Currently popular in anime, manga, film, and computer games, many yokai originated in. The oversized, anthropomorphic radish spirit in the anime isnt an exact version of any existing spirit. Overflowing with great stories of japans fantastical monsters, spirits, and other creatures of the collective imagination, the book of yokai is filled with solid information, a variety of new perspectives, and the kind of richness of detail that will enhance any readers enjoyment of japans monstrous folk traditions. With this book, indian mythology fiction books really took off as a genre. What are the best books in english about japanese mythology. Published in 1961 by the hokuseido press, it is now long out of print and very hard to obtain copies of. The 10 best norse mythology books norse mythology for. The following books are the most popular among beginning and advanced students of the tea ceremony.
Another is the conquest of korea by the japanese people. Japanese mythology a to z, second edition is a valuable, colorful reference for anyone with an interest in mythology or japanese culture. Along with his brother fujin the god of wind raijin is pretty much responsible for all the bad weather that hits japan and, as a series of islands, japan gets a lot of bad weather. Izanagi and izanami had many children, estimated to be more than twenty. Michael ashkenazis handbook of japanese mythology is an expert study that deserves a prominent place on the shelves of many japanophiles, including those devoted to religious studies and such early sources as the kojiki and nihongi, as well as those who more broadly study the roots of world myth. For sarina kaminis kashmiri family, food is love, love is faith, and faith is family. Although they take their name from a doglike chinese demon, the tengu were originally thought to take the forms of birds of prey, and they are traditionally depicted with both. Shadow of the fox by julie kagawa, red winter by annette marie, flame in the mist by renee ahdieh, kinslayer by jay. Only nigihayahi furu has the name of amateru among japanese deities. Mar 20, 2017 the books reimagine the shiva mythology in an easytounderstand language. Japanese mythology by juliet piggott and a great selection of related books, art and collectibles available now at.
Buy a cheap copy of japanese mythology book by juliet piggott. But a few resemble traditional japanese gods, like haku and the stink spirit. Japanese mythology a to z, second edition by jeremy. High quality radish spirit inspired tshirts by independent artists and designers from around the world. An introductory guide to the mythology of japanone of the most pervasive yet least understood facets of japanese culture. To distinguish the indigenous japanese way from the foreign one, the former was labeled shin divine being do way. Japanese mythology is a very complex system of beliefs that embraces shinto and buddhist traditions as well as agriculturebased folk religion. May 23, 2014 free kindle book and epub digitized and proofread by project gutenberg. Infobase publishing mythology a to z set, 9volumes. Also for those who are not particularly interested in the japanese tea ceremony, these books will give those who have a general interest in the japanese culture lots of fascinating eyeopeners with lots of information on the japanese culture. Norse mythology by neil gaiman overdrive rakuten overdrive.
These dolls always come in pairs one is shaped like a horse, and one is shaped like a woman. Surrounded by natures beauty and power, the japanese people found the divine all around them. Free kindle book and epub digitized and proofread by project gutenberg. Sep 21, 2011 xviii japanese mythology a to z the most important members of the japanese buddhist pantheon include amida, an important protector of humankind dainichi nyorai, an important buddha especially venerated in the tendai and shingon sects fugen, the bosatsu, or future buddha, of wisdom and understanding kannon, a bosatsu with several. Neil gaiman has long been inspired by ancient mythology in creating the fantastical realms of his fiction. Guabancex commanded guataba, who brought thunder and lightning, and coatrisquie, who brought floods. For most japanese, shinto is for this life but buddhism is for the life beyond true tf. In a world thought to have been createdand nearly destroyedby the primordial gods izanagi and izanami, mythic heroes battled ferocious dragons and giant spiders, while ordinary bamboo cutters and farmers made unexpected contact with the supernatural. Each colorful volume includes vividly written entries on the major figures, places, stories, objects, and themes of a certain mythology. The 10 best norse mythology books odin riding sleipnir detail from the tjangvide runestone there are so many books on norse mythology out there, especially at the beginner level, that if you were to make a pile with one copy of each it would probably reach all the way up to asgard itself.
Before shrines were built, natural spaces where kami shinto deities were believed to be present were used for worship. Japanese mythology ebook by jim ollhoff nook book ebook. Handbook of japanese mythology makes it easy to travel this vast yet littleknown mythological landscape. The hardest book to find on japanese fox mythology that we know of is kitsune.
Introducing an instant classicmaster storyteller neil gaiman presents a dazzling version of the great norse myths. Spirits in a spice jar by sarina kamini books and conversations. The second part of the creation story is called the kamiumi and describes the birth of the original japanese deities. In japanese mythology, who is the chief of the spirits. Unfortunately, it is also one of the most interesting, having been written by an actual japanese scholar. From the ruler of the heavens amaterasu to ryujin, the dragonking of the sea, this book helps kids understand the myths that shape and direct peoples lives. Designed specifically for young readers, the bestselling mythology a to z series explores the worlds most important myths and legends in an accessible and entertaining manner. It is clearly described that nigihayahi was ruling yamato ancient name of the capital and the center of japan before conquest war of emperor jinmu in the two oldest official history books of japan, kojiki 712 or nihon shoki 720. A captivating guide to japanese folklore, myths, fairy tales, yokai, heroes and heroines explore captivating myths of japanese deities, yokai, heroes and heroines the study of mythology and folklore is a peculiar one to the ext. The books reimagine the shiva mythology in an easytounderstand language.
