Resources


Academic Papers/Articles

General

Kuniyoshi's "Minamoto Raikō" and "the Earth Spider": Demons and Protest in Late Tokugawa Japan
Melinda Takeuchi (1987)

San'yūntei Enchō's Ghosts and the Aesthetics of Things Unseen
Daniel O'Neill (2002)

The Yōkai in the Database: Supernatural Creatures and Folklore in Manga and Anime
Deborah Shamoon (2013)

To Believe and Not to Believe: A Native Ethnography of Kanashibari in Japan
Ayako Yoshimura (2015)

Traversing the Natural, Supernatural, and Paranormal: Yōkai in Postwar Japan
Hirota Ryūhei (2021)

Will the Real Ancestor Please Stand Up? Ritual and the Social Construction of Ancestors, Kami, and Goblins in Japan
E. Leslie Williams (2015)


Individual Yōkai Studies

Animating Objects: Tsukumogami ki and the Medieval Illustration of Shingon Truth
Noriko T. Reider (2009)

Haunting Modernity: Tanuki, Trains, and Transformation in Japan
Michael Dylan Foster (2012)

Imagining the Spirits of Deceased Pregnant Women
Manami Yasui (2020)

Onmyōji: Sex, Pathos, and Grotesquery in Yumemakura Bakus Oni
Noriko T. Reider (2007)

The Dream of the Yamanba - An Overview
Mizuta Noriko (Translated by Luciana Sanga) (2018)

The Goblin Fox and Badger and Other Witch Animals of Japan
U. A. Casal (1959)

The "Kappa" Legend: A Comparative Ethnological Study on the Japanese Water-Spirit "Kappa" and Its Habit of Trying to Lure Horses into the Water
Ishida Eiichirô (1950)

The Metamorphosis of the Kappa: Transformation of Folklore to Folklorism in Japan
Michael Dylan Foster (1998)

The Nue and Other Monsters in Heike Monogatari
Elizabeth Oyler (2008)

Transfiguration: Man-Made Objects as Demons in Japanese Scrolls
Elizabeth Lillehoj (1995)

Yamauba and Oni-Women
Noriko T. Reider (2019)


Religion

A Structural Reading of the Kojiki
Kazuo Matsumura (2021)

Becoming Kami? Discourse on Postmortem Ritual Deification in the Ryukyus
Evgeny S. Baksheev (2008)

Female Pilgrims and Mt. Fuji: Changing Perspectives on the Exclusion of Women
Miyazaki Fumiko (2005)

Human Sacrifices in Japan (The Open Court)
Noritake Tsuda (1918)

Is the World of the Dead in the Mountains? - Interpreting Myths of the Yomi no Kuni (Article)
Masahiro Taniguchi (2018)

Musical Toys Offered to Gods at Miho Shrine
Ouchi Fumi (2018)

Research Notes: On Burial Customs, Maternal Spirits, and the Fetus in Japan
Manami Yasui (2003)

Sugoroku Boards as Portable Cosmos in Japanese Religion
Jingyi Yuan (2021)

The Stranger as God: The Place of the Outsider in Japanese Folk Religion
Teigo Yoshida (1981)

Tokoyo no Kami: A Caterpillar Worshipped by a Cargo Cult in Ancient Japan
Nan-Yao Su (2014)

When Buddhism Became a "Religion": Religion and Superstition in the Writings of Inoue Enryō
Jason Ānanda Josephson (2006)


Misc. Culture

Cartography in Japan
Kazutaka Unno (1994)

The Lore of the Japanese Fan
U. A. Casal (1960)

Books

General

A Type and Motif Index of Japanese Folk-literature
Hiroko Ikeda (1971)

An Introduction to Yōkai Culture: Monsters, Ghosts, and Outsiders in Japanese History
Komatsu Kazuhiko (Translated by Hiroko Yoda & Matt Alt) (2017)

Civilization and Monsters: Spirts of Modernity in Meiji Japan
Gerald Figal (1999)

From Country to Nation: Ethnographic Studies, Kokugaku, and Spirits in Nineteenth-Century Japan
Gideon Fujiwara (2021)

