Written By: Ken Hulsey
Source: Pink Tentacle
The Japanese have always loved monsters, and why not, their pop culture has been littered with them for decades and their mythology for centuries.
Today Japanese comic books, television series and movies are filled with all sorts of mysterious spectres and creatures.
It is easy to see where this fascination with strange and mysterious beasts comes from, once you dig deep into Japan's rich folklore. It too is filled with tales of demons, monsters and even visitors from other worlds.
These tales that have been passed down from generation to generation have had a profound effect on the Japanese, which today manifests itself in modern media and fuels the countries fascination with the strange and macabre.
Japanese art also reflects this fascination as well, ancient clay statues called, "Dogu" (Dogoo) are said to represent alien visitors to the island nation (see photo above) around 14,000 BC. Likewise, ancient drawings and paintings depict such unearthly visitors along with dragons, demons, and strange beasts of every size and shape imaginable.
In the early 1970s, Japanese illustrator Gojin Ishihara did some wonderful artwork for series of children's books entitled, “Illustrated Book of Japanese Monsters” (1972), "Illustrated Book of Hell" (1975), "The Complete Book of Demons" (1974), "Illustrated Book of World Monsters" (1973), and "Mysteries of the World" (1970). These images, which range from the macabre to disturbingly graphic, would have never been deemed suitable for children in the western world.
