The Book of the Hakutaku: a Bestiary of Japanese Monsters
Created by The Book of the Hakutaku
The Book of the Hakutaku is an illustrated bestiary of yokai—the spirits, monsters, and ghosts from traditional Japanese folklore. It is the third volume of my yokai encyclopedia. It has over 100 yokai, each one translated from Japanese folklore and fully illustrated.
Latest Updates from Our Project:
Hardcover slipcases unlocked!
over 6 years ago
– Wed, Oct 11, 2017 at 12:16:43 AM
Hey everyone! We're 1/3 of the way through the project now, and we have reached 1100%, so a new stretch goal is unlocked: the hardcover slipcase!
This was a popular stretch goal request from backers who owned the slipcase collectors editions of the other two books. Fortunately I am able to charge less for the slipcase this time, so it is only $35 added on to your pledge. Please remember that it is only for the hardcover collectors editions; I don't think the paperback will fit inside!
Also please note the image above is based on the Evil Spirits slipcase, which is why it may look familiar to those of you who own it. There will be different imagery on this slipcase when it is finally designed, but this is the general idea of how it will look!
When we reach 1200%, the next stretch goal is exciting: I will be able to afford moving from a digital print-on-demand production to a four color offset printer. This means the books will be the highest quality print jobs possible!
I realize now that there is a slipcase for Hakutaku, there may be people who are ordering hardcovers who missed out on slipcases for the previous two books. If there is enough interested in slipcases for the others, I could potentially add them as future stretch goals. Let me know if that's something you're interested in!
Shokuin (and 1000% funding achieved!)
over 6 years ago
– Mon, Oct 09, 2017 at 07:59:37 AM
Greetings yokai lovers!
Today I'm bringing you the next completed painting to appear in The Book of the Hakutaku. He is a bearded old man all in red who lives at the North Pole. No, not Santa. This is Shokuin, and he is far more impressive!
On top of that, we broke 1000% in the Kickstarter campaign, so I owe you a new stretch goal. I don't have graphics or a cost for it yet, but I can at least tell you what it will be: a customized slipcase to go with the collector's edition! I will work on a design and post it soon, along with pricing.
Double Postcards! (900% stretch goal unlocked)
over 6 years ago
– Sun, Oct 08, 2017 at 11:05:46 AM
Greetings backers!
The Kickstarter passed 900% this weekend, so a new stretch goal has been unlocked.
You don't have to increase your pledge for this stretch goal: it comes automatically for those who are getting the postcard set.
The yokai postcard set has been doubled, and now includes 20 color postcards instead of 10!
When the project reaches 1000% (holy smokes!) then I'll add the next stretch goal. After that, I plan to start releasing more imagery for the t-shirt and hoodie designs. There's been a lot of interest in the shirts, and because the printing costs don't change based on the number of designs, only the number of shirts, I want to make sure that there are plenty of awesome shirt and hoodie designs to choose from before the Kickstarter ends. (It's possible that I will be able to add even more after the Kickstarter is finished if there is demand for them.)
Don't forget to check out A-Yokai-A-Day for a preview of some of the sketches and paintings that will become yokai in the final book!
New Stretch Goals Unlocked (we passed 800%!)
over 6 years ago
– Fri, Oct 06, 2017 at 03:05:03 AM
This post is for backers only. Please visit Kickstarter.com and log in to read.
New Add-Ons (500% goal achieved!)
over 6 years ago
– Wed, Oct 04, 2017 at 02:54:18 PM
Greetings backers!
Today we reached the 500% milestone! That means a new stretch goal, plus one more from yesterday which hasn't been posted yet. A yokai t-shirt has been added as an add-on, and the yokai bookmarks have been increased to three different designs: one for each book!
You can still buy one bookmark for $5, or you can get the set of all three for $10. The designs are not finalized, but they will look pretty close to the image below:
As for the t-shirts, I visited a local shirt printing company here in Fukui to make sure the quality was good before making the decision to offer yokai shirts. Clothing has been a highly requested item from previous Kickstarters and at conventions, but I was never able to find an affordable printer that offered good cloth as well as good print quality. Many custom t-shirts are printed on cheap material with iron-on transfers which degrade very quickly after a few washes. Fortunately, this company has a large selection of high quality shirts to choose from, and they print with inkjet dyes, which are much higher quality and will not fade in the wash.
A few different yokai designs will be available. Below are two examples featuring the Hakutaku and the Karyobinga, on heavyweight white and baseball style tees. Once all the artwork is completed, a few different yokai will be selected for shirts and in your Kickstarter surveys you'll be able to choose which one(s) you want, and which sizes.
As with the other add-on goals, you do not need to increase your shipping cost if you choose any of these. The shipping is built in to the add-on price, so just increase your pledge by that amount and you'll be set.