Haunted Japan
Catrien Ross (2020)

Pandemonium and Parade
Michael Dylan Foster (2009)

Strange Japanese Yokai
Kenji Murakami (Translated by Zack Davisson) (2023)

The Book of Yōkai
Michael Dylan Foster (2015)

The Japanese Myths: A Guide to Gods, Heroes and Spirits
Joshua Frydman (2022)

The Japanese Psyche: Major Motifs in the Fairy Tales of Japan
Hayao Kawai (Translated by Sachiko Reece) (1988)

The Yanagita Kunio Guide to the Japanese Folk Tale
Edited & Translated by Fanny Hagin Mayer (1986)

When Tengu Talk
Wilburn Hansen (2008)

Yanagita Kunio and Japanese Folklore Studies in the 21st Century - 2nd Ed.
Edited by Ronald A. Morse & Christian Goehlert (2021)

Yanagita Kunio and the Folklore Movement
Ronald A. Morse (2015)

Yokai Attack! The Japanese Monster Survival Guide - Revised Ed.
Hiroko Yoda & Matt Alt (Illustrated by Tatsuya Morino) (2012)

Yokai Studies and On Kokkuri
Enryo Inoue (Translated by Hiroko Yoda & Matt Alt) (2017)

Yurei Attack! The Japanese Ghost Survival Guide
Hiroko Yoda & Matt Alt (Illustrated by Shinkichi) (2012)


Compilations of Tales

Folktales from the Japanese Countryside: As Told by Hiroko Fujita
Edited by Fran Stallings with Harold Wright & Miki Sakurai (2007)

Japanese Folktales
Compiled by Yei Theodora Ozaki (2018)

Japanese Ghost Stories (Penguin Classics)
Lafcadio Hearn (2019)

Japanese Myths & Legends: Tales of Heroes, Gods & Monsters - Collector's Ed.
Jack Jackson (2022)

Japanese Tales
Edited & Translated by Royall Tyler (1987)

Kwaidan
Lafcadio Hearn (1904 / 2005)

Manga Yokai Stories
Lafcadio Hearn (Retold by Sean Michael Wilson & Illustrated by Inko Ai Takita) (2020)

Of Ghosts and Goblins
Lafcadio Hearn (2022)

Seven Demon Stories from Medieval Japan
Noriko T. Reider (2016)

Strange Tales from Japan
Collected & Retold by Keisuke Nishimoto. Translated by William Scott Wilson. (2021)

Tales of Japan
Illustrated by Kotaro Chiba (2019)


Translated Works

Folk Legends from Tono (Tōno Monogatari)
Collected by Yanagita Kunio & Sasaki Kizen (Translated & Edited by Ronald A. Morse) (1910 / 2015)

The Legends of Tono: 100th Anniversary Edition (Tōno Monogatari)
Kunio Yanagita (Translated by Ronald A. Morse) (1910 / 2008)

Tono Monogatari (Manga) (Tōno Monogatari)
Kunio Yanagita (Artwork by Shigeru Mizuki, Translated by Zack Davisson) (1910 / 2021)

Tales of Moonlight and Rain (Ugetsu Monogatari)
Ueda Akinari (Translated by Anthony H. Chambers) (18th Cent. / 2007)

Ugetsu Monogatari or Tales of Moonlight and Rain (Ugetsu Monogatari)
Ueda Akinari (Translated & Edited by Leon M. Zolbrod) (18th Cent. / 1972)


Modern Translated Fiction

Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World
Haruki Murakami (Translated by Alfred Birnbaum) (1985 / 1991)

Kappa: A Novel
Ryaunosuke Akutagawa (Translated by Geoffrey Bownas) (1927 / 1971)


Encyclopaedias

Handbook of Japanese Mythology
Michael Ashkenazi (2003)

The Night Parade of One Hundred Demons - Revised Ed.
Matthew Meyer (2015)

The Hour of Meeting Evil Spirits
Matthew Meyer (2015)

The Book of Hakutaku
Matthew Meyer (2018)

The Fox's Wedding
Matthew Meyer (2021)


