Kawanabe Kyosai (1831-89) was only 6 years old when he joined the school of the great ukiyo-e master Utagawa Kuniyoshi, along with such fellow pupils as Yoshitoshi, who followed him in 1850. Later Kyosai studied traditional Japanese painting at the Kano school. As befits this varied apprenticeship, Kyosai would embrace many styles and methods during his artistic career. His eclectic approach may also be partly attributable to a legendary sake-drinking habit, which could account for the more bizarre extremes of his chosen subject matter -- in particular, weird demons and the bloody tortures of Hell. Kyosai can now be regarded as not only one of the last true ukiyo-e masters, but also as one of the first truly modernist painters of Japan. "Night Parade Of Hell Creatures", edited by Jack Hunter (who also edited the ground-breaking extreme ukiyo-e anthology "Dream Spectres"), collects and considers over 100 of Kyosai's most innovative, demented and bizarre images -- including multiple yokai, ghosts and demons -- presented in large-format and full-colour throughout. The Ukiyo-e Master Series: presenting seminal collections of art by the greatest print-designers and painters of Edo-period and Meiji-period Japan.

Caught in a war against the creatures of the Night Parade, a desperate ruler enlists the aid of the Harpers to win the battle—and to rescue her lost heir For decades, the ghastly Night Parade has haunted the sleep of many in the Forgotten Realms. Most thought it was nothing more than figments born of troubled minds. They were wrong. Myrmeen Lhal, the seductive ruler of Arabel, becomes embroiled in a war against the Night Parade, a war in which the Harpers are her only allies. She must triumph against these creatures who live on fear and misery, no matter the cost. But once her forces are bolstered, prepared to fight, Myrmeen learns the forthcoming battle will be more personal than she ever imagined. For the monstrous band’s leaders have the daughter she thought dead fourteen years past . . . The Night Parade is the fourth book in a series of loosely-connected novels about the Harpers.

Monsters known as yōkai 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 imagination over three centuries.

For fans of Coraline and Spirited Away comes a diverse fantasy debut steeped in Japanese mythology about a girl and a deadly curse. The last thing thirteen-year-old Saki Yamamoto wants to do for her summer vacation is trade in exciting Tokyo for the antiquated rituals and bad cell reception of her grandmother's village. Preparing for the Obon ceremony is boring. Then the local kids take interest in Saki and she sees an opportunity for some fun, even if it means disrespecting her family's ancestral shrine on a malicious dare. But as Saki rings the sacred bell, the darkness shifts. A death curse has been invoked...and Saki has three nights to undo it. With the help of three spirit guides and some unexpected friends, Saki must prove her worth—or say goodbye to the world of the living forever... The Night Parade is perfect for: Fantasy fans and kids 11 to 14 who love Spirited Away Kids and teens looking for creepy, suspenseful stories Adults looking for diverse books for kids Mythology fans and kids 12 to 14 A 2017 Bank Street Best Children's Book of the Year A Kids' Indie Next Pick A Junior Library Guild Selection A 2017 Freeman Book Award Winner

A thrilling epic fantasy adventure in the astonishing realm of Legend of the Five Rings, as two rival clans join forces to investigate a lethal supernatural mystery Chaos has broken out in the isolated Dragon Clan settlement of Seibo Mura. During the full moon, horrifying creatures rampage through the village, unleashing havoc and death. When the Dragon samurai Agasha no Isao Ryotora is sent to investigate, he faces even greater danger than expected. To save the village, he must confront his buried past – not to mention an unexpected Phoenix Clan visitor, Asako Sekken, who has his own secrets to hide. The quest to save Sebo Mura will take the two samurai into the depths of forgotten history and the shifting terrain of the Spirit Realms… and bring them face to face with an ancient, terrifying evil.

