Date: Friday, May 8, 2026
Time: 7:00pm
Cost: $10 ($ members)
Location: Morikami Theater
From Godzilla to Pokémon, Japan is monster country. And all of Japan’s monsters have their roots in the bizarre menagerie of creatures called yōkai. Noted monster scholar and yōkai folklorist Zack Davisson guides you through the history behind yōkai; a journey from the invisible monsters of the Heian period to the yōkai catalogs of Edo. A book signing with Zack Davisson will follow the lecture.
Our theater tends to be cold. You may want to bring with you a sweater or jacket.
Meet the Author
Zack Davisson is an award-winning translator, writer, and folklorist who has played a significant role in making Japanese folklore and literature accessible to English-speaking audiences. He is respected in both academic and popular culture circles for his knowledge of supernatural lore and cultural history. He has worked with National Geographic, the Smithsonian, and has been featured on NPR, the BBC, and in The New York Times. His works have been translated into multiple languages.
Davisson is the author of Kaibyo: The Supernatural Cats of Japan, Yurei: the Japanese Ghost, Yokai Stories, Narrow Road, Amabie: Past and Present, and translator of Shigeru Mizuki’s multiple Eisner Award-winning Showa: a History of Japan, Tono Monogatari, and famous folklore comic Kitaro.
In addition, He has translated globally renowned entertainment properties such as Go Nagai’s Devilman and Cutie Honey, Leiji Matsumoto’s Space Battleship Yamato and Captain Harlock, and Satoshi Kon’s Opus. His work includes Ultimate X-Men from Marvel comics, Wayward from Image, and The Art of Star Wars Visions from Lucasfilm.
He lectured on manga, folklore, and translation at colleges such as Duke University, Annapolis Naval Academy, Università Ca’ Foscari Venezia, UCLA, and the University of Washington and contributed to exhibitions at the Museum of International Folkart, Wereldmuseum Rotterdan, and the Art Gallery of New South Wales.