Japan: An Attempt at Interpretation (Dodo Press) [Paperback]

Lafcadio Hearn (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 27, 2007

Patrick Lafcadio Hearn (1850-1904), also known as Koizumi Yakumo after gaining Japanese citizenship, was an author, best known for his books about Japan. He is especially well-known for his collections of Japanese legends and ghost stories, such as Kwaidan: Stories and Studies of Strange Things. Hearn was born in Lefkada, one of the Greek Ionian Islands. He was the son of Surgeon-major Charles Hearn (of King's County, Ireland) and Rosa Antonia Kassimati, who had been born on Kythera, another of the Ionian Islands. In 1890, Hearn went to Japan with a commission as a newspaper correspondent, which was quickly broken off. It was in Japan, however, that he found his home and his greatest inspiration.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Bohemian and writer PATRICK LAFCADIO HEARN (1850-1904) was born in Greece, raised in Ireland, and worked as newspaper reporter in the United States before decamping to Japan. He also wrote In Ghostly Japan (1899). --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 276 pages
• Publisher: Dodo Press (July 27, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1406544353
• ISBN-13: 978-1406544350
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.9 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #445,027 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

26 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An insightful history of Japanese religiosity, up Meiji era, July 30, 2003

By 

Zack Davisson "japanreviewed" (Seattle, WA, USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Japan: An Attempt at Interpretation (Writings on Japan by Lafcadio Hearn) (Paperback)

Lafcadio Hearn says that Japanese culture is like a Bonsai tree, meticulously sculpted and trimmed and controlled for thousands of years. Even during his time (1890-1904) the rules were changing and the gardner was putting away his shears, and chaos was beginning to reclaim the tree.

However, to understand this strange plant, with the roots and bends and twists of Bonsai sculpting, one must look at its past, and the methods of shaping. From Hearn's point of view, this shaping is religion, specifically Ancestor worship and the "rule of the dead." Without insight into Japanese religious history and practices, Hearn says, you cannot understand Japan, its history or its people.

"Japan: An attempt at interpretation" is incredibly insightful and thorough, offering a history of the various forms of Shinto, Buddhism, Confucianism and other folk-practices that shaped the national character. I am currently working on my MA in Japanese Religion, and I can verify that his research is correct, and his conclusions still hold. It is the longest of Hearn's books, and obviously a great deal of work went into it.

All though time has passed him by, "Japan: An Attempt at Interpretation" is still a valid, interesting book, both well-written and accurate. It DOES help explain Japanese interactions and culture. Most interesting are his speculations of Japanese culture, and where it would go in his pre-WWII era. Unfortunately, some of his worst fears were realized.

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Somewhat Dated, But Still Interesting, August 30, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Japan: An Attempt at Interpretation (Writings on Japan by Lafcadio Hearn) (Paperback)

The author's premise is that "Japan can be understood only through study of her religious and social evolution." Toward that end, he gives a good and interesting account of the history and development of the Shinto faith.

This book describes in detail not only Shinto's history, but also how the religion effected and influenced Japanese society and culture for well over 2000 years. There are chapters on Shinto's/Japan's response to the introduction of new religious ideas --- namely Confucianism, Buddhism, and Christianity --- and on its reaction to the rise of the shoguns, and to the sudden introduction of Western ways in the mid-nineteenth century.

All-in-all, this is an informative, educational book.

One word of caution is in order, however: Hearn wrote this book in 1904. It is therefore somewhat dated; and the author's flowery Victorian-era prose might put some readers off. Same can be said for his use of nineteenth century anthropological terms and references --- words such as "Aryan," for example. Still, if the reader can look past Hearn's personal prejudices, this book is a fine history of Shinto up until the year 1904.

To complete a study of Shinto, of course, it would be necessary to learn of the religion's development through the Second World War and beyond. I am not aware of any book bringing the history of Shinto into the present, but perhaps they exist ... in English.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great on many levels, June 16, 2004

By 

Meaty Fly - See all my reviews

This review is from: Japan: An Attempt at Interpretation (Paperback)

In a nutshell, he shows how ancient Japanese society grew out of a vast network of family cults based on ancestor worship. Each family had a duty to keep the dead ancestors satisfied (or at least not unhappy), and, for the most part, this meant keeping family behavior in line with custom. There was a very fine line between custom and morality, and the immoral individual was one who broke with custom. No individual was free to break custom because, in doing so, he endangered the prosperity of the family.

Later incursions of Buddhism and Confucianism did little to alter the core family-cult structure underlying the society. In my opinion, it is still largely in tact today, though some would likely disagree.