Kaibyo: The Supernatural Cats of Japan

An in-depth exploration of the sometimes charming, sometimes gruesome feline creatures and ghosts of Japan. Davisson illuminates the vast realm of kaibyō, or supernatural cats, with historical and modern cultural context. Lushly illustrated in full color with dozens of ukiyo-e prints and drawings. A must-have book for the Japanophile and cat-lover alike! First in a forthcoming series about the supernatural animals of Japan.

"Kaibyō: The Supernatural Cats of Japan is an extremely diverting and stunningly produced celebration of the phantom feline in its myriad of manifestations―some alluring, others humorous and many outright terrifying. Award-winning translator, writer, lecturer, manga scholar, Japanese folklore expert and author of Yūrei: The Japanese Ghost, Zach Davisson is the ideal guide to this furred and fanged underworld. An expertly researched and engagingly penned text is embellished by the inclusion of an intriguing selection of uncanny cat tales by other authors and centuries’ old legends newly-translated by Mr. Davisson. The publishers must be congratulated for creating a book of extraordinary lavishness. Although a paperback release, no expense has been spared in an exquisitely-designed book brimming with a toothsome array of full-color artwork reproductions."

review by Scot D. Ryersson and Michael Orlando Yaccarino, co-authors of Infinite Variety: The Life and Legend of the Marchesa Casati and The Marchesa Casati: Portraits of a Muse