Yokai Storyland by Koichi Yumoto

妖怪の無茶苦茶な世界が、面白くて居心地いい。

江戸時代から明治時代にかけて人気を博した妖怪マンガや妖怪物語、妖怪豆本を現代語訳とともに収録！ 湯本豪一コレクションで最も話題となった奇書『人面草紙』も原寸大で全ページ掲載し、その混沌とした軽妙な世界にあなたを引きこみます。

The absurd and surreal world of Yokai is back full of stories to tell

Following the success of Yokai Museum and Yokai Wonderland, we are proud to publish Yokai Storyland, the third book from Yumoto Koichi, a renowned Yokai art collector who collects around 4,000 artworks ranging from paintings, sculptures, books, magazines, toys, and many more.

In response to great demand from readers wanting to know more details about the meaning, background, and stories behind each illustration, this time we have focused on collecting Yokai story books and manga. Very rare, never-before-seen materials (books/manga) are showcased in an immersive full-size, full-page format to give a more realistic feeling. They are all accompanied by full translations and notes to make the content of the manga more accessible to readers. Yokai Storyland will be a treasure trove of information for those who are eager to know everything in detail about Yokai stories. It also presents Japanese culture from a whole new and different perspective.

【掲載作品】
版本『化物』：器物の妖怪たちが人と戦って降参させようとしている絵本。
版本『化物百人一首』：小倉百人一首をパロディ化して妖怪を詠う本。
版本『怪物画本』：鳥山石燕の妖怪絵を集めた多色摺りが美しい画本。
黄表紙『深山草化物新話』：荒廃した古寺に化物（妖怪）が出没し、坊主が退治に出かけるが失敗、通りがかりの旅僧が化物の相手をするという物語。
豆本『ばけもの』：鎧兜や薙刀を身につけた妖怪たちがダジャレで遊ぶ豆本。
豆本『化もの十二ヶ月』：正月の凧揚げから師走の餅つきまで妖怪たちの年中行事を紹介する豆本。
豆本『金時化物退治』：器物妖怪・狐・狸・河童・一つ目小僧などが次々と登場し、寸劇が繰り広げられる豆本。
肉筆本『人面草紙』：団子を愛してやまない餅型の頭部をもつ人面たちの駄洒落に満ちた混沌世界。

This book is divided into three chapters.
Chapter 1 explores the world of Yokai stories in the Edo and Meiji periods by introducing seven stories.
Chapter 2 sheds light on a quirky manga from the Edo period titled “Jinmen-Zoshi (The Book of Faces)”. This manga was briefly introduced in Yokai Wonderland but only on a few pages with small images. But in this book, it is introduced in a full-size, full-page format and with a full translation. All the characters have the same comical look, which is supposed to be cute but actually gives an uncanny, strange, and even frightening impression. The artworks show these strange characters entertaining themselves in the city of Edo, but little is actually known about The Book of Faces beyond these depictions, including the origins of these characters.
Chapter 3 is a Yokai encyclopedia featuring around fifteen characters selected from the book, fully introduced and explained.

【湯本豪一コレクションとは】

4000点以上からなる日本最大の妖怪コレクション。
時代は近世から現代まで、ジャンルは肉筆画から玩具まで幅広く、深い妖怪愛に支えられた一大コレクション。2019年春、広島県三次市「湯本豪一記念日本妖怪博物館開館(三次もののけミュージアム)」に寄贈された。

About the author
Koichi Yumoto (b.1950): Collector and researcher of Yokai art. Former curatorial director of the Kawasaki City Museum.

About the YUMOTO Koichi Collection
The largest personal collection of Yokai art in Japan: around 4,000 works which range from the Edo period to the present day. These include painting, woodblock prints, scrolls, ceramics, kimonos, wooden sculptures, magazines, children’s toys, board games, and more. In April 2019, the collection was housed in the new Yokai Museum called Miyoshi Mononoke Museum located in Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan.