Review by Jann Williams
Over two-thirds of Japan is covered with forested mountains. Traditionally these are sacred places, viewed as dwelling places of the dead and ancestral spirits, and as a liminal space between this world and the other world. Yama, the Japanese word for ‘mountain,’ is reflected in the words yamabushi—an ascetic practitioner who “lies or prostrates on the mountain”— and yamamba, the mountain witch, crone or hag of folklore that is the focus of this anthology. Read full review