During the latter half of the 19th century, American journalist Lafcadio Hearn became our nation's great interpreter of all things Japanese. His superb translation of 20 supernatural tales teems with undead samurais, man-eating goblins, and other terrifying demons. These classic ghost stories inspired the Oscar®-nominated 1964 film of the same name. 22 illustrations.
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Japan's most famous collection of ghost and monster tales,
This review is from: Kwaidan: Ghost Stories and Strange Tales of Old Japan (Dover Books on Literature & Drama) (Paperback)
"Kwaidan" is Lafcadio Hearn's most famous book, and justifiably so. It is the least academic of his works, collecting together some of Japan's core ghost and monster stories into one slim volume. Much like the Brothers Grimm, Hearn did not actually create these stories but rather compiled them and put them into written form for the first time, learning them from folk tales and storytellers.
Because it is in the Public Domain, there are innumerable different versions available of Lafcadio Hearn's seminal "Kwaidan," including several free versions available online. Anyone interested in Japanese folklore or Japanese literature or even Japan in general is going to need a copy of "Kwaidan" in their collection. That is just a given. But it is difficult to know which one to choose. This edition, from Dover Publishing, is a nice book featuring the full unabridged text of the original 1904 publication. This version carries the subtitle "Ghost Stories and Strange Tales of Old Japan" which is different from Hearn's subtitle "Stories and Studies of Strange Things," but that is the only difference. The illustrations are the real selling point for this particular edition, being created by illustrator Yasumasa Fujita for the artesian publisher Shimbi Shoin in Tokyo, active from the 1860s to the 1930s. Yasumasa created a silk-bound version of "Kwaidan" with his illustrations as a high-end collectible book. While the original release with Yasumasa's illustration fetches hundreds of dollars on the collectible market, here you get the same illustrations (although in black-and-white instead of the original color plates) along with Hearn's original text. Along with being his most famous, "Kwaidan" is Hearn's most influential book. "The Story of Mimi-nashi Hoichi" is as well-known in Japan as "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" is in the United States. The "Yuki Onna" has made it into a few films, including Kurosawa's Dreams and the filmed version of this book, Kwaidan. The stories themselves are of excellent quality, ranging from spooky ghost tales to humorous tales of wandering monks encountering monsters. Along with the stories are three insect studies, the likes of which can be found in all Hearn books. These are excellent academic studies of insects in traditional Japanese folk lore, including children's songs and haiku poetry involving insects. Each story ranges from 5-15 pages long. Included are: The story of Mimi-nashi Hoichi Oshidori The story of O-Tei Ubazakura Diplomacy Of a mirror and a bell Jikininki Mujina Rokuro-kubi A dead secret Yuki-Onna The story of Aoyagi Jiu-Roku-Zakura The dream of Akinosuke Riki-Baba Hi-Mawari Horai Insect Studies - Butterfiles Mosquitos Ants
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Ghost Stories and Strange Tales...,
By
This review is from: Kwaidan: Ghost Stories and Strange Tales of Old Japan (Dover Books on Literature & Drama) (Paperback)
First published in 1932, and later made into a movie, this is a great book of Japanese ghost stories and folklore translated by Lafcadio Hearn, a man who loved Japan and all things Japanese. Outside of the first story about the blind biwa player, Hoichi, the rest were new to me and wonderful in how well crafted and detailed they are. There are also some essays in the back that deal with myths and tales about butterflies, ants and so on. Many of these myths and stories came to Japan from China and therefore still show their Chinese roots. Others are purely Japanese and the whole book is a delight to read. If not very scary.
0 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Strange stories ? Not at all,
By Danny Fletcher (somewhere warm) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Kwaidan: Ghost Stories and Strange Tales of Old Japan (Dover Books on Literature & Drama) (Paperback)
The "ghost stories" in this book may seem to be like ghost stories from other countries and in many ways they are, but they are not intended to scare the reader. They were intended to comfort and reassure the audience (Japanese people) that their religious and social beliefs are correct.
In many of the stories, a weak bhuddist man is dominated by a stronger shinto female. (or entire shinto family) The elements are not always obvious, but if you look hard enough you will find them. Despite appearances in film, this is how the Japanese like to think of Japan. Women rule the society and bhuddism is only for show.
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