Special areas: religion, myth and folklore; and biographies. This volume forms part of the major new series, published by Curzon Press under the Japan Library imprint, featuring the collected writings of many of the most outstanding western scholars who have been actively writing about Japan and connected subjects over the last half century. Developed in close collaboration with Carmen Blacker, this book contains a wide and substantial cross-section of their writings, thematically structured around essays, including published and unpublished conference and symposium papers, contributions to refereed journals, chapters from multi-author volumes, translations and book reviews, as well as newspaper and more broadly based general-interest articles and commentaries as available. A full introductory section, written by the author, reviewing her association and historical ties with Japan as well as specialist interests, prefaces each volume. Thus, for the first time in scholarly publishing, this series makes available a comprehensive collection of the author's lifetime output (other than single-author volumes) that might otherwise be lost or dispersed.

This study of shamanistic practices in contemporary Japan examines the shamanic figures surviving in Japan today, their initiatory dreams, ascetic practices, the supernatural beings with whom they communicate, and the geography of the other world in myth and legend.

First published in 1981, Divination and Oracles analyses the religious practices of the ancient world as they have been witnessed from Scandinavia to Tibet and Japan, from the third millennium BC until the present day. Divination and the consultation of oracles formed part of the religious practice of the ancient world and are part of the living folklore of the contemporary societies. They are subjects that are of immediate concern to anthropologists and not infrequently to the historians of early science. Written by the specialists in the early history of European and Asian Civilisations, the chapters call on the evidence of the written word of history and the surviving artefacts and inscriptions of archaeology. They describe the different methods that have been adopted and examine the types of question that feature in man's attempt to seek guidance from other powers. The contributions show how an appeal to the irrational can affect the decision of prophet or statesman, or the way of life of farmer or sailor; and how such an appeal can also stimulate scientific enquiry into the cycles of nature. This book is a must read for scholars and researchers of religion, comparative religion, and ancient history.

This volume of the Collected Writings of Modern Western Scholars on Japan brings together the work of Carmen Blacker, who wrote extensively on religion, myth and folklore.

This is a collection of portraits of twelve outstanding women who lived and worked in Cambridge during the century before women were admitted fully to membership of the University. The subjects include Jane Harrison, distinguished scholar of Greek religion, Mrs Sidgwick, founder of Newnham College, Eileen Power, medieval historian, Nora Chadwick, scholar of Norse and Celtic, Honor Fell, cell biologist and founding force behind the Strangeways Laboratory, Frances Cornford, poet, and Rosalind Franklin, whose work on DNA was essential to the Watson-Crick model. All were outstanding personalities as well as distinguished scholars, and the 'twelve portraits' give a vivid account of their lives and work.

Carmen Blacker's spirited translation of Santo Kyoden's Mukashi-banashi inazuma byooshi (from which the title 'The Straw Sandal' is taken), considered by Aston to be his masterpiece, reveals a multi-layered and fascinating tale of revenge - Japanese-style, thereby providing a classic example of this popular genre within Japanese literature. Aston makes the point that the plot of this late-eighteenth-century novel, developed over twenty chapters or episodes, is so complicated that 'it is impossible to give an adequate summary...' But he goes on to promise several murders, a harakiri and other suicides, terrific combats, hairbreadth escapes, strange meetings and surprising recognitions. In addition, there are scenes of witchcraft and enchantment with dreams, magic terrors and ghosts who rove by night. The Straw Sandal, which contains most of the original black and white woodblock prints together with textual notes added by the translator, will surely be widely welcomed both in the world of literature as well as that of Japanese Studies.