Natsume-sha (Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo), a publisher of practical, children's, and general-interest books, has ordered a reprint of its illustrated guidebook Let's Learn about Yokai after strong sales.
From a Morning Drama to Hit Novels: Reiwa's Yokai and Ghost Story Boom
Renewed attention to the world of ghost stories told by Koizumi Yakumo (Lafcadio Hearn) — sparked by the 2025 NHK morning drama series Bakebake — has coincided with the runaway success of horror and ghost-story novels such as Uketsu's body of work and About a Place in the Kinki Region, along with the adoption of a yokai motif in the national anime Crayon Shin-chan's 2026 film. Across generations, episodes reflecting yokai's enduring popularity keep appearing.
Yokai exhibitions and ghost-story live events also continue to draw crowds, and this summer, interest in Japan's yokai is only growing.
A Charmingly Illustrated Look at the World of Yokai
A Look at Five Chapters
Chapter 1: What Is a Yokai?
The book explains what a yokai actually is from a range of angles — how it differs from other otherworldly beings such as ghosts, spirits, and monsters, and why there are so many different kinds.
Chapter 2: The History of Yokai
Starting with the age of myth in the Kojiki and Nihon Shoki, where the serpent Yamata no Orochi appears, and continuing through to the modern era, tracing yokai period by period reveals how their features and roles have changed over time.
Chapter 3: Classification and Ecology of Yokai
This chapter works as an illustrated encyclopedia, introducing a large number of yokai grouped by category: yokai of the mountains and fields, yokai of the water's edge, creature-based yokai, yokai of objects, humanoid yokai, and various kinds of oni.
Chapter 4: The Relationship Between Humans and Yokai
The relationship between Japanese people and yokai has never been one-sided fear. Yokai have also been enshrined as deities, invoked as possessing spirits, and warded off or subdued using special powers and weapons.
Chapter 5: Yokai Today and Tomorrow
This chapter explains the traits of new apparitions and yokai that have emerged in an increasingly urbanized, modernized society, and introduces present-day ways of encountering yokai, from pilgrimages to the places behind the legends to entertainment and art.
About the Supervisor
Shingo Ito
Professor at Hirosaki Gakuin University, researching Japan's yokai culture alongside narrative literature and character culture. He chairs Irui no Kai, a group where reports and information about non-human characters are shared and discussed. His edited books include Bungei no Naka no Kaii Yokai (Kawade Shobo Shinsha) and Retsudentai Yokaigaku Zenshi and Otogizoshi Chonyumon (both Bensei Shuppan).
Book Information
Let's Learn about Yokai
- Supervisor: Shingo Ito
- Publisher: Natsume-sha
- Price: ¥1,980 (tax included)
- Format: A5, 224 pages, full color
- Release Date: July 15, 2026
Amazon: https://amzn.asia/d/0i5YKOnK
