustrations sprinkled through out were very beautiful as well.

Outlier opinion here, but unfortunately I wasn't all that impressed with this book...
The author for some reason seems to think that interest in Japanese folk-lore is a fairly recent, unexplored phenomenon, but in fact this kind of compendium has been around a fairly long time, so simply listing different kinds of yokai, kami etc. doesn't really cut it anymore. Everything felt a bit dry and thin, IMO; the author listed the same couple of anime and manga as examples of modern-day usage of the "beasties" described (hate that word? So do I. Too bad, because the author loves it and deploys it as often as she can). The illustrations were just plain awful, IMO, just really bad wannabe-manga style drawings that felt like something from a children's book. The level of storytelling wasn't all that great either. A lot of the stories the author quotes for context are retellings of Lafcadio Hearn tales, so if you're an English speaker with any interest at all in Asian horror, you've probably come across them before. Sigh. Everything was just so... average.
I don't know, I was hoping for a lot more with this one. It's not a "bad" book per se, it's just that it really is nothing special. I had a lot more fun with "Yokai Attack!: The Japanese Monster Survival Guide" by Hiroko Yoda & Matt Alt, for example, which also was about 2000% more interesting visually as well. Apparently the author is a podcaster as well; maybe her approach lends itself better to that type of medium, I have no idea.

Since I was a kid, I've always been a fan of anything related to mythology and the like. However, I also feel like for the majority of my life, anytime I try to indulge myself in this area, the available literature tends to be heavily imbalanced towards Greek and Norse lore. Anything I read those realms is a genuine treat, and "The Book of Japanese Folklore" has proven to be no exception. As someone with little familiarity with Japanese lore, not only has this book proven to be a great introduction to newcomers such as myself, it's just flat-out fun in its very informative way.

This was a really interesting read!

This book covers a huge amount of creatures and characters from Japanese folklore and legends. It's organized in entries in alphabetical order, and each entry explains what a particular figure looks like, their background, retells at least one popular folktale about them and finally gives some fun facts and an overview of how they've influenced modern pop culture. It's written in a fun, engaging way and for many creatures there are also absolutely stunning illustrations accompanying the text

4,5/5

I'm no stranger to Japanese myths and their creatures since I'm fascinated by mythology in general, but I have to say that apart from a few stories I read from Lafcadio Hearn before (and are a part of this work), there are many things I didn't know and that I've learnt by reading this book.

I don't think it is meant to be read in a go since it's an encyclopedia, in which yokai are sorted by alphabetical order. In each entry there are 3 parts: an "overview", the "background and popular stories" & "in modern stories" (and sometimes there's a "now you know" complement).
You also have the pronunciation and etymologies of each mythical creatures names, some Japanese expressions, their presence in pop culture (Pokemon, Yu-Gi-Oh, to name a few), and a glossary/bibliography at the end of the book, as well as beautiful illustrations by Michelle Wang.
It's interresting to see that the origin of a myth is sometimes linked to an historical event.

I highly advise you to have a computer or phone near you to be able to search for all the references mentioned in this book (artists, authors, books, geographical locations, temples, mangas,…)

Though, I think it could have been a little bit more complete (for the people that are not familiar with Japanese culture) by adding Amarterasu for exemple and other gods, creatures or emperors appearing in previous entries.

Having not read any Japanese folklore I was excited to dip into this book which is written in a simple and approachable style. After the initial introductory pages the entries are set out in alphabetical order in the style of an encyclopaedia. This book is not designed to be read cover to cover (although you could if you wanted to) but is more a reference book to be dipped into

Reference of 不思議 (magical, mysterious) and 不気味 (weird, uncanny) things

Thersa Matsuura's The Book of Japanese Folklore is a reference work about strange and magical creatures from Japanese folklore. The long subtitle "An Encyclopedia of the Spirits, Monsters, and Yokai of Japanese Myth: The Stories of the Mischievous Kappa, Trickster Kitsune" is a better summary of the contents than the title. It is organized as a reference work. That is, it consists of an alphabetical list of articles about particular mythical creatures and characters.

The alphabetical organization makes sense for a work intended to sit on a shelf for use in looking things up. The best way to evaluate such a work is to use it over a long period of time, asking, when one wants information about Japanese folklore, "Is that information present? Is it easy to find? Is it accurate and comprehensive?" In these modern times, any such reference work is in competition with the Internet. Indeed, Matsuura herself has a blog and a podcast named "Uncanny Japan" about the subjects of this encyclopedia.

In any case, I didn't have time to evaluate The Book of Japanese Folklore by using it for a few years. Instead I simply read it from front to back. It is not meant to be consumed in this way. The alphabetical organization means that related subjects are scattered all over. And some important things are missing. For instance, Jimmu, the legendary first emperor of Japan, is frequently referenced. His ancestors Amaterasu and Otohime are mentioned in some of the stories. But there is no entry for any of those three. Emperor Jimmu's story is nowhere told. That seems an odd omission in a book entitled The Book of Japanese Folklore.

On the other hand, the stories are fun. Many of them are accompanied by whimsical color pictures of the beasts in question, by Michelle Wang. I knew only a little Japanese folklore before reading this (mostly from the books of Clay and Yumi Boutwell), and I learned a lot.

I am left with mixed feelings. It was a fun read, and I'm glad I read it. On the other hand, the way it is organized makes it a less enjoyable read while not, in my opinion, making it noticeably more useful in a world that has computers and the Internet.

Thanks to NetGalley and Adams Media for an advance reader copy of The Book of Japanese Folklore. Release date 30-Apr-2024.

I didn't know much about Japanese folklore so this book has given me lots of new insights and information.

I love mythical creatures, and learning about legends and folktales from other cultures makes this even more interesting, so reading this served as quite the trip down history into some of the things that influence culture and storytelling today.
Thanks Netgalley for the eARC. This could be a great resource for anyone interested in anime and manga.

The wealth of information in this book is wonderful! I love that the author encourages the reader to do additional research into the culture and myths of Japan. The layout of each section is amazing! It includes not just the name and an image, but how to pronounce it, translation, meaning of the name, connections to others, an overview, popular stories, and modern references. I teach mythology and I am so happy to have stumbled across this amazing reference! Absolutely Love it!

I love learning about folklore from different countries so when I saw this in NetGalley I happily requested it. Japanese folklore is very interesting! Who’d have the spirit of a dead child haunting your house would be considered good luck? I only wish every entry included an illustration but this was a fantastic title.

Thanks to the author and publisher for the e-arc I received via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.