Customer Reviews

Tales from Japan (Oxford Myths and Legends)

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Oxford has chosen to reissue as Tales from Japan (Oxford Myths and Legends) what appear to be selections taken from the 1958 Japanese Tales and Legends. The stories are well-written and I think they would be an enjoyable way to introduce someone to Japanese tales.

PROBLEMS
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Purists may cringe at liberties taken by the authors, though. For example, the foundation myth for Japan in the first part of the book comes from the 8th century Kojiki, and because it is a convoluted story, it certainly needed to be adapted for a general audience. However, the addition of a single "Lord of Heaven" to the narrative does a disservice to the reader by making it sound too much like the Old Testament. Much of the content is conveyed clearly and accurately, so it seems odd to me that they would make such questionable changes.

SUMMARY
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If you are not terribly concerned with adaptations, and you want to get a sense of what traditional Japanese tales are like, then you'll enjoy this purchase. It would be particularly suitable for reading with children (some of the sections might require an adult's help to understand). I don't know of any other collection of Japanese tales that are appropriate for such a wide audience (children to adults).

SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER READING
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Readers who want to go more deeply into the traditional tales would enjoy the following excellent translations:

(1) Classical Japanese Prose: An Anthology
(2) The Tale of the Heike
(3) Lafcadio Hearn's Kwaidan (1907) is a classic and available online for free download (see Google Books). The tales may not be as well-known, but they are beautiful. I especially enjoyed Mimi-Nashi-Hoichi.

This book is REALLY short and a real easy read. I think it's meant for kids. However, if you like tales and legends, this is a nice addition. It has all the major Japanese tales like Izanagi and Izanami (their "Adam and Eve" I suppose). All the Japanese names are left in there rather than an anglicized version. They even left in cultural references like "mochi." This whole Oxford tale series would be nice to have in a single volume rather than a single 100 pg book. However, it's decent, but you'll be able to finish it in an hour or 2.

hello,
it's a very interesting little book, it tells a lot about the legends of Japan and their very well written. If your interested in japan and you like tales it is a very nice book but the tales aren't new so they don't have any jokes or fun in it but their still nice if you have a great imagination and like I sad before their great tales. This book is definitely worth the money. (sorry for my English)
if you buy it I hope you like it.

This is a perfect gift for someone that is into the culture of Japan. This book was bought for my sister (who studies Japanese culture)and she loved it. I'm happy that I bought it!!!