Macabre kids’ book art by Gojin Ishihara

Here is a collection of wonderfully weird illustrations by Gōjin Ishihara, whose work graced the pages of numerous kids’ books in the 1970s. The first 16 images below appeared in the “Illustrated Book of Japanese Monsters” (1972), which profiled supernatural creatures from Japanese legend. The other illustrations appeared in various educational and entertainment-oriented publications for children.

Illustration by Gōjin Ishihara --
- Kappa (river imp), Illustrated Book of Japanese Monsters, 1972

Illustration by Gojin Ishihara --
- Jorōgumo (lit. “whore spider”), Illustrated Book of Japanese Monsters, 1972

Illustration by Gōjin Ishihara --
- Kubire-oni (strangler demon), Illustrated Book of Japanese Monsters, 1972

Illustration by Goujin Ishihara --
- Rokurokubi (long-necked woman), Illustrated Book of Japanese Monsters, 1972

Illustration by Goujin Ishihara --
- Onmoraki (bird demon), Illustrated Book of Japanese Monsters, 1972

Illustration by Gojin Ishihara --
- Nekomata (cat monster), Illustrated Book of Japanese Monsters, 1972

Illustration by Gōjin Ishihara --
- Tengu (bird-like demon), Illustrated Book of Japanese Monsters, 1972

Illustration by Gojin Ishihara --
- Tenjō-sagari (ceiling dweller), Illustrated Book of Japanese Monsters, 1972

Illustration by Gojin Ishihara --
- Enma Dai-Ō (King of Hell), Illustrated Book of Japanese Monsters, 1972

Illustration by Gojin Ishihara --
- Kyūbi no kitsune (nine-tailed fox), Illustrated Book of Japanese Monsters, 1972

Illustration by Gojin Ishihara --
- Baku (dream-eating chimera), Illustrated Book of Japanese Monsters, 1972

Illustration by Gojin Ishihara --
- Yūrei (ghost), Illustrated Book of Japanese Monsters, 1972

Illustration by Gōjin Ishihara --
- Yamasei (mountain sprite), Illustrated Book of Japanese Monsters, 1972

Illustration by Goujin Ishihara --
- Rashōmon no oni (ogre of Rashōmon Gate), Illustrated Book of Japanese Monsters, 1972

Illustration by Gojin Ishihara --
- Waira (mountain-dwelling chimera), Illustrated Book of Japanese Monsters, 1972

Illustration by Gojin Ishihara --
- Nure-onna (snake woman), Illustrated Book of Japanese Monsters, 1972

Illustration by Gojin Ishihara --
- Hell of Repetition (Illustrated Book of Hell, 1975)

Illustration by Gojin Ishihara --
- Burning Hell (Illustrated Book of Hell, 1975)

Illustration by Gōjin Ishihara --
- Demons of the Orient (The Complete Book of Demons, 1974)

Illustration by Gojin Ishihara --
- The appearance of Satan (The Complete Book of Demons, 1974)

Illustration by Gojin Ishihara --
- Gorgon (Illustrated Book of World Monsters, 1973)

Illustration by Gojin Ishihara --
- Aliens in ancient Japan (Mysteries of the World, 1970)

Illustration by Goujin Ishihara --
- Alien (Mysteries of the World, 1970)

Illustration by Gojin Ishihara --
- Emergency Command 10-4 10-10 (sonosheet book, 1972)

Illustration by Gōjin Ishihara --
- Emergency Command 10-4 10-10 (sonosheet book, 1972)

Illustration by Gojin Ishihara --
- Kaiketsu Lion-Maru (sonosheet book, 1972)

Illustration by Gojin Ishihara --
- Kaiketsu Lion-Maru (sonosheet book, 1972)

Illustration by Gojin Ishihara --
- Prehistoric man as modern-day baseball player (Prehistoric Man, 1970)

Illustration by Gojin Ishihara --
- Prehistoric man as modern-day wrestler (Prehistoric Man, 1970)

Illustration by Gojin Ishihara --
- Prehistoric man as modern-day security guard (Prehistoric Man, 1970)

Illustration by Gōjin Ishihara --
- The secretary who spied for 18 years (from Spy Wars)

