The Dark Side of Japan: Ancient Black Magic, Folklore, Ritual

As a long time reader of Antonys work, it's about time we had this book, it serves as a companion to a lot of his previous works where translations come from the mouths of samurai who talk about the esoteric and spiritual as though the reader must already understand, well now we can understand.Illustrated brilliantly and filled with information essential for all those interested in Japan and its history, this book is more proof Antony is always a step ahead of everyone else in this field.

Birthday gift for teenage son.

This book is well rounded and well written; it is perhaps so well rounded that it's title is perhaps just a tad misleading. This is not to say the book doesn't deal with the titular 'Dark Side' of Japan, but rather that it includes much, much more! From ghosts, to goblins, to all manner of things that go bump in the night, this book surely delivers on it's 'Dark' promise; but it is by no means limited solely to the malevolent and arcane. Packed within it's mere 219 pages the author explores not only the darker elements of Japan's rich folkloric traditions, but further introduces the reader to a wide ranging and broad scope of theosophical cultural elements ranging from the mystic to the mundane.The surprises don't stop there either! This book will certainly find a much broader readership appeal than might be expected by merely a superficial reading of the title and/or back cover. As stated, the book resoundingly delivers on it's promise to entice and educate those interested in arcane magic, ancient ritual, superstition, and the like, but the author also offers an incredible amount of historical information that would make this book right at home in the libraries of dedicated historians. Those with more of an eye to things modern than antiquated won't be disappointed either as the book explores many modern beliefs, superstitions, and more. Despite the seemingly one dimensional title, this book truly seems to have something for everyone! From early Japanese warfare for the military enthusiast, to love spells for the romantic at heart, each page offers a new surprise that further leads the reader (with a willing reckless abandon) further down to the very depths of 'The Dark Side'. Even the books incredible artwork by the ever talented Mr. David Osborne has a nostalgic vibe reminiscent of the artistic stylings of early editions of Dungeons & Dragons manuals and compendia!Particularly rare and refreshing is the author's treatment of the oft lauded, but seldom explained (particularly in the English language) 'Kuji Kiri'. This is a subject that has, despite having garnered tremendous interest for decades, been scant covered with any real depth or clarity. While this volume is too small and diversified to give this subject the in depth treatment it so richly deserves, the author's brief and basic introduction on the topic of 'Kuji' is a bold step in right direction and sets the stage for (what I can only hope will be) future volumes which are more streamlined in their focus and allow for a long overdue and exploratory analysis of this obscure element of Asiatic history.If I were to make any criticism of this book it would be that it isn't available in hardcover, which (in my own humble opinion) is deserves to be! In the fast paced world of today, hardbound books seem to be emerging more and more in limited release, save for academic journals, but alas! this book resounds with the academic integrity of a more dedicated (or perhaps declared) scholarly tome, whilst being far more 'readable' to the 'everyman'. It reads like at times like an old storyteller, recanting chilling tales of the truly horrific around a campfire, but never seems uninformed nor condescending to the reader. In short this book is both a delight of entertainment and a masterpiece of education!-J. FarthingNovember 2017

This book is a treasure. Much of the content is new to me, and I've read most if not all of the popular works on Japanese folklore. The illustrations add a lot to the text. A goldmine for research!

I found this book to be extremely informative! I've had interest in the topics that are explored within this book and this was a very nice and well-presented selection. The author presented the subject matter in such a way that kept me glued from cover to cover. There are other books available that cover this subject matter but I feel that The Dark Side of Japan presents a much more thorough and well-defined view of folklore, mysticism and more. I highly recommend this book to anyone regardless of their area of interest!

I enjoyed the summary of Japanese folklore and magic in this book. I’d love to find a companion volume with more information (and with scholarly citations).

Very informative. The way it is written makes it easy to understand regardless it is about a foreign countries myths and beliefs. It makes me want to research even more.

While not the most eloquently written, it still has a lot of good information

This is another great book by Antony Cummings. Very well wrote, packed full of information.

Great insight, highly informative!

ok so even of you are fearless enuff to beleive in the magical stuff as it pretains to the bushi this book is a little off and jumps around so with out previous knowledge or teachings wont help you and then when you do find something decent you have to deal wth the erractic translations or presentation....sometimes i wonder how the author proof reads these books he puts out.yes there is a actual piece or 2 of information in here i dont think he even knows what he has published...others do.