Picture Books

Japandemonium Illustrated: The Yokai Encyclopaedias of Toriyama Sekien
Translated & Annotated by Hiroko Yoda & Matt Alt (18th Cent. / 2016)

Japanese Yokai and Other Supernatural Beings
Andreas Marks (2023)

Hell in Japanese Art
Text by Kajitani Ryoji & Nishida Naoki. Art Direction and Planning by Takaoka Kazuya. (2017)

Kyōsai’s Animal Circus
Sadamura Koto (19th Cent. / 2022)

Something Wicked from Japan: Ghosts, Demons & Yokai in Ukiyo-e Masterpieces
Ei Nakau (2016)

Yokai
Yumoto Kōichi (2021)

Yokai: The Ancient Prints of Japanese Monsters
Paolo Linetti (2022)

Yokainoshima: Island of Monsters
Charles Fréger (2016)

Yokai Museum: The Art of Japanese Supernatural Beings from Yumoto Koichi Collection
Yumoto Kōichi (2013)

Yokai Storyland: Illustrated Books from the Yumoto Koichi Collection
Yumoto Kōichi (2018)

Yokai Wars: Demonic Manga
Kyosai Kawanabe (19th Cent. / 2012)

Yokai Wonderland: More from Yumoto Koichi Collection: Supernatural Beings in Japanese Art
Yumoto Kōichi (2017)


Individual Yōkai Studies

The Fox and the Jewel: Shared and Private Meanings in Contemporary Japanese Inari Worship
Karen A. Smyers (1999)

The Fox's Craft in Japanese Religion and Folklore
Michael Bathgate (2004)

Japanese Demon Lore: Oni from Ancient Times to the Present
Noriko T. Reider (2010)

Kaibyō: The Supernatural Cats of Japan - 2nd Ed.
Zack Davisson (2021)

Mountain Witches: Yamauba
Noriko T. Reider (2021)

Namazu-e and their Themes: An Interpretative Approach to Some Aspects of Japanese Folk Religion
Cornelis Ouwehand (1964)

Yurei: The Japanese Ghost
Zack Davisson (2015)


Religion

A Social History of the Ise Shrines
Mark Teeuwen & John Breen (2017)

How Like a God: Deification in Japanese Religion
Sata Hiroo (Translated by David Noble) (2016)

Imperial Politics and Symbolics in Ancient Japan: The Tenmu Dynasty, 650-800
Herman Ooms (2009)

Japanese Historians and the National Myths, 1600-1945 : the Age of the Gods and Emperor Jinmu
John S. Brownlee (1997)

Japanese Mythology: Hermeneutics on Scripture
Jun'ichi Isomae (2009)

Kojiki
Translated & Annotated by Donald L. Philippi (8th Cent. / 1968)

Kyoto's Gion Festival
Mark Teeuwen (2023)

Mountain Mandalas: Shugendō in Kyushu
Allan G. Grapard (2016)

Norito: A Translation of the Ancient Japanese Ritual Prayers - Updated Ed.
Donald L. Philippi (1959 / 1990)

Nihongi: Chronicles of Japan from the Earliest Times to A.D. 697 (Nihon Shoki)
Translated by W. G. Aston (8th Cent. / 1896)

Overseas Shinto Shrines
Karli Shimizu (2023)

Plotting the Prince: Shotoku Cults and the Mapping of Medieval Japanese Buddhism
Kevin Grey Carr (2012)

Political Thought in Japanese Historical Writing: From Kojiki (712) to Tokushi Yoron (1712)
John S. Brownlee (1991)

Religion, Power, and the Rise of Shinto in Early Japan
Edited by Stefan Köck, Brigitte Pickl-Kolaczia, & Bernard Scheid (2021)

Shinto: The Ancient Religion of Japan
William George Aston (1907)

Shinto, Nature and Ideology in Contemporary Japan
Aike P. Rots (2017)

Songs of Gods, Songs of Humans: The Epic Tradition of the Ainu
Donald L. Philippi (1979 / 2015)

The Catalpa Bow: A Study of Shamanistic Practices in Japan - 3rd Ed.
Carmen Blacker (1999)