Illustration by Gojin Ishihara --
- World’s biggest glutton (World’s Greatest Wonders, 1971)

Illustration by Gojin Ishihara --
- Precognition of plane crash (Mysteries of the Body, 1973)

Illustration by Gojin Ishihara --
- Nostradamus (Psychics of the World, 1974)

Illustration by Goujin Ishihara --
- Frozen planet (Year X: End of the World, 1975)

Illustration by Gōjin Ishihara --
Dark star gravity (Year X: End of the World, 1975)

[Link: Gōjin Fechi]



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This entry was posted by one of one hundred trained flying monkeys employed to retrieve items from The Net with brass and steam powered prosthetic limbs on Saturday, July 31st, 2010 at 9:45 pm and is filed here to tease your curious mind. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response below, or trackback from your own site.

14 Reader Comments (Reply Now)

  1. July 31st, 2010

    @ 10:43 pm

    Akime posted:

    OMG! This is awesome. Thank you!

    Could I buy this book online?

  2. July 31st, 2010

    @ 11:25 pm

    Mike posted:

    I saw you said this book is no longer in print but I was wondering if theres anything similar to this or possibly containing the same art that is in print?

  3. July 31st, 2010

    @ 11:45 pm

    Disturbing Kid's Book Art by Gojin Ishihara | Sandbox World posted:

    [...] back any punches in the 70′s when he drew some pretty gory pictures for kiddy fare books. The Illustrated Book of Japanese Monsters (1972), showcased mystical creatures from Japanese folklore. Some of them are too scary for kids [...]

  4. August 1st, 2010

    @ 12:02 am

    G?jin Ishihara’s Freak Art for Kids - Candlelight Stories posted:

    [...] Pink Tentacle has an amazing collection of freakishly bizarre Japanese children’s book illustrations by G?jin Ishihara from the 1970s.  His marvelously comforting work features various humans being eaten, strangled, decapitated, tortured and generally threatened by every sort of demonic beast possible to imagine. [...]

  5. August 1st, 2010

    @ 12:31 am

    ♥ « Sharona Design posted:

    [...] + Do you love coffee and love photography too? / ¿Te gusta el café y la fotografía? + Macabre illustrations form kids´ books. / Ilustraciones macabras en libros para niños. + Beautiful photographs of what [...]

  6. August 1st, 2010

    @ 1:27 am

    Brian posted:

    Wow! thanks for posting these!

  7. August 1st, 2010

    @ 2:14 am

    Tina posted:

    Amazing pictures, but they are freaking scary…

  8. August 1st, 2010

    @ 3:09 am

    The Manga Critic » Blog Archive » Friday Procrastination Aides, 7/30/10 posted:

    [...] folks at Pink Tentacle round up a macabre collection of monster images from 1970s children’s books… Wired Magazine’s geek-mom-in-residence Corrina [...]

  9. August 1st, 2010

    @ 3:32 am

    Japanese art attack!: Gōjin Ishihara | FallingApartArt posted:

    [...] and dreaming of the future. There’s alot more not kid-friendly in the least pictures over at Pink Tentacle - check them [...]

  10. August 1st, 2010

    @ 4:10 am

    Dismuse » Gōjin Ishihara – circa 1970’s posted:

    [...] here.  This work appeared in books apparently intended for [...]

  11. August 1st, 2010

    @ 5:05 am

    Eilonvi posted:

    Wow, the most amazing and special visuals I’ve seen online as of late – thank you for sharing! what else did this artist do? what does he do today? where to buy his art? another post like that would be fun!

  12. August 1st, 2010

    @ 5:32 am

    Best link today! RT http://pin… « Sprouse Arts : Dylan Sprouse posted:

    [...] link today! RT http://pinktentacle.com/2010/07/macabre-kids-book-art-by-gojin-ishihara/ Check out the KAPPAs! (via [...]

  13. August 1st, 2010

    @ 5:49 am

    Kinderbuch Illustrationen von Gōjin Ishihara me-likes.it posted:

    [...] doch heute finde ich sie durchaus sehenswert. Weitere Arbeiten von Gōjin Ishihara findet man bei pinktentacle. ME [...]

  14. August 20th, 2010

    @ 9:34 pm

    KK posted:

    Does anyone know if this book is avail for purchase anywhere??

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