In 2015, Davisson wrote his first book, Yurei: The Japanese Ghost.[6] Davisson went on to translate the works of Shigeru Mizuki, a popular Japanese manga artist and historian, into English. Davisson has cited Japanese writer Lafcadio Hearn as an inspiration on his work.[1]
Davisson started his career writing for Japanese magazines like Japanzine and Kansai Time-Out. His first professional translation was Mizuki's manga series Showa: A History of Japan. He ran a website, hyakumonogatari.com, where he published translated works on manga and Japanese horror legends.[1][8] He has translated several manga series into English[9] and has written for Smithsonian[10] and The Comics Journal.[11] He co-scripts Demon Days from Marvel comics with Peach Momoko.[12]
He has lectured on manga, folklore, and translation at colleges such as Duke University, Annapolis Naval Academy, University Ca' Foscaria Venizia, UCLA, and the University of Washington and contributed to exhibitions at the Henry Art Gallery, the Museum of International Folkart, Wereldmuseum Rotterdam, and the Art Gallery of New South Wales.[13][14]
Selected works
Writing
Yurei: The Japanese Ghost – Chin Music Press, 2014
Kaibyo: The Supernatural Cats of Japan – Chin Music Press, 2017
Yokai Stories – Chin Music Press, 2017
The Art of Star Wars Visions – Dark Horse Comics, 2022