À l'intérieur des yokai — Inside the Yokai

Published by Éditions Cornélius in 2018, À l'intérieur des yokai (Inside the Yokai) collects approximately 85 anatomical cross-section drawings that Shigeru Mizuki produced in the 1960s. The premise is precise and deadpan: if yōkai are real, they require internal organs adapted to their particular capacities. Each drawing renders those organs with the same draftsmanly attention Mizuki brought to his manga backgrounds — detailed, systematic, and entirely straight-faced.

The subjects range across Japanese folklore. Fukurosagé, a tanuki from Nagano Prefecture, is shown to possess a stomach capable of converting food directly into sake. Mannendaké — a bamboo said to be ten thousand years old — uses finger-like appendages resembling syringes to extract the souls of travelers who stray too close. The accompanying texts, written by Mizuki and adapted into French by Jean-Louis Capron for this edition, maintain the same register as the drawings: matter-of-fact, quasi-scientific, and quietly absurd.

The volume belongs to the Collection Solange series and is printed in black and Pantone orange — a restrained palette suited to both the folkloric subject matter and the clinical format of the anatomical drawings. The binding is hardcover with a cloth spine (couverture cartonnée avec dos toilé). The book is a French-language publication, 96 pages, measuring 22.5 × 1.7 × 29 cm. ISBN 978-2360811465.

The related title Mononoke by Shigeru Mizuki is also available. Further titles in artist publications and illustrated books can be found in the Artbooks & Artist Publications collection.