3… 2… 1… Launch! | 3… 2… 1… Launch!

The time has come! October is here, and it’s time for the grand launch of my second Kickstarter: The Hour of Meeting Evil Spirits!

Kickstarter cover

I’ve been talking it up for a while now, and it’s here. For one month — until midnight on Halloween — I will be raising funds to publish my second yokai book, entitled The Hour of Meeting Evil Spirits.

The name comes from the Japanese word for twilight: oumagatoki. Oumagatoki is literally translated as either “the hour of meeting evil spirits” or “the hour of great calamity,” depending on the kanji used. In Japanese folklore, twilight is the time when yokai come out and are most active. Yokai are creatures that exist in borders — the borders between seasons, the border between life and death, and the border between night and day. This makes twilight one of the most dangerous times to be out and about — the time when you most need your wits about you.

This will be the main theme for my second book. While The Night Parade of One Hundred Demons revolved around the theme of one year, focusing on the cycle of the four seasons, The Hour of Meeting Evil Spirits will focus on the cycle of one night. It will also feature a section on onmyoudou, the classical Japanese art of sorcery and black magic, which played an important part in Japanese high society 1000 years ago. On top of that, The Hour of Meeting Evil Spirits will feature something that was greatly requested after Night Parade: more stories! The final section of this book will contain legends of some of Japanese folklore’s most famous demons, ghosts, and yokai.

Will this book keep you safe if you happen to be wandering around on a beautiful, cool Japanese evening? No guarantees, but it just might!

You can read about all of the details of this book and the backer rewards on the Kickstarter page. Don’t miss out on your chance to become a part of the process of creating this book! | 待ちに待った10月がやってきました!そして私の妖怪本第2弾出版に向けてのキックスタータープロジェクト: The Hour of Meeting Evil Spirits!もスタートしました!

Kickstarter cover

これまでお知らせしてきたとおり、これから1か月間 ―ハロウィーンの日の真夜中まで― 妖怪本第二弾(The Hour of Meeting Evil Spirits)を出版するためのプロジェクトをスタートさせます。

本のタイトルは英語のトワイライトにあたる言葉である逢魔時(大禍時)からつけたものです。逢魔時とは文字通り”魔:幽霊,妖怪など”が現れ活動を始める時間とされています。幽霊などの物の怪は境目に現れやすいとされている。。。―境界・・・季節の変わり目、生と死、闇と明など―

これは私の2冊目の本のメインテーマになります。「The Night Parade of One Hundred Demons:百鬼夜行」では1年を通した″四季″がテーマとなっていましたが。今回の本「The Hour of Meeting Evil Spirits:逢魔時」は″夜″にフォーカスを当てています。また、今回の本では陰陽道に関連したセクションも登場させる予定です。

「The Hour of Meeting Evil Spirits:逢魔時」では、前回の本「The Night parade:百鬼夜行」出版以降たくさんの方からリクエスト頂いている”ストーリー”も盛り込んでいきたいと思っています。終盤に近づくにつれて、日本でとても有名な幽霊や妖怪などにまつわる伝説を紹介していく予定です。

美しく幻想的な日本の黄昏時。ふらりと散歩してみようと思ったとき、きっとこの本はお役に立てるでしょう!

本の出版のサポートに関する詳しい情報はこちらのKickstarterページに載っています(英語)

1ドル(約100円)でもサポートができます。メッセージでも質問を受け付けていますので、どうぞよろしくお願いいたします!

Yokai Presentation | 日本の伝説や妖怪についてのプレゼンテーション

Yesterday I had a great time at the M. Allan Vogelson Regional Branch of the Camden County Library. I was invited to give a presentation on yokai and Japanese legends as part of the Subaru Cherry Blossom Festival. | 先日、桜祭りイベントの一環として、M. Allan Vogelson Regional Branch of the Camden County Libraryに招待され、日本の伝説や妖怪についてのプレゼンテーションを行いました。 Continue reading

Spring View of Shofuso | 松風荘庭園の春景色

The Cherry Blossom Festival is just around the corner, and pretty soon the cherry blossoms will be popping all over Philadelphia. Which makes it appropriate that I just finished this painting of Shofuso Japanese House and Garden in Fairmount Park, with its cherry trees in full bloom.

If you’ve been paying attention to my Facebook page, you’ve probably noticed that for a while I was getting 1 painting done per week, until March. Well, that’s because I’ve been wrestling with this painting all month long, and finally I am happy with the results. The level of tiny detail is pretty intense in this one, and it looks great full-size on paper.

I’ll be selling this print and some others at Sakura Sunday (April 14 @ the Fairmount Park Horticulture Center). Hope to see you there!

Spring View of Shofuso (松風荘庭園の春景色)

Spring View of Shofuso (松風荘庭園の春景色)

100 Famous Views of Philadelphia Prints are Available

Wow, it has been an incredibly long time since I last posted anything on my website… About 4 months even! You know how time just bleeds away when you’re busy? That’s what the past few months have been like for me.

Some time back, I mentioned how I was rebooting my “100 Famous Views of Philadelphia” series with a view of doing all 100 prints and putting them into a large, full-color book like I did with Night Parade last year (Oh yeah! And it’s just 1 year now that Night Parade has been out too!). Well, I have been working night and day on the new images, trying to get one done about each week.

If you’ve been following me on Facebook/Twitter/Google+ then you know that I haven’t been totally silent; only silent on my blog. And you’ve probably seen the images of the finished pieces as I’ve been getting them done. And you’ve probably heard me apologize that I don’t have prints available yet. Well that changes today! Continue reading

Crazy Black Friday Yokai Sale! | ブラックフライデー妖怪セール!

You know what’s even awesomer than getting a beautiful new yokai print?

Getting one for 30% off!

That’s right, because I love Black Friday so much, you can get 30% off of any yokai print from my Etsy store, osarusan.etsy.com! This offer is only for this week, so don’t delay!

All you have to do is enter to coupon code BLACKFRIDAY when you check out at Etsy.

| 今年でたばかりの新しい妖怪画はいかがですか?

今だけ30%offセール中!

ブラックフライデーは感謝祭(11月の第4木曜日)の翌日に行われる大セールの日です。私はブラックフライデーが大好きですから、今週金曜日(ブラックフライデー)まで私のEtsyストアの妖怪画30%offセールを開催します!

今週末までのセールですから、お見逃しなく!

やる事はただ一つ、Etsyストアに入って、支払いの際にクーポンコードにBLACKFRIDAYと入力しするだけです!