Customer Reviews

Kwaidan

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"Kwaidan" is 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.

Along with 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. Each story ranges from 5-15 pages long.

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.

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

This book is a very readable series of very short stories

of Japan, followed in the latter part of the book by some

reflections on the part of the author, a Westerner living in

Japan one hundred years ago. It is of interest to read of

such cultural diversity, mythology and relgious views.

The author's book, IN GHOSTLY JAPAN, was a much better collection of Japanese lore, in that the stories were longer

and lent themselves to greater character development and

complexity. Nevertheless, I know of no other author who translates Japanese myths, and both books are worthwhile.

I'm not familiar with the Twelve Point Series, but the Tuttle version I have of the Kwaidan -- a collection of traditional Japanese "strange tales" -- is an entertaining book. Some of the stories strike Westerners as just plain silly, while others actually gave me chills. Nonetheless, they are all part of the fabric of traditional Japanese culture, just as urban legends like the one of the young couple at the lake with the killer with a hook for a hand on the loose (eek!!) is part of our American heritage.

This collection of 17 old stories from Japan was collected and translated by a well-known ethnographer, and first published in English in 1904. The tales are old folk stories (urban legends if you will) mostly dealing with ghosts and the spirit world. Many feature the theme of a spirit who takes a human form to disguise their true nature. Another common theme concerns the uneasy spirit who must be appeased in some form. They are fairly charming old-fashioned stories, which vary considerably in length. The final three sections ("Butterflies," "Mosquitoes," "Ants") are more like meditations on the three subjects and don't really fit into the ghost story theme of the rest of the book. Four of the tales were made into an excellent Japanese movie in 1964.

Kwaidan delivers chilling stories as well as eerie insight into the fantasy world of Japan. Lafcadio Hearn, who Tuttle Publishing claimed was "almost as Japanese as Haiku" provides an in depth look at the stories which he heard first hand in Japan; some of the stories have been part of the Japanese cannon for centuries deriving from Chinese tales, while others were created more recently. Hearn is careful to preface the stories with the history available and provides the reader with both an entertaining and educational reading experience.

Highly recommended for those studying Japanese culture, "pop" culture, or history. A great read for any otaku!

This book is a well written collection of old, macabre, unusual, and spooky oriental (mainly Japanese) stories. The writer, Lafcadio Hearn, was an American who moved to Japan in the 1800s. He married, and eventually became a well respected author, still much loved and revered even to this day. It's an easy book to read and one that finished too soon. Most of the tales are reminiscent of the Brothers Grimm and other fairy tales. Others have a definite air of the "Outer Limits" or "Twilight Zone" about them. Move over Lugosi & Karloff. Enjoy!

Kwaidan is a beautiful selection of Japanese ghost stories; some of them are horrifying, some of them are touching, and all of them provide an intricate look into the many subtleties that make up the Japanese culture. I am greatly enjoyed each and every story in this book, and each of them I enjoyed for different reasons. Some of the stories were translations of old Japanese texts wheras, for others, this book was the first place they were ever written. The author heard them while traveling through small-town Japan and enjoyed them so much that he transcribed them. Because of this, it is somewhat difficult to write a real review. The stories are not his; they aren't even retellings, but the author does an amazing job of transcribing/translating them and making them his own. Obviously, some things are lost in translation, but the author did a great job of minimalizing this loss, and I really feel like I got the full effect of what was originally being said.

At the end of this book, there was a brief study of insects in relation to Japanese culture which I found absolutely FASCINATING. I found the sections on ants and butterflies to be especially enjoyable (though I should perhaps note that I am slightly obsessed with ants). The chosen poems and texts along with the author's observations and commentary gave me great insight as to the roles that insects played (and insects are VERY prominent in Japan) in ancient Japan.

I GREATLY enjoyed this book (and learned a lot!), and, for the first time in a very long time, I found myself so enraptured that I couldn't stop myself from staying up into the wee hours of the morning reading. I highly recommend this selection of stories to anyone who is even remotely interested in Japanese culture.

Classic masterpiece by Lafcadio Hearn. This opened the door of mysterious Japanese culture to the West. I also recommend Hearn's "Whimsically Grotesque,Whimsically Grotesque: Selected writings of Lafcadio Hearn in the Cincinnati Enquirer, 1872~1875" news report of the dark side of 19th century Cincinnati.

Kwaidan, is a book of Chinese ghost stories, all of them strange and fascinating. The movie of the same title, based on this book, was one of the most beautiful works of art that I have ever seen brought to film. Kwaidan the movie, inspired me to read Kwaidan the book. Some of the stories from this book were used in the movie, but there are many more tales in the book, that are a joy to read. This book is a quick read, but I think that you should read one or two stories, savor them, put down the book, and read more stories at a later date. Kwaidan is like a fine wine, to be enjoyed slowly over time, appreciated, and come back to revisit again and again. Both the book and movie are a rare treat not to be missed, and both must be experienced to be appreciated. If your senses need something different to stimulate them, then I very highly recommend Kwaidan the book, and Kwaidan the movie, you will love them both.