Haunted Japan, accessible, bite-sized yokai and dread

Ah, ghost watch, I get it now. Sadly, that’s one of the first things I thought about when I started reading Haunted Japan:  Exploring the World of Japanese Yokai, Ghosts and the Paranormal. I love Japan and I love reading about ghosts. Personally, I lived in Japan for two years and it’s one of the friendliest, cleanest places you’ll ever visit. It’s also very weird. Even the foreword of the books lets readers know that this is a strange place. Haunted Japan was originally released 25 years ago, but author Catrien Ross has updated some of the stories and included more modern tales. 

Some of these additions have come around because she’s lived in the country for more than 25 years. That amount of time anywhere will lead people to discover the nooks and crannies behind the stories that go bump in the middle of the night.  

It establishes itself early by putting readers in a Japanese state of mind. This overview helps set up the other chapters very well by introducing basic terminology (like yokai-ghost), enough Japanese history to let readers know what periods will be discussed and more. Haunted Japan is not a text book per se. It maneuvers between a reference/history/spiritual/travelogue book, with each chapter having stronger impressions in certain categories.  

Haunted Japan treats the yokai and ancient stories with respect and doesn’t try to imply anything beyond what the legends say. In doing that, Ross eliminates any hokey one liners or speculation that would open the book up via leading questions. This creates a straightforward, slightly academic sense of dread.  

Haunted Japan will immediately interest those who like reading about Japan or ghosts. If you enjoy Japanese culture and ghosts then this book will become your best friend and leave you searching for your passport.  

Some of the stories are more memorable than others and could easily merit a book of their own. Sudden genius, Tairo no Masakado, the Sunshine Building and three stand out stories for us. Masakado’s story is fascinating. Essentially, he led an unsuccessful revolt that last a scant 59 days in 930. He was quickly beheaded, with his noggin put on the display to warn any future revolutionaries.  

This is where it gets weird. The legend has it that his head flew off of its spike and went hundreds of miles to modern day Tokyo. It supposedly glowed with a neon hue and was buried. Then his head’s grave started to glow. Strange things started to happen to people around the area. There were accidents, death and the locals started to attribute it all to Masakado. They built a moment to him in 1309. Centuries passed and the Kanto Earthquake in 1923 destroyed much of the city. The leadership at the time chose to tear the monument down, but accident after accident occurred at the site.  

Haunted Japan has dozens of classically illustrated pictures of ghosts or hauntings. These are beautiful and the stuff that’ll trigger curiosity, nightmares ore creativity. The book has many more black and white photographs the sites, masks or monuments that can be visited today.  

The book’s pace and rhythm is very well balanced. For us the book slowed down a bit when it was talking about more of the new age elements, but that was only during one part of a chapter. The content in Haunted Japan is OK for upper middle school audiences, but will feel too much like a textbook for them to seek the book out. High school readers and older who want some culture with a side order of yokai will enjoy the book and might be motivated to read more about either topic.  

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