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?
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.
★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.
He is a master assassin, combining a mercenary's deadly efficiency with a sadist's lust for blood. Stalking the world of the wealthy and the powerful, he sells death to the highest bidder. And now he works for "the Empress", the ruthless shadow ruler of a Japanese conglomerate.
Shun is the new kid in school, but he's already managed to attract the attention of the school bully, who's now making his life a living hell. It doesn't seem like things could get any worse, until the night he finds himself and a group of his classmates inside a creepy, abandoned mansion known as the Jailhouse. They quickly start to hear strange sounds and see weird things, but everything escalates when they realize they can't get out. Once they're trapped inside, a blue, unnaturally large figure chases after them. Is it a new species? Or is it the ghost of their old classmate who died in an accident? Nobody knows, but one thing is for certain... If it catches them, they're dead! The scariest game of tag in history begins!
Monsters, ghosts, fantastic beings, and supernatural phenomena of all sorts haunt the folklore and popular culture of Japan. Broadly labeled yokai, these creatures come in infinite shapes and sizes, from tengu mountain goblins and kappa water spirits to shape-shifting foxes and long-tongued ceiling-lickers. Currently popular in anime, manga, film, and computer games, many yokai originated in local legends, folktales, and regional ghost stories. Drawing on years of research in Japan, Michael Dylan Foster unpacks the history and cultural context of yokai, tracing their roots, interpreting their meanings, and introducing people who have hunted them through the ages. In this delightful and accessible narrative, readers will explore the roles played by these mysterious beings within Japanese culture and will also learn of their abundance and variety through detailed entries, some with original illustrations, on more than fifty individual creatures. The Book of Yokai provides a lively excursion into Japanese folklore and its ever-expanding influence on global popular culture. It also invites readers to examine how people create, transmit, and collect folklore, and how they make sense of the mysteries in the world around them. By exploring yokai as a concept, we can better understand broader processes of tradition, innovation, storytelling, and individual and communal creativity.
A fascinating blend of poetry and science, Ben-Oni’s poems are precisely crafted, like a surgeon sewing a complicated stitch. The speaker of the collection falls ill, and takes comfort in exploring the idea of “Efes” which is “zero” in Modern Hebrew, using that nullification to be a means of transformation.
The Japanese demon is known to have a scary face. This is why the theater Nō is inspired by it, through the mask of the Oni. Sharp canines, devil's horns, red face and raging eyes, the Oni is frightening and he often looks evil.However, the Japanese demon is not as bad as its reputation. It sometimes happens that the Kami (gods of Shintoism), and Buddha himself, are protected by these mythical demons who advocate morality and just authority.Of course, the Japanese demon is not only protection: whether he tortures souls in his giant cauldron or devours children, the Oni is a Yokai to be feared in most situations and from a very young age.Thanks to this book, you will discover all the cultural richness of this creature who participates in the fundamentals of Japanese folklore. From the horrible Onibaba to the pitiful Hitotatara, here is a compilation of astonishing stories of the demons of Japan.
Something has gone wrong in the American desert. An FBI agent has turned up dead, presumably skinned alive, and Officer Anne Adakai fo the Reservation Police believes that the killer has stolen the agent's identity and is now inhabiting his skin. Greg Haworth has been sent by the FBI to find his lost colleague, and as more bodies and empty skins litter the killer's trail across the country, he realizes Adaki may be right. Now the question becomes, how do you stop a crook who can take on any face, be anyone, and never the same person twice?