From the mists of prehistory to the present day, Japan has always had stories of fantastic monsters. There are women with extra mouths in the backs of their heads, water goblins whose favorite food is inside the human anus, elephant-dragons which feed solely on bad dreams, baby zombies, talking foxes, fire-breathing chickens, animated blobs of rotten flesh that run about the streets at night, and the dreaded "hyakki yagyo" "the night parade of one hundred demons"-when all of the yokai leave their homes and parade through the streets of Japan in one massive spectacle of utter pandemonium. What are yokai? Put simply, they are supernatural creatures of Japanese folklore. The word in Japanese is a combination of "yo," meaning "bewitching," and "kai," meaning "strange." The term encompasses monsters, demons, gods ("kami"), ghosts ("bakemono"), magical animals, transformed humans, urban legends, and other strange phenomena. It is a broad and vague term. Nothing exists in the English language that quite does the trick of capturing the essence of yokai. This field guide contains over 100 illustrated entries covering a wide variety of Japanese yokai. Each yokai is described in detail-including its habitat, diet, origin, and legends-based on translations from centuries-old Japanese texts. This book was first funded on Kickstarter in 2011 and then revised in 2015.

In Japan, it is said that there are 8 million kami. These spirits encompass every kind of supernatural creature; from malign to monstrous, demonic to divine, and everything in between. Most of them seem strange and scary-even evil-from a human perspective. They are known by myriad names: bakemono, chimimoryo, mamono, mononoke, obake, oni, and yokai. Yokai live in a world that parallels our own. Their lives resemble ours in many ways. They have societies and rivalries. They eat, sing, dance, play, fight, compete, and even wage war. Normally, we keep to our world and they keep to theirs. However, there are times and places where the boundaries between the worlds thin, and crossing over is possible. The twilight hour-the border between daylight and darkness-is when the boundary between worlds is at its thinnest. Twilight is the easiest time for yokai to cross into this world, or for humans to accidentally cross into theirs. Our world is still awake and active, but the world of the supernatural is beginning to stir. Superstition tells people to return to their villages and stay inside when the sun sets in order to avoid running into demons. This is why in Japanese the twilight hour is called omagatoki: "the hour of meeting evil spirits." This encyclopedia contains over 125 illustrated entries detailing the monsters of Japanese folklore and the myths and magic surrounding them. This book was first funded on Kickstarter in 2013.

Japanese folklore abounds with bizarre creatures collectively referred to as the yokai ― the ancestors of the monsters populating Japanese film, literature, manga, and anime. Artist Toriyama Sekien (1712–88) was the first to compile illustrated encyclopedias detailing the appearances and habits of these creepy-crawlies from myth and folklore. Ever since their debut over two centuries ago, the encyclopedias have inspired generations of Japanese artists. Japandemonium Illustrated represents the very first time they have ever been available in English. This historically groundbreaking compilation includes complete translations of all four of Sekien's yokai masterworks: the 1776 Gazu Hyakki Yagyō (The Illustrated Demon Horde's Night Parade), the 1779 Konjaku Gazu Zoku Hyakki (The Illustrated Demon Horde from Past and Present, Continued), the 1781 Konjaku Hyakki Shū (More of the Demon Horde from Past and Present), and the 1784 Hyakki Tsurezure Bukuro (A Horde of Haunted Housewares). The collection is complemented by a detailed introduction and helpful annotations for modern-day readers.

"From myth to manga, an artistic visual history of the human mind through an imaginative collection of fantastical monsters from around the world"--Provided by publisher.

This TAN Books edition of “The Dogma of Hell ” by Rev. Fr. F. X. Schouppe, S.J., features the complete original text, along with a supplemental reading section entitled “What Will Hell Be Like?”. We’ve also included unique hand-selected classic artwork for the reader’s enjoyment, exclusive to this eBook edition of “The Dogma of Hell ”. The Dogma of Hell: The Dogma of Hell explores the basic Catholic doctrine on Hell, purposefully awakening in the reader a profound realization of its reality and eternity of horrors. Eminent French theologian Fr F X Schouppe, SJ, author of Purgatory Explained by the Lives and Legends of the Saints, has written here a similar but much smaller book. In short chapters, he has recounted numerous true stories, apparitions of the damned, and complete Catholic teaching on Hell. He clearly shows that for those who are not motivated to do good out of love of God, the fear of Hell is a legitimate and often salutary motive for avoiding sin. Although the subject matter is frightening, the ultimate purpose of this book is not to frighten souls, but to help them avoid damnation by reminding them of the pain and suffering in an eternity spent in the absence of God. What Will Hell Be Like?: Selections from St. Alphonsus' writings. Covers virtually every aspect of Hell. Shows it exists, describes its torments, proves it is eternal, demonstrates it is not unjust and answers a host of questions. Best short antidote for today's irreligion that we know.