The Japanese Myths: A Guide to Gods, Heroes and Spirits

Product Information

The name of this book is ancient, although the collection of artistic renditions and stories was compiled recently. History tells us that a magical beast once gifted “The Book of Hakutaku” to an emperor, and this book contained visual and textual information about all of the entities of the spirit world—good and evil. Japan is our specialty and our passion. We spend most of our time exploring Japanese literature, food, language, history, art, and so on. And we’ve noticed that Japanese mythology is becoming more and more popular in the west, thanks to video games and anime. What yōkai are actually understood to be as compared/in relation to broader kami could've been made a bit clearer It relates to manga, anime, film, video games, and many other aspects of modern global culture with the historical roots of Japanese myth. The mythological figures of this pantheon are referred to as “ yokai,” and this book does its best to examine their role in Japanese folklore.

Fans of Japanese novels, live-action films, television shows, anime and manga will be captivated by the section on Onmyoji or imperial diviners who were officially government workers assigned to the Bureau of Onmyodo or Yin-Yang Magic. Frydman tells us they’re the Japanese equivalent of wizards from Western Fantasy and the cause of legends. One of the most famous being Onmyoji by Yumemakura Baku, a novel series which began in 1986 that continues to this day. You might consider this book as the perfect way of introducing yourself to some of the magnificent and terrifying Japanese monsters called Yokai. They are anything from monsters, demons, phantoms to anything that bears a similar description. You get to meet about 70 of them in this one of the best modern mythology books from Japan by Nakau. Yurei, Oni, Kaijin and MoreSo, if you’re looking to read more books on mythology because you’ve been loving the movies and games inspired by Greek and Norse myths, or if you want more books on Greek mythology for children, here’s what you’re looking for! This book is more of an academic look at the gods, heroes and spirits of Japan. Rather than just telling the stories as I'd hoped, it goes much further into the history and their origins. It is fascinating but I also found it long winded and boring in places. Norse mythology is my personal favourite. The gods of Norse mythology are fallible, rash, aggressive, and their story has an ending. Norse mythology feels like a novel, rather than a collection of stories. Vinland Saga is an incredible historical epic with unforgettable Viking characters, fuelled by anger, vengeance, and hubris. World mythology is a fascinating subject to explore, partially because each culture has its own unique mythological story. Wherever you look, you’ll find new myths and hidden meanings.

Did you know that Japanese mythology includes cats a lot more frequently than western mythologies do? Tales of Japan by Chronicle Books is another short story collection of some of the most thrilling mythology tales from Japan. Like the others above, it has unique and fascinating characters in each of the short stories, never before seen events and adventures, and unique content allowing the biggest of Japanese folklore enthusiasts and people who love reading about Japanese culture to add another one of these books to their collection. Amazing IllustrationsAs books on mythology go, this one isn’t concerned with gods and monsters. It is a Norse legend about war, adventure, and conquest. It is about people — vikings, specifically. The Greek myths are, by far, the most celebrated and known stories of world mythology. Everyone knows something about Zeus, Herakles, Ares, Apollo, Athena, Icarus, Jason, Theseus, I could go on and on. Still not sure how the Ainu or, more generally, the different ethnic groups of Japan figure into the broader picture of its "mythological history" – an extra paragraph or two about this might've helped. People and countries need their myths for a lot of different reasons. One to explain things, where they came from, where they are going and why things are the way they are. Stories from the past explain the reasonings of today. People might treat each other in good or bad ways depending on the myths of their country. Look at America, a young country whose recent history is not that far away, and yet the 1950's in the United States is looked at as an Eden, thought it was far from it. Myths are as encoded in DNA as are the proteins that give us our traits. For good and for bad. To understand a people, it helps to know where they came from. The fact that stories are so good it only a plus. Japanese Myths: Heroes, Gods Demons and Legends by Melanie Clegg looks at the origin tales of the Japanese people and the Ainu natives and tells how the the land, the people and the cultures were developed and formed, by the stories they share.