Tag Archives: yokai

Onamazu

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Howdy, Patrons!

Tonight I bring you oonamazu, the giant catfish! I hope you enjoy the illustration and writeup. As usual, I will post the hi-res files for the $5+ backers in a separate post.

This will be the last yokai of September. Over the next few days I am going to crack down and begin work on A-Yokai-A-Day, which will start October 1st. I don’t usually get to sleep much in October, so these last few days of September are vital for preparation!

This post was made possible by the generous support from my Patreon backers. If you like yokai and want to learn more, please consider pledging $1 per month to support my work.

Become a Patron!

A-Yokai-A-Day Starts Soon!

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Greetings, yokai fans!

Long-time readers will probably already have the date marked on their calendars, but it’s that time of year again! Time for my annual tradition: A-Yokai-A-Day for the month of October!

As always, I will try to bring you at least a few monsters which have never appeared in an English translation before, so whether you are new to Japanese monsters or a long-time fan who has read every book out there, there should be something for everyone to enjoy! Like in previous years, I’ll be posting the “official” yokai entries over on yokai.com, and talking more about the production of the images and research processes on this blog.

This year promises to be another excellent one! I will feature select yokai from my new book The Hour of Meeting Evil Spirits (published this summer thanks to the support of over 400 Kickstarter backers) as well as a number of new yokai chosen by my yokai patrons over at Patreon!

Speaking of my Patreon project, it’s been just over one month since it launched, and in that time my patrons have supported the creation of four new yokai entries!

kudan wani gangikozou oonamazu

If you like yokai and want to see more, you can become a yokai patron too! Even just $1 per month helps me to continue making new illustrations year-round and not just during October!

So, bookmark your calendar, set your alarms, cancel all of your plans: A-Yokai-A-Day is coming October 1st!

Gangikozo

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Greetings patrons!

Tonight I bring you the finished painting of gangikozō! He is our second water-based yokai for the month of September! He is a slightly grotesque, yet somehow endearing cousin of the kappa. You’ll note below that he is often believed to change into the kappa during different seasons. If you read my books or yokai.com, you will also be familiar with yamawaro and hyousube, who are also both cousins of the kappa and often considered to be transitional forms of Japan’s most well-known yokai! Gawappa is another kappa-type yokai. There are lots of these, and each one has its own unique little bits.

Enjoy!

This post was made possible by the generous support from my Patreon backers. If you like yokai and want to learn more, please consider pledging $1 per month to support my work.

Become a Patron!

Wani

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Hello everyone! This painting took a bit longer than I expected due to the vast amount of detail, but I think it turned out nicely!

As before, I will post the high resolution images for the higher level backers in a separate Patreon post. The entry will be available for the public to see later today at yokai.com, but you guys get to see it first! I hope you enjoy September’s first yokai!

This post was made possible by the generous support from my Patreon backers. If you like yokai and want to learn more, please consider pledging $1 per month to support my work.

Become a Patron!

Kudan

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Ladies and gentlemen! I am proud to present to you the kudan, the very first yokai completed for my Patreon project! I hope the choice of kudan for this first entry proves to be an auspicious sign of good things to come!

In a few minutes (I am publishing it on Patreon first), you will be able to view the entry at yokai.com/kudan as well! I will post the high resolution images for the higher level backers in a post on Patreon.

This post was made possible by the generous support from my Patreon backers. If you like yokai and want to learn more, please consider pledging $1 per month to support my work.

Become a Patron!

Patreon Launch

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Hello Readers!

It’s been a while since I’ve done a big update on the blog. Most of my updates over the past year have been geared towards the Kickstarter backers and done through that website, which has the unfortunate consequence of leaving my own website fairly barren.

Now that The Hour of Meeting Evil Spirits is finished and published, I can finally share my next project with everybody, and I can do it on my own blog!

I have just launched a Patreon project at patreon.com/osarusan to create more yokai. Patreon is like Kickstarter, but instead of pledging a lump sum to get a book after a year, you pledge a small monthly contribution, like a tip, in order for me to continuously create work.

Through the Patreon project I am going to create a few yokai per month, which I will upload up to yokai.com, free for everyone to read. Backers will get regular yokai updates with new yokai posts and illustrations during this project, exactly like I did with my Kickstarters, and like I do during A-Yokai-A-Day. So if you would like to get regular yokai updates, please sign up! There are a number of small rewards at the various patron levels, too. You can sign up at patreon.com/osarusan.

The Hour of Meeting Evil Spirits is Upon Us!

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Friends, the hour is upon us! The Hour of Meeting Evil Spirits, that is!

At long last, after months of waiting for books to arrive, and a crazy week of packing and shipping the rewards to the Kickstarter backers, my 2nd yokai encyclopedia is available to the public!

Pre-order the book now!

Nearly 2 years in the making, this has been an extremely fun and also exhausting project for me. I am really proud of the final product, and really happy to finally be able to release it to the world. At 286 pages, the book is 25% bigger than its predecessor, contains more yokai, and also has a full chapter dedicated to onmyōdō the black magic of classical Japan.

If you loved The Night Parade of One Hundred Demons, you will love this book too. It follows the same format, presenting a page of yokai lore and a full color illustration for each entry. In response to popular request, The Hour of Meeting Evil Spirits also contains a few longer entries, going into greater detail about the myths and legends of certain famous yokai. Just as before, there are silly yokai, scary yokai, strange yokai, and sexy yokai. It runs the whole spectrum!

Anyway, on to the most important question: How do I get a copy of the book?? There are a few ways:

1. You can order it from Amazon.com in Kindle or paperback format. Here is the link.

2. You can order it directly from me! I have a surplus of books from the Kickstarter, and I am offering them on a first-come-first-serve basis. This includes paperbacks, collector’s edition hardcovers, and slipcases for the hardcovers. There are a few advantages to ordering directly from me: first, you help support the creation of my yokai and artwork as the proceeds all go straight to me. Second, I will sign the book using my special signing pen which I got at the Abe no Seimei shrine in Kyoto. Third, you will be getting a super high quality special first edition copy of the book which are extremely limited in number (produced only for the Kickstarter)! I have paperbacks and collector’s edition hardcovers of both books, so you can even get a double set! To order directly from me, send me an email and tell me what you want!

My supply is limited, so if you want one of the collector’s editions try to order as soon as possible to ensure you get one before I run out.