Broadly labeled yokai, these creatures come in infinite shapes and sizes, from tengu mountain goblins and kappa water spirits to shapeshifting foxes and longtongued ceilinglickers. Its cause for total emotional devastation when, ten years after her australian mother is diagnosed with parkinsons disease, unaddressed. Now weve put together a list the best japanese mythology books for you to really get a glimpse into some of the best stories, characters, and yokai lurking in every corner of japanese history. The information from all meshed with that i found in other sources. Generally this sort of book is trying to convey the facts of, rather than judgments on the validity of, another groups. Monsters, ghosts, fantastic beings, and supernatural phenomena of all sorts haunt the folklore and popular culture of japan.
The other, ii enoch, or the book of the secrets of enoch, is a slavonic translation of the greek. Japanese myths stand out in in the study of mythology in that they often do not subscribe to many of the common featuresstory arcs that are shared among other world mythologies. Japanese mythology a to z, second edition by jeremy roberts. But many anthropologists outside of japan accept what is known as the horse rider theory, which was suggested by egami namio. According to this theory, invaders x japanese mythology a to z. Pages in category start class japanese mythology articles the following 200 pages are in this category, out of approximately 211 total. In shinto, the sacred is both immanent and transcendent. Handbook of japanese mythology by michael ashkenazi waterstones. Japans fox of mystery, romance and humor by kiyosho nozaki. Heavenly dog or heavenly sentinel are a type of legendary creature found in japanese folk religion. I enoch, or the ethiopic book of enoch, is an ethiopian translation of a greek translation of an original hebrew or aramaic. Fushimi inaritaisha is an ancient shrine, founded in 711, making it one of kyotos oldest and most significant places. Handbook of japanese mythology handbooks of world mythology. The shinto pantheon alone boasts an uncountable number of kami japanese for gods or spirits.
Buy the jewish japanese sex and cook book and how to raise wolves by jack douglas online at alibris. A resource for those craving for more slavic mythology. They are considered a type of yokai supernatural beings or shinto kami gods. Dec 16, 2014 overflowing with great stories of japans fantastical monsters, spirits, and other creatures of the collective imagination, the book of yokai is filled with solid information, a variety of new perspectives, and the kind of richness of detail that will enhance any readers enjoyment of japans monstrous folk traditions. Many of the kami that appear in spirited away are wonderfully strange, like huge chicks and a giant radish spirit. The 10 best norse mythology books norse mythology for smart. Jul 14, 2018 spirits in a spice jar by sarina kamini published by. Major religious shinto sects are divided into three groups based on mountain worship, shamanism, and traditional pure shinto. In taino mythology, the anger of the goddess guabancex unleashed powerful storms, or huracan sometimes personified itself as an evil god of chaos, possibly derived from a powerful mayan creator deity of wind, fire, and storms, hurakan. I had a look at several books from this series in the reference section of my library. In norse mythology, gaiman stays true to the myths in envisioning the major norse pantheon.
Shinatsuhiki, commonly known as fujin, is the god of the wind. The best fantastical japanese mythology books anime. The book reveals the origins of japans myths in the very different realms of buddhism, shinto, and folklore, and explores related mythologies of the ainu and okinawan cultures and recent myths arising from japans encounters with. Buy a cheap copy of chinese mythology a to z mythology a to. Score a book s total score is based on multiple factors, including the number of people who have voted for it and how highly those voters ranked the book. The term tengu and the characters used to write it are borrowed from the name of a fierce demon from chinese folklore called tiangou. Heres a bunch of websites, books and music i gathered, oozing with heavy, creepy slavic folklore and atmosphere. Raijin is one of the most important gods in japanese mythology and one scarylooking guy. Spirits in a spice jar by sarina kamini published by. Traditional stories of monsters and magic book of japanese mythology, folk tales from japan hardcover april 23, 2019.
It was actually inspired by the oshirasama dolls, which are a deeply ingrained part of japanese folklore. Buy the jewishjapanese sex and cook book and how to raise wolves by jack douglas online at alibris. Teke teke a vengeful spirit of a school girl, with a half upper torso body, who goes around killing people by slicing them in half with a scythe, mimicking her own disfigurement. Discusses the mythology of japan, its origins in shintoism and buddhism, and the gods, spirits, men, and animals that appear in the many legends and stories. Thor, odins son, incredibly strong yet not the wisest of gods. Ningishzida, in mesopotamian religion, sumerian deity, city god of gishbanda, near ur in the southern orchard region.
Although ningishzida was a power of the netherworld, where he held the office of throne bearer, he seems to have originally been a tree god, for his name apparently means lord. Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools. The books of the shiva trilogy even became the fastestselling book series in the history of indian publishing. Invision employees share their remote work secrets. Its all introductory material, as would be expected from such a series, but the tone of some entries in the chinese and japanese volumes seems a little problematic. Chinese literature assigns this creature a variety of descriptions, but most often it is a fierce and anthropophagous canine monster that resembles a shooting star or comet. Yamata no orochi is one of my favorite and more traditional stories. Pole here, with an undying love for slavic mythology and central european folktales. Bill tsutsui, president of hendrix college and author of godzilla on. The book reveals the origins of japans myths in the very different realms of buddhism, shinto, and folklore, and.
868 468 1397 1296 540 1005 1092 1211 307 1337 1113 421 491 1636 591 957 1617 462 1085 179 1498 257 1191 131 1237 1071 283 575 1340 804 383 401