Yokai Attack! The Japanese Monster Survival Guide

by Yoda, Hiroko; Alt, Matt; Morino, Tatsuya

• ISBN13: 9784770030702
• ISBN10: 4770030703
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2008-10-01
• Publisher: Kodansha USA

Summary

Yokai are Japan's traditional creepy-crawlies. Almost always encountered in the dark of night, they were once feared throughout the land. But they're more than just myth, more provocative than pop culture--references to yokai abound in Japanese idioms, and nearly every Japanese person has at least a passing knowledge of the most famous of these captivating creatures from times of old. Now, after collecting data and descriptions from a variety of sources, including first-hand accounts and microfilms of 18th-century publications stored in the National Diet Library in Tokyo, authors Hiroko Yoda and Matt Alt have produced the first English-language guide to Japans yokai monsters. Original illustrations, created by the talented Tatsuya Morino, detail the potential visible appearance of each yokai. And alongside each and every one are data points allowing you to take in each yokai's characteristics at a glance. Forget Godzilla. Forget the giant beasties karate-chopped into oblivion by endless incarnations of Ultraman, Kamen Rider, and the Power Rangers. Forget the Pocket Monsters. Forget Sadako from The Ring and that creepy all-white kid from The Grudge. Forget everything you know about Japanese tales of terror. Their roots may extend back to days of yore, but Yokai Attack! will convince any reader that Japan's bewitching tradition of yokai monsters is far from being history.

Author Biography

Hiroko Yoda and Matt Alt are a husband and wife team who run a Tokyo-based translation company that specializes in producing the English versions of Japanese video games, comic books and literature. Alt is the co-author of Super #1 Robot (2005), a detailed photo-history of 1970s Japanese robot toys. Alt and Yoda are also co-authors of Hello, Please! Very Helpful Super Kawaii Characters From Japan (2007), a book about Japanese cute character culture. They also happen to have firsthand yokai experience, having appeared as extras in the Takashi Miike film The Great Yokai War (2005).
Illustrator Tatsuya Morino became the assistant to Shigeru Mizuki, one of Japans most beloved manga artists, when he was fresh out of high school. After going independent, he illustrated the graphic novel Kibakichi, which was turned into a pair of successful movies of the same name. He also works as a character designer, with credits including the Gainax video game Yokai Family and the web comic Trip Trek. His comic Legentail Sennenta is currently serialized in Kadokawa Shotens monthly comic collection Kero Kero Ace.