Ningyo: The Art of the Japanese Doll features over 250 unique photographs as well as extensive commentary and background history. Japanese dolls (ningyo) have played an important role in Japanese art and culture since its earliest stages of development, as talismanic figures, centerpieces, in elaborate festivals, medical study tools, theater distractions, decorative objects, and avidly collected art forms, as well as childhood playthings. Ningyo: The Art of the Japanese Doll is the most comprehensive book on antique Japanese dolls and figurines published in English. The book focuses on the many types of Japanese dolls: gosho: palace dolls hina: Girl's Day dolls musha: warrior dolls for the Boy's Day Festival isho: fashion dolls The principal forms of the dolls and their history, stylistic development, cultural context, and economic imperatives are discussed against the backdrop of Edo-period society and popular culture. Beautifully detailed color photographs of ningyo drawn from private collections, many of which are published here for the first time, as well as images of related materials selected from celebrated museums and temple collections, such as folding screens, woodblock prints, sculpture, painting ceramics, and textiles, help place the dolls in context. Ningyo: The Art of the Japanese Doll is a fascinating book for anyone interested in Asian doll art and doll collecting.

Japanese Dolls: The Fascinating World of Ningyo, is a wealth of information for Japanese art collectors, Asian doll collectors and doll enthusiasts of all levels and interests. Full of beautiful photographs, the book details 18 kinds of widely collected, obtainable and affordable, antique and vintage dolls and figurines (ningyo). Author Alan Scott Pate--the leading American expert on Japanese dolls--writes in illuminating detail about the traditions of each type of doll and shares practical tips on how to collect this amazing Japanese art form. Included in this guide to Japanese ningyo are: Festival dolls: hina-ningyo, musha-ningyo, tableau dolls Display dolls: saga-ningyo, gosho-ningyo, isho-ningyo, iki-ningyo Wood dolls: kamo-ningyo, nara-ningyo, kokeshi-ningyo Clay dolls: fushimi-ningyo, hakata-ningyo Mechanical dolls: karakuri-ningyo, kobe-ningyo Theatrical dolls: bunraku-ningyo, takeda-ningyo Play dolls: ichimatsu-ningyo, keue saiko

Emerging from the confluence of Greco-Roman mythology and regional folklore, the mermaid has been an enduring motif in Western culture since the medieval period. It has also been disseminated more widely, initially through Western trade and colonisation and, more recently, through the increasing globalisation of media products and outlets. Scaled for Success offers the first detailed overview of the mermaids dispersal outside Europe. Complementing previous studies of the interrelationship between the mermaid and Mami Wata spirit in West Africa, this volume addresses the mermaids presence in a range of Middle Eastern, Asian, Australian, Latin American and North American contexts. Individual chapters identify the manner in which the mermaid has been variously syncretised and/or resignified in contexts as diverse as Indian public statuary, Thai cinema and Coney Islands annual Mermaid Parade. Rather than lingering as a relic of a bygone age, the mermaid emerges as a versatile, dynamic and, above all, polyvalent figure. Her prominence exemplifies the manner in which contemporary media-lore has extended the currency of established folkloric figures in new and often surprising ways. Analysing aspects of religious symbolism, visual art, literature and contemporary popular culture, this copiously illustrated volume profiles an intriguing and highly diverse phenomenon. Philip Hayward is editor of the journal Shima and holds adjunct professor positions at the University of Technology Sydney and at Southern Cross University. His previous volume, Making a Splash: Mermaids (and Mermen) in 20th and 21st Century Audiovisual Media, was published by John Libbey Publishing/Indiana University Press in 2017.

Addresses issues concerning the survival and preservation of traditional culture by examining Japan's folk performing arts and the public policies that affect them.

The 'Opening of Japan' has been central to the retelling of Japan's modern history. Reopening the Opening of Japan fundamentally reconsiders what that historical moment entailed. What did intensified connections between Japan and the world mean both inside and outside of the country, and what does this tell us about Japan's historical significance on a global scale? The chapters excavate a rich array of surprising cross-border connections, from the global trade in mummified mermaids to the Japanese-Russian intellectual links underpinning the work of Akira Kurosawa. Re-thinking connectivity through non-state transnational perspectives, the book guides readers to new ways of doing and writing history. Contributors are: Lewis Bremner, Natalia Doan, Manimporok Dotulong, Maki Fukuoka, Eiko Honda, Sho Konishi, Mateja Kovacic, Joel Littler, Chinami Oka, Yu Sakai, Olga Solovieva, and Warren Stanislaus.

Monster Studies is a rising academic topic. Despite hesitancy at first, the subject is now examined by scholars of various academic interests and backgrounds. However, the dominant monster investigations are from the post-1900s. This volume focuses on Premodern monsters. The purpose of this volume is to examine various monsters from diverse cultures in order to indicate how each monstrous discourse derives from their mythology’s socio-cultural context. The volume examines several Monsters within their socio-cultural matrix. This includes a variety of monstrosities from diverse cultures and periods. Namely, the examined creatures, or perceived creatures, stem from the Hebrew Bible, the New Testament (Pauline epistles), Reformation England, the Japanese Noh play Dōjōji, Yamauba Myths, and Yōkai Relics from early modern Japanese Buddhism.

Significantly expanded and updated—a lively excursion into Japanese folklore and its increasing influence within global popular culture. Monsters, spirits, fantastic beings, and supernatural creatures haunt the folklore and popular culture of Japan. Broadly labeled yōkai, they appear in many forms, from tengu mountain goblins and kappa water sprites, to shape-shifting kitsune foxes and long-tongued ceiling-lickers. Popular today in anime, manga, film, and video games, many yōkai originated in local legends, folktales, and regional ghost stories. The Book of Yōkai invites readers to examine how people create, transmit, and collect folklore, and how they make sense of the mysteries in the world around them. Revised and expanded, this second edition features fifty new illustrations, including an all-new yōkai gallery of stunning color images tracing the visual history of yōkai across centuries. In clear and accessible language, Michael Dylan Foster unpacks the cultural and historical contexts of yōkai, interpreting their varied meanings and introducing people who have pursued them through the ages.