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Review

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful. Davissonrsquo;s delight in the materialBy BellisWhile future editions would benefit from more attentive editing; Zack Davissonrsquo;s Yurei: The Japanese Ghost is an engaging overview of the yurei; and of its connection to other Japanese art forms. A resident of Japan for nine years; I was familiar with many (though not all) of the kaidan and cultural details. Davissonrsquo;s delight in the material; and his discussion of the interplay between kabuki; noh; visual art; film and folklore make the book a valuable contribution to my own explorations. Of particular interest are his translations of stories not ordinarily accessible to an audience unable to read the tales in the original Japanese. 4+ stars.7 of 7 people found the following review helpful. Great Reading for Ghost Story and Folklore LoversBy Nina ZumelIrsquo;ve long been a fan of Zack Davissonrsquo;s Japanese folklore blog Hyakumonogatari Kaidankai; so I was eager to read his new book; YÅ«rei: The Japanese Ghost. It did not disappoint.Davisson traces the origins of the yurei from their basis in Japanrsquo;s belief systems and traditions about the dead; starting with early animistic beliefs and their mixture with beliefs from Shintoism and Buddhism. The worlds of the living and the dead are perhaps nearer to each other in the Japanese conception than they are in Western belief systems. Your obligations to your ancestors continue past their deaths mdash; and perhaps their interest in your life outlives their deaths; too. Becoming a ghost might be as simple as dying with something pressing on your mind mdash; and moving on as easy as fulfilling the goal that keeps your ghost here.The book also presents the literary history of the Japanese ghost story or weird tale (kaidan); beginning with the story behind Maruyama ÅŒkyorsquo;s famous 18th century painting The Ghost of Oyuki. Oyuki is the prototype of the modern image of the yurei: pale; dressed in white; with no feet; she also graces the cover of the book. From there; we follow the weird tale through Japanese art; Japanese literature (and Chinese contributions to Japanese literature); Noh and Kabuki theater; and film. We learn about the three great yurei of Japan: the lovelorn Otsuya; the vengeful Oiwa; and the earth-bound (or maybe well-bound) Okiku. As with the Latino legends of La Llorona; there are many versions of the stories of Otsuya; Oiwa; and Okiku; and Davisson introduces us to several variations. He also shares other classic ghost tales and legends from Japanese and Buddhist mythology.Beyond the tales and legends; the real-life histories are interesting; too. We read about the colorful life of Lafcadio Hearn; who introduced much of Japanese folklore to the West; and maybe rekindled in the Japanese an interest in their own stories; too. We get the histories of many prominent actors and playwrites of Kabuki theater; and read how Kabuki costuming also influenced the look of modern yurei. I was especially interested in the story of Ueda Akinari; the humbly-born son of a prostitute who eventually wrote the 18th century masterpiece Ugetsu monogatari (Tales of Moonlight and Rain).But of course the ghost stories; which Davisson weaves throughout the narrative; are the big draw. The last section of the book mdash; my favorite mdash; is a cornucopia of kaidan: selections from Hearn and translations from several Japanese ghost story collections; some of which I think havenrsquo;t been translated to English before. Most of the Hearn selections Irsquo;d already read; but it was nice to read them again in light of the additional cultural context. And the other; brand-new (to me) stories were a delight.Flipping through the book now; itrsquo;s amazing how much information managed to fit into such a slim; accessible volume; I couldnrsquo;t detail more of whatrsquo;s in there without this review getting longer than the book itself! Overall; I found the book readable; interesting; and just plain fun. Itrsquo;s also a really beautiful book: hardcover; full of gorgeous color reproductions of ghostly paintings and prints. If yoursquo;re interested in ghost stories; folklore (either Japanese specifically; or in general); or Japanese horror film; you should check out YÅ«rei: The Japanese Ghost.Recommended.5 of 5 people found the following review helpful. Beautiful; fascinating and entertainingBy Angela F ChouinardIve been following Zacks blog for some time and love his work. I pre-ordered this and waited patiently for months for the publication. It was completely worth the wait. The book is beautiful and the production quality is excellent; from the cover design; to the weight of the pages and the generous selection of full color plates . This book is the kind of book that becomes a collectors item. All this was icing on the cake; though; because i got the book for its content and was not disappointed. From the introduction; where he describes his own experience living in a haunted house in Japan; through the chapters unrolling the history of the Japanese ghost and its relation to Japanese life and culture; to the beautifully rendered selection of classic Japanese ghost stories in the last section this book is fascinating. Zacks knowledge on the subject is really comprehensive but his style is very entertaining and enjoyable. I had to force myself not to read it through a one sitting. If you are interested in things Japanese; a ghost story fan; or just love beautiful books; please treat yourself to a copy. Im glad I didable to r