Japanese Art of Extraordinary Beings - A Genealogy of Dark Fantasy

Demons, sorcerers, ninjas...explaining the origins of Japan's dark heroes from the perspective of Japanese art.
In many "dark fantasy" manga and anime, which are hugely popular today, characters use extraordinary abilities to carve out their destiny.
In Japanese art, too, characters who can be seen as prototypes of those manga and anime characters with extraordinary abilities, such as sorcerers or samurai who control magical beasts, have often been depicted. There are also works here and there, such as giants who slay demons and eat humans, or people whose hands stretch, that are reminiscent of world famous artworks. This timeless collection focuses mainly on creatures with "extraordinary abilities" who appear in ghost stories and legends from the Edo period and explains the current trends behind anime and manga.

About the author

Shoko Haruki was born in Hokkaido, Japan in 1986. After working at the Hokkaido Museum, Haruki has been curator at the Edo-Tokyo Museum since 2017 specializing in Japanese art history.

Product details

• Authors: Shoko Haruki
• Publisher: Pie International Co., Ltd.
• Languages: English
• Product format: Paperback / Softback
• Released: 01.10.2024
• EAN: 9784756258762
• ISBN: 978-4-7562-5876-2
• No. of pages: 208
• Dimensions: 186 mm x 257 mm x 20 mm
• Weight: 640 g
• Subject: Humanities, art, music > Art > General, dictionaries