Outlier opinion here, but unfortunately I wasn't all that impressed with this book...
The author for some reason seems to think that interest in Japanese folk-lore is a fairly recent, unexplored phenomenon, but in fact this kind of compendium has been around a fairly long time, so simply listing different kinds of yokai, kami etc. doesn't really cut it anymore. Everything felt a bit dry and thin, IMO; the author listed the same couple of anime and manga as examples of modern-day usage of the "beasties" described (hate that word? So do I. Too bad, because the author loves it and deploys it as often as she can). The illustrations were just plain awful, IMO, just really bad wannabe-manga style drawings that felt like something from a children's book. The level of storytelling wasn't all that great either. A lot of the stories the author quotes for context are retellings of Lafcadio Hearn tales, so if you're an English speaker with any interest at all in Asian horror, you've probably come across them before. Sigh. Everything was just so... average.
I don't know, I was hoping for a lot more with this one. It's not a "bad" book per se, it's just that it really is nothing special. I had a lot more fun with "Yokai Attack!: The Japanese Monster Survival Guide" by Hiroko Yoda & Matt Alt, for example, which also was about 2000% more interesting visually as well. Apparently the author is a podcaster as well; maybe her approach lends itself better to that type of medium, I have no idea.

Since I was a kid, I've always been a fan of anything related to mythology and the like. However, I also feel like for the majority of my life, anytime I try to indulge myself in this area, the available literature tends to be heavily imbalanced towards Greek and Norse lore. Anything I read those realms is a genuine treat, and "The Book of Japanese Folklore" has proven to be no exception. As someone with little familiarity with Japanese lore, not only has this book proven to be a great introduction to newcomers such as myself, it's just flat-out fun in its very informative way.

This was a really interesting read!

This book covers a huge amount of creatures and characters from Japanese folklore and legends. It's organized in entries in alphabetical order, and each entry explains what a particular figure looks like, their background, retells at least one popular folktale about them and finally gives some fun facts and an overview of how they've influenced modern pop culture. It's written in a fun, engaging way and for many creatures there are also absolutely stunning illustrations accompanying the text

4,5/5

I'm no stranger to Japanese myths and their creatures since I'm fascinated by mythology in general, but I have to say that apart from a few stories I read from Lafcadio Hearn before (and are a part of this work), there are many things I didn't know and that I've learnt by reading this book.

I don't think it is meant to be read in a go since it's an encyclopedia, in which yokai are sorted by alphabetical order. In each entry there are 3 parts: an "overview", the "background and popular stories" & "in modern stories" (and sometimes there's a "now you know" complement).
You also have the pronunciation and etymologies of each mythical creatures names, some Japanese expressions, their presence in pop culture (Pokemon, Yu-Gi-Oh, to name a few), and a glossary/bibliography at the end of the book, as well as beautiful illustrations by Michelle Wang.
It's interresting to see that the origin of a myth is sometimes linked to an historical event.

I highly advise you to have a computer or phone near you to be able to search for all the references mentioned in this book (artists, authors, books, geographical locations, temples, mangas,…)

Though, I think it could have been a little bit more complete (for the people that are not familiar with Japanese culture) by adding Amarterasu for exemple and other gods, creatures or emperors appearing in previous entries.

Having not read any Japanese folklore I was excited to dip into this book which is written in a simple and approachable style. After the initial introductory pages the entries are set out in alphabetical order in the style of an encyclopaedia. This book is not designed to be read cover to cover (although you could if you wanted to) but is more a reference book to be dipped into

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.