Yokai
By Blaise Cornélius , February 16, 2017

On February 16th, Cornelius will publish 'Yokai', by Master Mangaka Shigeru Mizuki. This book highlights the fantasy universe developed by Mizuki throughout his life, presenting 200 illustrations in black and white and color (32 pages colored by the author), presenting for the first time these illustrations in their entirety and in large format. Scanned from the original art for an unprecedented level of high-quality, high-fidelity reproduction, the majority of these images are totally new. The unique characteristics of Mizuki's art and the different drawing techniques he uses are thus highlighted by the size of the illustrations. On each page, you will discover a new monster whose specificity and location are revealed to you at the end of the book. In addition, a postface will give you more information about these supernatural creatures from Japanese folklore. An essential book for all fans of prodigious illustrations, amazing stories and Japanese mythology!

The yokai are those supernatural beings who inhabit the shadows, the forgotten places or the sheds behind abandoned & delapidated houses. These ghosts, benevolent or hostile, appear on rare occasions; they might be clinging to someone's back with long, skeletal digits, bringing them luck, or scaring them by throwing red beans on the ground... because some people find that scary, I guess. Few people see the yokai, & even fewer know them. Shigeru Mizuki is often credited with rescuing the yokai from oblivion when Japan, eager to win its place among the post-war nations, turned its back on its legends. The weird & wonderful yokai that appear in his beloved manga classic 'Kitaro' popularized these distinctly Japanese creations for a new generation, establishing Shigeru Mizuki as the greatest yokai hunter the world has ever known. He has flushed them out from their hiding spots, driving them from caves & swamp-bottoms & tree-hollows, doggedly tracking them across the diverse topography of the island nation, to record and draw them with a sometimes photographic exactitude. His work has aroused a new interest in these forgotten legends, which in time has become a popular obsession.

Without Mizuki's drawings, Totoro and the magical creatures of Miyazaki would never have seen the light of day. Many studies have been based on the work of Mizuki and a Yokai study chair has been opened at the University of Tokyo. This book lists the best drawings that Shigeru Mizukihas dedicated to the yokai and presents, in black and white or in color, each of the monsters by its name. A postface restores the historical and cultural dimension of the yokai, and will detail the major contribution of Shigeru Mizuki to the knowledge of these invisible beings.