Last week saw the release of Yamamba: In Search of the Japanese Mountain Witch, which I coedited with Linda C. Ehrlich..

This unique collection, published by Stone Bridge Press, has received stunning acclaim from scholars and artists alike.  For example, Kristen J. Sollée, author of Witches, Sluts, Feminists, states: “this collection is as enchanting and compelling as the yamamba herself.”  And Zack Davisson, whose book Kaibyo: The Supernatural Cats of Japan also considers cool and creepy characters in Japanese culture, notes Yamamba “bursts with life, being that rare balance of both a scholarly and poetic celebration of Japan’s woman of the woods.”

So, how did Linda and I come up with the idea for this volume? I wrote about the process in my earlier post, but here, I TALK about it.  And who doesn’t like talking about those things that interest them most?

This book talk, held on April 19, 2021, was organized by Dr. Laura Miller, the Eiichi Shibusawa-Seigo Arai Endowed Professor of Japanese Studies and Anthropology and sponsored by UMSL Global (of the University of Missouri, St. Louis). Because the talk took the form of an interview, I was joined by my graduate student, Katie Stephens, who asked me some tough but thoughtful questions.

Take a listen!

Photo by Dave Hoefler on Unsplash Used by permission.