Yokai Bestiary: A Compendium of Japanese Supernatural Animals

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Yokai Bestiary is an illustrated compendium of the beastly ghosts and supernatural animals that stalk the folklore of Japan. Tales of their often humorous antics as well as the horror they wreak on humanity are recounted by folklorist Zack Davisson and gorgeously illustrated with twenty original woodcut prints by Liv Rainey-Smith. Rainey-Smith uses traditional Japanese artist's representations as her inspiration, but interprets the creatures anew, in her own masterful woodcut style. This beautiful book presents ancient art and folklore as seen through a modern, yet historically informed, artist's lens. A gorgeous art book that will appeal to anyone interested in luscious art books, traditional woodcut art, supernatural animals and Japanese folklore.

Author Bio

Portland artist Liv Rainey-Smith specializes in the superannuated art of hand-pulled xylographic prints. Her unique woodcut process incorporates a mixture of traditional and modern tools as well as a blend of European and Japanese printmaking technique. Each print is an original impression direct from the hand-carved woodblock. Her prints are created primarily with cotton rag paper, although she also works with genuine animal skin parchment and has recently begun altering her prints with mineral pigments and gilding. She draws inspiration from early woodcuts, folklore, dreams, nightmares, and esoteric traditions. Rainey-Smith was introduced to the art of printmaking at the Oregon College of Art & Craft where she received her BFA in 2008. Her woodcut illustrations have graced the pages of volumes published by Three Hands Press, Rubedo Press, PS Publishing, and others. Zack Davisson is an award-winning translator, writer, lecturer, and scholar of manga and Japanese folklore and ghosts. In addition to Kaibyo: The Supernatural Cats of Japan, he is the author of Yurei: The Japanese Ghost, Amabie: Ancient & Modern, and Yokai Stories. He is the translator of the multiple Eisner award-winning Showa: A History of Japan. Davisson contributed to exhibitions at the Art Gallery of New South Wales, the International Folk Art Museum, and Werldmuseum Rotterdamn, lectured on Japanese folklore and manga at Duke University, UCLA, the Japan Foundation, and the United States Naval Academy at Annapolis. He has been featured on NPR, the BBC, in the New York Times, and has written articles for Smithsonian Magazine, Japanzine, Metropolis, Kansai Time-Out, and Weird Tales.