Photo/Illutration Matthew Meyer shows an illustration of “hitotsume kozo” (one-eyed priest boy) in his home and studio in Fukui on Sept. 15. (Masatomo Norikyo)

FUKUI--Amabie, a folklore sea monster with the power to fend off plagues, became a worldwide sensation amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Long before the supernatural mermaid-like “yokai” shot to fame, however, a U.S.-born illustrator living here started introducing Japanese ghouls and hobgoblins to the world while providing commentaries in English.

Having drawn more than 400 varieties of monsters, Matthew Meyer, 39, published the fourth installment in his yokai encyclopedia series this past summer.

Meyer visited Kanazawa, the Ishikawa prefectural capital flourishing with art, in 2004 when he was an art college student in the United States.

He was struck by the techniques behind making ukiyo-e woodblock prints.

Three years later, he relocated to Fukui, which is close to Kanazawa, to work as an English conversation teacher.

Meyer gradually spent more time working on his illustrations, and he came up with the idea of drawing Japanese monsters during the Halloween season in October that year.

“I learned there were many varieties of yokai, such as ‘hyosube’ and ‘nurarihyon,’ and I started posting one illustration a day on my blog,” he said. “My website was flooded with comments from visitors in the English-speaking world, who said they wanted to learn more and that they wanted my illustrations to be published. Eventually, my blog attracted 2 million visitors a month.”

The first installment in his encyclopedia series, titled “The Night Parade of One Hundred Demons,” was completed in 2012.

“I spent more than a year drawing about 100 kinds of yokai,” Meyer said. “Because it was an introduction, I tried to include kappa, ‘yuki onna’ (the snow woman) and other well-known yokai as much as possible.”

For locally based yokai, the artist incorporated notable buildings and plants from their home turf for the background art.

He also featured the Tojinbo cliffs in Fukui Prefecture, the Kenrokuen Garden in Ishikawa Prefecture and other famed spots.

To study yokai’s origins and other background information, Meyer delved into folktales and interviewed locals.

“It is unfortunate to see some yokai disappear into oblivion when we don’t even know the origins of their names,” he said. “Yokai is the mirror of the human mind. I want to record and preserve them.”

Meyer launched a crowdfunding campaign to cover the cost of publishing the fourth installment featuring the plague-fighting Amabie and other monsters.

It raised about $600,000 (87 million yen) from around the world and he printed well over 10,000 copies.

The actual number of copies published is much more substantial, however, because the Italian and French versions are published in Europe, he added.

Meyer feels the yokai craze continues to grow outside Japan.

He organized autograph-signing sessions at bookstores and libraries when he visited Italy in May this year, and he often gives lectures at universities in the United States.

When asked why there is so much demand for his books, Meyer said that not only yokai, but also origami, “shoji” paper screen doors and other forms of Japanese culture enjoy deep-rooted popularity in the United States and elsewhere.

“However, there aren’t many English-language commentary books,” the artist added.

Although the works of Yakumo Koizumi are available in English, they are difficult to read because they were written more than 100 years ago.

Koizumi is the name Lafcadio Hearn (1850-1904) adopted after taking Japanese citizenship. He is best remembered for his books about legends and ghost stories.

“There is a need for easy-to-understand commentaries,” Meyer said.

Meyer is already planning his fifth book, in which he is set to introduce 100 types of sea-themed yokai.

“Because Japan is an island nation, it has an abundance of sea-related folktales. In Obama, Fukui Prefecture, there is a legend about Yaobikuni, a nun who lived until she was 800 years old after eating the flesh of a mermaid.”

He continued: “When I look into one yokai, I find three or four more of them. I feel elated each time. I want to keep drawing yokai for the rest of my life.”

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