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28 of 28 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Japan's most famous collection of ghost and monster tales, June 12, 2005
"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
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12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Kwaidan review, February 23, 2006
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.
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15 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
An interesting and sometimes chilling book, February 18, 1999
This review is from: Kwaidan (Twelve-Point Series) (Hardcover)
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.
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