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)