| |||||||||||||||
 Trade In this Item for up to £5.50
Get an extra £5 when you trade in books worth £10 or more until June 30, 2012. Trade in Pandemonium and Parade: Japanese Monsters and the Culture of Yokai for an Amazon.co.uk gift card of up to £5.50, which you can then spend on millions of items across the site. Trade-in values may vary (terms apply). Find more products eligible for trade-in.
|
Frequently Bought Together
Product details
|
More About the Author
Product Description
Product Description
Water sprites, mountain goblins, shape-shifting animals, and the monsters known as yokai have long haunted the Japanese cultural landscape. This history of the strange and mysterious in Japan seeks out these creatures in folklore, encyclopedias, literature, art, science, games, manga, magazines, and movies, exploring their meanings in the Japanese cultural imagination and offering an abundance of valuable and, until now, understudied material. Michael Dylan Foster tracks yokai over three centuries, from their appearance in seventeenth-century natural histories to their starring role in twentieth-century popular media. Focusing on the intertwining of belief and commodification, fear and pleasure, horror and humor, he illuminates different conceptions of the "natural" and the "ordinary" and sheds light on broader social and historical paradigms - and ultimately on the construction of Japan as a nation.
About the Author
Michael Dylan Foster is Assistant Professor of Folklore and East Asian Cultures at Indiana University.
Tags Customers Associate with This Product(What's this?)Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
|
Sell a Digital Version of This Book in the Kindle Store
If you are a publisher or author and hold the digital rights to a book, you can sell a digital version of it in our Kindle Store.
Learn more
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
When I saw this book and read the description I thought, this was the book for me. As I take a keen interest in things like mythology, folklore and the occult. I would like to have used this book as a reference on Yokai. However after reading the first 10 pages then scanning through the book I realized that I had not bought a book on Yokai(well I have, but not the book I wanted), no this was a thesis. If your a student or academic who studies folklore form the historical perspective it might interest you. If your looking for a clear book which lists and describes the individual types of Yokai then this book is not for you.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
If you're looking for a funny book about youkai, avoid this book. In case you want a deep reserach about EVERYTHING related to this part of Japanese folklore, read this book. But you will need a lot of time and all your atention.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
11 reviews
15 of 15 people found the following review helpful
Academic, erudite and immensely readable
7 Oct 2009
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
If Michael Dylan Foster's book reads much like a Doctoral dissertation, it is because it is based on his 2003 Doctoral dissertation: "Morphologies of Mystery: Yôkai and Discourses of the Supernatural in Japan, 1666-1999". That noted, "Pandemonium and Parade" is in no way a watered-down version of its parent text. It includes further research conducted over the following seven years, along with a generous sampling of illustrations, both historical and current.
In addition to being an erudite and meticulously researched history of the yôkai phenomenon in Japan, Dr. Foster is an excellent and engaging writer, who successfully conveys a deep love for his subject matter, while exploring in depth the cultural, psychological and fantastical elements of both the historical and present-day fascination these outlandish supernatural but all too earthly spirits hold over the consciousness of both the Japanese and students of folklore worldwide.
Dr. Foster's original Doctoral thesis has accompanied me on two visits to Japan; since its release, "Pandemonium and Parade" has been my companion on yet another, and is a volume I keep at close hand here at home, both for reference and for enjoyment of his literary style.
Anyone with an interest in yôkai will find this a richly rewarding addition to their library, I cannot think of a finer work in English on the subject.
In addition to being an erudite and meticulously researched history of the yôkai phenomenon in Japan, Dr. Foster is an excellent and engaging writer, who successfully conveys a deep love for his subject matter, while exploring in depth the cultural, psychological and fantastical elements of both the historical and present-day fascination these outlandish supernatural but all too earthly spirits hold over the consciousness of both the Japanese and students of folklore worldwide.
Dr. Foster's original Doctoral thesis has accompanied me on two visits to Japan; since its release, "Pandemonium and Parade" has been my companion on yet another, and is a volume I keep at close hand here at home, both for reference and for enjoyment of his literary style.
Anyone with an interest in yôkai will find this a richly rewarding addition to their library, I cannot think of a finer work in English on the subject.
10 of 10 people found the following review helpful
Academic Yet Excellent
6 July 2009
Format:Paperback
Pandemonium and Parade is not an easy read. The author's highly academic approach to his subject matter makes this book often read like a dressed-up doctoral dissertation.
That said, there is a wealth of information regarding (for lack of a better term) the supernatural in Japanese culture, and the multi-disciplinary approach really expands the subject's overall context.
I can't help wishing, however, that the book had a somewhat more comprehensive index and perhaps a glossary of terms (I know the field of yokai fairly well and still found many new terms I had either not encountered before, or had found in very different context). I also wish Japanese terms were introduced with their kanji renderings, which can be so highly informative in understanding some of the nuance of the vocabulary.
If you are looking for a good introduction to yokia and the supernatural in Japan, you are probably better off with F. Hadland Davis or Royall Tyler. But, if you know the subject reasonably well, this book will really expand and deepen both your knowledge of Japanese monster-ology, and your appreciation.
That said, there is a wealth of information regarding (for lack of a better term) the supernatural in Japanese culture, and the multi-disciplinary approach really expands the subject's overall context.
I can't help wishing, however, that the book had a somewhat more comprehensive index and perhaps a glossary of terms (I know the field of yokai fairly well and still found many new terms I had either not encountered before, or had found in very different context). I also wish Japanese terms were introduced with their kanji renderings, which can be so highly informative in understanding some of the nuance of the vocabulary.
If you are looking for a good introduction to yokia and the supernatural in Japan, you are probably better off with F. Hadland Davis or Royall Tyler. But, if you know the subject reasonably well, this book will really expand and deepen both your knowledge of Japanese monster-ology, and your appreciation.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
A great book for teaching
21 Nov 2009
Format:Paperback
While the language used in this book is "academic" (out of necessity for sure), this wonderful book is still readable, informative, and entertaining. Those students who enroll in Japanese history and culture courses are mostly interested in anime and manga. It is important to teach them how these monsters/ghosts in anime and manga can be situated in specific historical and cultural contexts. Professor Foster's book is very useful for teaching, especially undergraduate courses. I highly recommend it.
Were these reviews helpful?
Let us know
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
Listmania!
Look for similar items by category
- Books > History > Countries & Regions > Asia > East Asia > Japan
- Books > History > Cultural History
- Books > Mind, Body & Spirit > Mythology > Folklore
- Books > Society, Politics & Philosophy > Academic Sociology
- Books > Society, Politics & Philosophy > Social Sciences > Anthropology > Customs & Folklore > Folklore
- Books > Society, Politics & Philosophy > Social Sciences > Anthropology > Social & Cultural
- Books > Society, Politics & Philosophy > Social Sciences > Sociology
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
- I am the Author, and I want to comment on my book.
- I am the Publisher, and I want to comment on this book.
|
