Reference of 不思議 (magical, mysterious) and 不気味 (weird, uncanny) things

Thersa Matsuura's The Book of Japanese Folklore is a reference work about strange and magical creatures from Japanese folklore. The long subtitle "An Encyclopedia of the Spirits, Monsters, and Yokai of Japanese Myth: The Stories of the Mischievous Kappa, Trickster Kitsune" is a better summary of the contents than the title. It is organized as a reference work. That is, it consists of an alphabetical list of articles about particular mythical creatures and characters.

The alphabetical organization makes sense for a work intended to sit on a shelf for use in looking things up. The best way to evaluate such a work is to use it over a long period of time, asking, when one wants information about Japanese folklore, "Is that information present? Is it easy to find? Is it accurate and comprehensive?" In these modern times, any such reference work is in competition with the Internet. Indeed, Matsuura herself has a blog and a podcast named "Uncanny Japan" about the subjects of this encyclopedia.

In any case, I didn't have time to evaluate The Book of Japanese Folklore by using it for a few years. Instead I simply read it from front to back. It is not meant to be consumed in this way. The alphabetical organization means that related subjects are scattered all over. And some important things are missing. For instance, Jimmu, the legendary first emperor of Japan, is frequently referenced. His ancestors Amaterasu and Otohime are mentioned in some of the stories. But there is no entry for any of those three. Emperor Jimmu's story is nowhere told. That seems an odd omission in a book entitled The Book of Japanese Folklore.

On the other hand, the stories are fun. Many of them are accompanied by whimsical color pictures of the beasts in question, by Michelle Wang. I knew only a little Japanese folklore before reading this (mostly from the books of Clay and Yumi Boutwell), and I learned a lot.

I am left with mixed feelings. It was a fun read, and I'm glad I read it. On the other hand, the way it is organized makes it a less enjoyable read while not, in my opinion, making it noticeably more useful in a world that has computers and the Internet.

Thanks to NetGalley and Adams Media for an advance reader copy of The Book of Japanese Folklore. Release date 30-Apr-2024.

I didn't know much about Japanese folklore so this book has given me lots of new insights and information.

I love mythical creatures, and learning about legends and folktales from other cultures makes this even more interesting, so reading this served as quite the trip down history into some of the things that influence culture and storytelling today.
Thanks Netgalley for the eARC. This could be a great resource for anyone interested in anime and manga.

The wealth of information in this book is wonderful! I love that the author encourages the reader to do additional research into the culture and myths of Japan. The layout of each section is amazing! It includes not just the name and an image, but how to pronounce it, translation, meaning of the name, connections to others, an overview, popular stories, and modern references. I teach mythology and I am so happy to have stumbled across this amazing reference! Absolutely Love it!

I love learning about folklore from different countries so when I saw this in NetGalley I happily requested it. Japanese folklore is very interesting! Who’d have the spirit of a dead child haunting your house would be considered good luck? I only wish every entry included an illustration but this was a fantastic title.

Thanks to the author and publisher for the e-arc I received via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.