★For Upper Beginners Learning Japanese ★ Living in shadows and the in-between world of dreams and reality, yokai thrive in Japanese imagination. What are yokai? They are monsters, ghosts, unnatural beings, and even sentient household items. Yokai can be harmless and amusing, or they can be terrifying. Now you can learn about yokai and read stories about them while polishing your Japanese. ♥ ABOUT THIS VOLUME With their horned heads and foul behavior, the Japanese oni has often been compared to the ogres in the Western tradition. But in Japan, oni are everywhere. Traditional tales, children's songs, and proverbs are full of references to them. In this way, not only will this book help you enhance your reading ability, but you'll also increase your Japanese cultural literacy. FEATURES Includes three essays or stories Each story is presented in three formats: 1) Sentence-by-Sentence with definition and commentary below 2) Japanese only (to test your reading ability) 3) English translation (to confirm your understanding) The Sentence-by Sentence section of each story presents a small chunk of the Japanese with furigana over the kanji and a complete glossary of all the words; important grammatical patterns are pointed out and explained in plain English A link to download sound files for the stories is provided (for no extra charge) on the last page of the book Each story has a slow and normal speed recording of the Japanese read by Yumi STORIES INCLUDED 1 Oni Part One 2 Oni's Descendants 3 Namahage WHO IS THIS FOR? This book is designed so that both those fairly new to Japanese and those in the intermediate stages can equally find value. The ideal level, however, is for the upper beginner, somewhere around the JLPT (Japanese Language Proficiency Test) N4. If you are learning Japanese and are fascinated by yokai and traditional tales of old Japan, buy now to begin studying now.

Oni, ubiquitous supernatural figures in Japanese literature, lore, art, and religion, usually appear as demons or ogres. Characteristically threatening, monstrous creatures with ugly features and fearful habits, including cannibalism, they also can be harbingers of prosperity, beautiful and sexual, and especially in modern contexts, even cute and lovable. There has been much ambiguity in their character and identity over their long history. Usually male, their female manifestations convey distinctivly gendered social and cultural meanings. Oni appear frequently in various arts and media, from Noh theater and picture scrolls to modern fiction and political propaganda, They remain common figures in popular Japanese anime, manga, and film and are becoming embedded in American and international popular culture through such media. Noriko Reiderýs book is the first in English devoted to oni. Reider fully examines their cultural history, multifaceted roles, and complex significance as "others" to the Japanese.

One by one, ten tiny oni, Japanese goblin-like creatures, grow larger and larger as they beat their drums on the sand, chasing away bad dreams. Includes the Japanese characters for the numbers from one to ten.

UNSHEATHED FURY, INESCAPABLE TERROR Imprisoned for thousands of years in the hilt of a ceremonial sword, the oni, a hideous Japanese demon, is accidentally released to wreak the havoc of its pent-up fury on an unsuspecting world. All-powerful, immortal, and possessed of an unquenchable lust for human blood, the demon seems invincible, leaving in its wake an increasing number of horribly mutilated bodies. Only one woman has learned the oni’s history and the key to its destruction. But will she be able to pit her puny human strength against the demon’s murderous powers before she becomes yet another victim?

In Japanese culture, oni are ubiquitous supernatural creatures who play important roles in literature, lore, and folk belief. Characteristically ambiguous, they have been great and small, mischievous and dangerous, and ugly and beautiful over their long history. Here, author Noriko Reider presents seven oni stories from medieval Japan in full and translated for an English-speaking audience. Reider, concordant with many scholars of Japanese cultural studies, argues that to study oni is to study humanity. These tales are from an era in which many new oni stories appeared for the purpose of both entertainment and moral/religious edification and for which oni were particularly important, as they were perceived to be living entities. They reflect not only the worldview of medieval Japan but also themes that inform twenty-first-century Japanese pop and vernacular culture, including literature, manga, film, and anime. With each translation, Reider includes an introductory essay exploring the historical and cultural importance of the characters and oni manifestations within this period. Offering new insights into and interpretations of not only the stories therein but also the entire genre of Japanese ghost stories, Seven Demon Stories is a valuable companion to Reider’s 2010 volume Japanese Demon Lore. It will be of significant value to folklore scholars as well as students of Japanese culture.

Two hundred and twenty tales from medieval Japan—tales that welcome us into a fabulous faraway world populated by saints, scoundrels, ghosts, magical healers, and a vast assortment of deities and demons. Stories of miracles, visions of hell, jokes, fables, and legends, these tales reflect the Japanese civilization. They ably balance the lyrical and the dramatic, the ribald and the profound, offering a window into a long-vanished culture. With black-and-white illustrations throughout Part of the Pantheon Fairy Tale and Folklore Library