Koichi Yumoto – författare

The absurd and surreal world of Yokai is back and full of stories to tell.

Following the success of Yokai Museum and Yokai Wonderland, we are proud to publish Yokai Storyland, the third book from Yumoto Koichi, renowned Yokai art collector who has collected around 4,000 art works ranging from paintings, sculptures and books to magazines, toys and many more.

In response to great demand from readers wanting to know more details about the meaning, background and stories behind each illustration, this time we have focused on collecting Yokai story books and manga. Very rare, never-before-seen materials (books/manga) are showcased in an immersive full-size, full-page format.

They are all accompanied by full translations and notes to make the content of the manga more accessible to readers. Yokai Storyland will be a treasure trove of information for those who are eager to know everything in detail about Yokai stories. It also presents Japanese culture from a whole new perspective. This book is divided into three chapters.

Chapter 1 explores the world of Yokai stories in the Edo and Meiji periods by introducing seven stories.

Chapter 2 sheds light on a quirky manga from the Edo period titled Jinmen-Zoshi (The Book of Faces). This manga was briefly introduced in Yokai Wonderland, but with only a few pages and small images. In this book, it is introduced in full-size, full-page format and with a full translation. All the characters have the same comical look: simultaneously cute and strange, even frightening.

The art works show these strange characters entertaining themselves in the city of Edo, but little is actually known about The Book of Faces beyond these depictions, including the origins of these characters.

Chapter 3 is a Yokai encyclopaedia featuring around fifteen characters selected from the book, fully introduced and explained.

Lurking beneath the global obsession with manga and anime, there is a world of Japan's yokai monsters, mutants and vengeful mononoke spirits, which have long held people's imaginations in their terrifying grip ever since the Edo period (16th-19th centuries).

These fearsome creatures are now gathered together in this gorgeous new release that, for the first time ever, shows many enlargements of these masterpieces!

Immerse yourself in these yokai images and their mesmerizing detail showcased over more than 500 pages in this epic collection! Selections include over 60 works chosen from the collection at the Yumoto Koichi Memorial Japan Yokai Museum (Miyoshi Mononoke Museum), Japan's ¬- and, in fact, the world's ¬- only museum specializing in Japanese yokai monsters, each reproduced in high-resolution images with explanations. This compilation provides readers with the rare experience of seeing the brushwork of Edo-era painters like Tsukioka Yoshitoshi in detail firsthand.

This is a must-have book for those who love strange worlds and mutant creatures, and for anyone wanting to know more about Japanese yokai monsters. About the Yumoto Koichi Collection With over 5,000 works, the Yumoto Koichi Collection is the largest yokai collection in Japan. Spanning from the early modern period to the present day, the collection includes a wide range of artistic genres from paintings and hand-painted scrolls to nishiki-e woodblock prints and handicrafts such as kimono, metalworks, folk art and toys.

The donated collection is housed at the Yumoto Koichi Memorial Japan Yokai Museum (Miyoshi Mononoke Museum) in Miyoshi City, Hiroshima Prefecture, and part of the collection tours the world as part of exhibitions overseas.