In rural Japan the passage of the year is marked by festivals & rituals that have changed little for centuries Elaborate outfits crafted from textiles as well as branches straw & elements sourced from the natural environment are donned in agricultural & fishing communities throughout Japan to celebrate seasonal rites of fertility & abundance Yokainoshima (literally 'island of monsters') explores the extraordinary ranges of masks costumes & characters that reappear with each returning season Charles Freger's photographs combine acute documentary attentiveness with individual portraiture in an entirely fresh & distinctive style Toshiharu Ito & Akihiro Hatanaka both specialists in Japanese folk culture & anthropology analyse Freger's photographs setting the huge variety of eclectic clothing in ethnographic context & describing the local festivals dances & rituals With a final illustrated reference section this title describes individual costumes & masks