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Just in time for Halloween, Kodansha International has decided to give Westerners a few tips on battling Japanese monsters with the release of Yokai Attack! The Japanese Monster Survival Guide by Hiroko Yoda and Matt Alt. The guide doesn’t cover all Japanese monsters- you’re on your own when it comes to kaiju- but is helpful against a very specific form of Japanese creepy-crawly: the yokai.

Yokai, according to the introduction, is a Japanese word that is notoriously difficult to translate. In English it is variously transcribed as ‘demon’, ‘goblin’, or ‘monster’, yet none of these accurately describes the variety and sheer weirdness of these supernatural creatures.

The book provides information on forty-three separate yokai. The guide is laid out in a fun, attractive manner somewhat reminiscent of a magazine, with lots of sidebars and little colored boxes containing quotes or important points about particular yokai. While each entry is only four pages long, they manage to convey a great deal of information. The authors provide physical descriptions, a list of each yokai’s supernatural powers, the areas where it is most often seen, and even a rough estimate of its current population statistics. They tell the most famous stories about each creature (including origin stories, where they exist) and provide references to the earliest known written sources about each yokai. Despite the lack of solid facts about yokai, the author’s entries remain remarkably free of speculation. Except for a few snarky comments, mainly about the reader’s chances of escaping certain yokai, they only repeat stories that have told in Japan for centuries (or are documented urban legends). The book also includes a helpful Japanese-to-English glossary and a list of recources for further reading/viewing.

Those familiar with Japanese culture will recognize several of the entries, such as Tengu and Tanuki. But a few will be new to even the most hardcore Japanophile. Who outside of Japan has ever heard of Wanyudo, a yokai who appears as a flaming cart wheel with an old man’s face inside, or of the ‘Bathtub-Licker’, an unpleasant creature who sneaks into your bathroom to devour the soap scum off your tub? And readers will probably learn something new about even the most familiar yokai; for instance, that are there two classes of tengu, one more violent than the other, or the horribly ironic origin story of Onibaba. It is these bits of arcane detail that make Yokai Attack! worth reading.

The book’s dedication appropriately goes to Lafcadio Hearn, a journalist who was responsible for bringing early knowledge of Japanese culture and folklore to the West. While Yokai Attack! reaches nowhere near the scale of Hearn’s groundbreaking work, it does provide an interesting peek into the darker, stranger corners of Japanese culture.

The yokai are helpfully separated into categories indicating the danger they pose to humans (Ferocious Fiends, Gruesome Gourmets, Annoying Neighbors, The Sexy and Slimy and The Wimps). The most dangerous, since I know you’re wondering, is the Tengu, followed by the Kappa. Not only are ancient legends represented, but also more modern urban myths, such as a ghost that exclusively haunts girls’ elementary school bathrooms.

The book is illustrated by manga artist Tatsuya Morino. The yokai portraits are drawn in a silly, cartoony style, which removed from them any air of menace. Morino is obviously a talented artist, but his style isn’t really suited to the subject here.

Yokai Attack! is a fun, educational read for fans of Japanese culture or horror (or both). More than likely you’ll be annoying friends and family in no time by reading snippets of yokai lore out loud to them. But hey- this information could save their lives!

Details

Publisher:Kodansha International
Author: Hiroko Yoda and Matt Alt
Pages: 191
Format: Book
MSRP: $14.95
Date of Publication: 10/1/08
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Yokai Attack!