Yokai Storyland

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.