Review by Dennis D. McDonald

Any serious fan of Japanese films or anime eventually must get around to wondering, “Who are these spirits and demons that always seem to pop up at the most inopportune moments?”

This book helps answer that question. It’s chock-full of myths, legends, spirits, gods, and demons. Its timeline stretches back all the way to the creation myths of Japan and the evolution of home-grown and imported religious beliefs. Along the way it touches on the evolution of written history, the long-established divide between common folks and nobility, the tug of war between Buddhism and Shinto, and the fascinating question of how belief that literally everything has a spiritual side impacts culture and society.

The book itself is small but beautifully printed (in Slovenia!) with many illustrations and repeated incorporation of Japanese characters in line with the English text. The publisher, Thames & Hudson, also lists on the back dustcover other books in the series that I intend to check out dealing with Greek and Roman myths, Norse myths, Egyptian myths, and Celtic myths.

Review copyright (c) 2023 by Dennis D. McDonald

More “history” books