Mountain Witches is a comprehensive guide to the complex figure of yamauba--female yōkai often translated as mountain witches, who are commonly described as tall, enigmatic women with long hair, piercing eyes, and large mouths that open from ear to ear and who live in the mountains--and the evolution of their roles and significance in Japanese culture and society from the premodern era to the present.
Mountain Witches is a comprehensive guide to the complex figure of yamauba--female yōkai often translated as mountain witches, who are commonly described as tall, enigmatic women with long hair, piercing eyes, and large mouths that open from ear to ear and who live in the mountains--and the evolution of their roles and significance in Japanese culture and society from the premodern era to the present.