This exhibition catalog examines the extensive body of Japanese folklore and literature dealing with supernatural subjects and the treatment of these subjects in various media (prints, paintings, sculpture, netsuke, masks) and by many artists. There are essays of varying quality on ghosts, demons, and other supernatural phenomena, illustrated with good color and black-and-white plates; each author attempts to connect the artistic treatments of the subjects with social events and daily life of the times, which provides some thought-provoking reading. Not an essential pur chase, but interesting for special col lec tions as a reasonably priced work on a unique subject. Patricia R. Hausman, Williamsburg Regional Lib., Va.

Copyright 1985 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Description

From the seventeenth century to the nineteenth century, many of Japan's most brilliant artists, including Hiroshige, Hokusai, Yoshitoshi, and Zeshin, allowed their imaginations free rein in creating images of the supernatural world in woodblocks, paintings, books, wooden sculptures, and on screens. This is the first book devoted to the study of the supernatural world and its renditions in Japanese art. The illustrations show a stunning array of Japan's more fiendish figures. Each of the ten chapters focuses on one of the most important themes in Japanese lore, discussing its anthropological meaning and literary and artistic interpretations. 49 color illustrations, 75 black-and-white illustrations.