The Essence of Shinto: Japan's Spiritual Heart
Motohisa Yamakage (2007)

The God Susanoo and Korea in Japan's Cultural Memory
David Weiss (2022)

The Origin of Modern Shinto in Japan
Yijang Zhong (2016)

The Sea and the Sacred in Japan
Edited by Fabio Rambelli (2018)

The Six National Histories of Japan (Rikkokushi)
Taro Sakamoto (Translated by John S. Brownlee) (8th - 10th Cent. / 1991)

Understanding Shinto: Origins, Beliefs, Practices, Festivals, Spirits, Sacred Places
C. Scott Littleton (2002)


Misc. Culture

A History of Japanese Literature
William George Aston (1899)

Classical Japanese Reader and Essential Dictionary
Haruo Shirane (2007)

Classical Japanese: A Grammar
Haruo Shirane (2005)

Handbook to Life in Medieval and Early Modern Japan
William E. Deal (2007)

Japanese Nō Dramas (Penguin Classics)
Royall Tyler (1992)

Japanese Family Crests and Designs
Nobuyoshi Hamada (2023)

Poison Woman: Figuring Female Transgression in Modern Japanese Culture
Christine L. Marran (2007)

Routledge Handbook of Premodern Japanese History
Edited by Karl F. Friday (2017)

The Cambridge History of Japanese Literature
Edited by Haruo Shirane, Tomi Suzuki, & David Barnett Lurie (2016)

The Illustrated Guide to the Fantastic Edo Era
Zenyoji Susumu & Lynne Hobday (2018)

The Tale of Genji: A Visual Companion
Melissa McCormick (2018)

This Wine of Peace, this Wine of Laughter: A Complete Anthology of Japan's Earliest Songs
Donald L. Philippi (1979 / 2015)

Links

General

Yōkai Database - International Research Center for Japanese Studies, Kyoto, Japan
https://www.nichibun.ac.jp/YoukaiDB/ (Japanese)

Yōkai Database - Matthew Meyer
https://yokai.com/
(English)

'Time and Tide' - NHK Documentary Series
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/tv/timetide/
(English / Japanese)

Miyoshi Mononoke Museum (Yōkai Museum)
https://miyoshi-mononoke.jp/
(Japanese)

Japanese Historical Text Initiative - University of California at Berkley
https://jhti.berkeley.edu/index.html
(English)

Japanese Text Initiative - University of Virginia Library Electronic Text Center & the University of Pittsburgh East Asian Library
https://jti.lib.virginia.edu/japanese/
(English)

Kokugakuin University Digital Museum
https://d-museum.kokugakuin.ac.jp/
(Japanese)
Note: If the page does not display correctly, delete 'en/' from the end of the URL.

National Institute of Japanese Literature, Japan
https://www.nijl.ac.jp/en/ (English / Japanese)

Historiographical Institute - University of Tokyo
https://www.hi.u-tokyo.ac.jp/en/ (English / Japanese)

Monumenta Nipponica
https://dept.sophia.ac.jp/monumenta/
(English)


Religion

Kojiki Manuscript Scans - Waseda University Library
https://archive.wul.waseda.ac.jp/kosho/ri05/ri05_04868/
(Japanese)

Nihon Shoki Manuscript Scans - Waseda University Library
https://archive.wul.waseda.ac.jp/kosho/ri05/ri05_01940/
(Japanese)
https://archive.wul.waseda.ac.jp/kosho/ri05/ri05_00406/
(Japanese)

Japanese Journal of Religious Studies
https://nirc.nanzan-u.ac.jp/journal/6
(English)

Jinja Honcho - Association of Shinto Shrines
https://www.jinjahoncho.or.jp/en/index.html
(English)

Jinja Shinto - Shinto Online Network Association
http://www.jinja.or.jp/
(English / Japanese)

Ise Jingu (Shrine)
https://www.isejingu.or.jp/en/
(English)

Shinto Portal - Kokugakuin University
https://www2.kokugakuin.ac.jp/e-shinto/ (English / Japanese)