The Night Parade of One Hundred Demons: A Field Guide to Japanese Yokai (Yokai, #1)

From the mists of prehistory to the present day, Japan has always had stories of fantastic monsters. There are women with extra mouths in the backs of their heads, water goblins whose favorite food is inside the human anus, elephant-dragons which feed solely on bad dreams, baby zombies, talking foxes, fire-breathing chickens, animated blobs of rotten flesh that run about the streets at night, and of course the dreaded night parade of one hundred demons--when all of the yokai leave their homes and parade through the streets of Japan in one massive spectacle of utter pandemonium. What are yokai? Put simply, they are the supernatural creatures of Japanese folklore. The word literally means "bewitching" and "strange." It encompasses monsters, demons, gods, ghosts, magical animals, transformed humans, urban legends, and strange phenomena. It is a broad and vague term. Nothing exists in the English language that quite captures the essence of yokai. This field guide contains over 100 illustrated entries covering a wide variety of Japanese yokai. Each yokai is described in detail, including its habitat, diet, origin, and legends based on translations from centuries-old Japanese texts. Yokai - monsters from Japanese folklore - are some of the zaniest and wildest things ever imagined up. From the mists of Japanese prehistory, through the medieval ages, up to today, the bestiary of Japanese folklore contains a wide range of monsters. There are women with extra mouths in the backs of their heads, water goblins whose favorite food is human anus, elephant-dragons which feed solely on bad dreams, dead baby zombies, talking foxes, fire-breathing chickens, animated blobs of rotten flesh that run about the streets at night... "The Night Parade of One Hundred Demons" is a massive illustrated bestiary choc full of yokai. It features over one hundred traditional Japanese monsters, each one beautifully illustrated in full color by yokai artist Matthew Meyer. Each yokai is described in detail, including origins, habitat, diet, and legend, based on translations from centuries-old Japanese texts. Read this book, and the next time you watch an anime or a Godzilla movie, you'll be able to recognize their folkloric ancestors dating back centuries. You'll find out about all of the strange mythical animals you can see at temples and shrines, on beer can labels, and even on Japanese money. Meet the predecessors to Pokemon, Power Rangers, scary J-horror girls, and all of the strange creatures that pop up in Japanese video games. "Night Parade" will turn anyone with a passing interest in Japanese folklore into a full-blown yokai expert! The Night Parade of One Hundred Demons is a massive illustrated bestiary choc full of yokai. It features over one hundred traditional Japanese monsters, each one beautifully illustrated in full color by yokai artist Matthew Meyer. Each yokai is described in detail, including origins, habitat, diet, and legend, based on translations from centuries-old Japanese texts. --Amazon website