While this year alone saw the release of well over 100 English nonfiction books about Japan, ranging from accounts of the atomic bombings, to memoirs, travelogues and countless explorations of Japanese culture, one trend in particular stands out from the rest: books on Japanese myths and legends, covering yūrei (ghosts), yōkai (monsters), folklore, unsolved mysteries, haunted places and more.
“For many people, Japanese folklore seems fresh and new,” says Matthew Meyer, author and illustrator of “The Book of the Hakutaku,” a visual bestiary of hundreds of mythological creatures. “Japan has monsters and ghost story traditions that developed completely independently from Western storytelling, so the themes and patterns seem fresh and exciting.”
Over the last few decades, Meyer has seen rising interest in the supernatural genre. Meyer first started writing and drawing yōkai in October 2009 with his “A-Yokai-A-Day” project on his blog. The popularity of his site allowed Meyer to raise Kickstarter fundraising to continue drawing and writing. He also has run yokai.com, an online encyclopedia of supernatural monsters in Japanese folklore, since 2013.