Monstrum

Join Emily Zarka, Ph.D. on a journey to discover humans’ unique drive to create and shape monster mythology through oral storytelling, literature and film.

Curated by: Storied (110 videos)


Currently Playing: Who Is This Japanese Yōkai That Is Obsessed With Your Butt? | Monstrum

What looks like a reptile-amphibian hybrid, has a dish shaped skull, smells like fish, is child-like and out to steal your crops and drown your livestock? The Japanese water yokai, Kappa. For audio descriptions, go to Settings - Audio Track - English Descriptive. ***** PBS Member Stations rely on viewers like you. To support your local station, go to: http://to.pbs.org/DonateStoried ***** We'd like to extend a sincere thank you to Professor Yoshiko Okuyama, Ph.D. for her valuable insights and time. Written and Hosted by: Dr. Emily Zarka Director: David Schulte Executive Producer: Amanda Fox Executive Producer: Dr. Emily Zarka Producer: Thomas Fernandes Editor/Animator: Jordyn Buckland Illustrator: Samuel Allan Executive in Charge (PBS): Maribel Lopez Director of Programming (PBS): Gabrielle Ewing Additional Footage: Shutterstock Music: APM Music Descriptive Audio & Captions provided by The Described and Captioned Media Program Produced by Spotzen for PBS Digital Studios. Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/monstrumpbs ***** Bibliography Akutagawa, Ryunosuke. Kappa, trans. Seiichi Shiojiri. Greenwood Press, 1970. Amos, Timothy. Caste in Early Modern Japan: Danzaemon and the Edo Outcaste Order. Routledge, 2019. Cornyetz, Nina. “Heterosexualizing the Bishōnen: Ambivalence in Izumi Kyōka’s Yōken Kibun.” The Journal of Japanese Studies, vol. 47, no. 2, 2021, pp. 381–40. Early Modern Japanese Literature: An Anthology, 1600-1900. Columbia University Press, 2002. Foster, Michael Dylan. Pandemonium and Parade: Japanese Monsters and the Culture of Yokai. University of California Press, 2008. Foster, Michael Dylan. The Book of Yokai. University of California Press, 2015. Foster, Michael Dylan. “The metamorphosis of the kappa: a transformation of folklore and folklorism in Japan.” Asian Folklore Studies, vol. 57, issue 1, April 1998. Shamoon, Deborah. “The Yokai in the Database: Supernatural Creatures and Folklore in Manga and Anime.” Marvels & Tales, vol. 27, no. 2, 2013, pp. 276–289. Tozaki, T., et al. “Genetic diversity and relationships among native Japanese horse breeds, the Japanese Thoroughbred and horses outside of Japan using genome-wide SNP data.” Animal Genetics, vol. 50, issue 5, October 2019, pp. 449–459.


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