Japanese Supernatural Tales

A terrifying gathering of more than 100 classic Japanese tales of monsters and demons, yokai and oni and yūrei, that live on in popular contemporary manga, anime, J-horror films, and video games

A Penguin Classic

Flesh-eating oni demons, kappa water sprites, shapeshifting kitsune foxes, vengeful yūrei ghosts—monsters and magical creatures haunt Japanese history and literature. They appear as moralistic figures in eighth-century folktales, comic relief in Edo-era kabuki plays, ghostly encounters in the storytelling game hyaku-monogatari, and sinister predators in contemporary detective novels. This volume brings together an incomparable range—more than one thousand years’ worth, from premodern to modern—of the most horrifying and enduring supernatural stories that have exploded in popularity in anime, video games, and horror movies.