A must-read for anyone seriously interested in yokai and Japanese folk studies!


I’ve read at least a dozen books in English and French about yokai: upon picking this one from the shelf at the library, I thought there must not be much more to learn on this topic… boy, was I wrong!

Actually, to say this book’s topic is yokai, as the title suggests, can seem misleading: as the first chapter explains, Komatsu’s view of yokai is one much wider than Japanese monsters and occasional ghosts. That's where the subtitle comes into play: « Monsters, Ghosts, and Outsiders in Japanese History ». What seems to me as a novelty in English books about yokai here is the notion of outsiders and how Komatsu brilliantly surveys existing literature and research (including his own), making apparent the links between monsters, divine entities, supernatural events and different notions of outsiders and boundaries in Japanese political and religious history.

This is the first book I have read in English that gives a logical space in the yokai field to tsukimono (possessions), shamanic beliefs, yamabushi, kami-kakushi (spiriting away), the concept of ijin (outsiders) and human sacrifice such as hitobashira (foundation sacrifices; yes, as in emprisoning live people in a building’s foundations, for example). Fascinating!

Also, 
I think 
this was my first time reading an English book about yokai that explained the history of yokaigaku (study of yokai) in folklore studies, and also mentioned what is questionable in peer research and which specific topics are under-represented or poorly documented. ( )