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Enter the haunted world of Ancient Japan in this spine-tingling
collection of ghostly tales told and retold across the centuries.
From Goblin infested caves and haunted Tombs, to vengeful spirits
and strange, sinister happenings, Ancient Japan was a country and
culture that lived with between realms: the world of everyday and
the world of supernatural. It was a time and place where men could
be brought down by karmic forces or lured into deadly danger by
ghostly apparitions, and where the land held sorrowful secrets or
stories that long-awaited an opportunity to reveal them and seek
reparation. The Snow Ghost and Other Tales brings together some of
the best and scariest tales that endured across centuries of folk
lore in one new beautiful hardback collection. Finally commited to
writing during the turn of the twenieth cenutry by a unique set of
folklorists, the ghost stories presented in this new anthology will
transport readers to a time of magic and mystery, and let them
relish in the spine-tingling traditions of Japanese culture largely
lost now to modernity.
"Think not that dreams appear to the dreamer only at night, the
dream of this world of pain appears to us even by day." In this
book, famed author Lafcadio Hearn presents 14 fascinating
stories--including deathless ghosts and yokai, local folklore and
haunted places, as well as Buddhist traditions. This edition
includes a new foreword by Michael Dylan Foster which explains the
book's importance as a Japanese cultural and literary classic. The
Japanese have two kinds of ghosts in their folklore--the spirits of
the dead and the spirits of the living. In Ghostly Japan examines
both and, in the process, offers a fascinating window into Japan's
supernatural and spiritual world. The 14 stories include:
"Fragment"--A young pilgrim encounters a mountain of skulls and is
shown a terrible truth "Ingwa-banashi"--On her deathbed, a dying
wife bequeaths to her young rival a sinister and horrific gift "A
Passional Karma"--A spectral beauty transcends death to return for
her handsome samurai lover "Story of a Tengu"--A priest saves the
life of a Yokai monk and is granted a wish, but the outcome is not
as expected While some stories contain spine-tingling imagery,
others offer looks into Japan's rich culture and folklore. "Bits of
Poetry" offers an engaging study on the nation's fascination with
verse, "Japanese Buddhist Proverbs" explains the meaning of several
traditional Zen Buddhist sayings and "Incense" examines its use in
rituals to summon and banish spirits. Whether you're interested in
classic ghost stories, or simply want to enjoy the prose of a
legendary writer, In Ghostly Japan affords countless delights.
Introducing Little Clothbound Classics: irresistible, mini editions
of short stories, novellas and essays from the world's greatest
writers, designed by the award-winning Coralie Bickford-Smith.
Celebrating the range and diversity of Penguin Classics, they take
us from snowy Japan to springtime Vienna, from haunted New England
to a sun-drenched Mediterranean island, and from a game of chess on
the ocean to a love story on the moon. Beautifully designed and
printed, these collectible editions are bound in colourful, tactile
cloth and stamped with foil. In this haunting collection, the
phantoms and ghouls of Japanese folklore stalk the page. Lafcadio
Hearn, a master storyteller, drew on traditional Japanese folklore,
infused with memories of his own haunted childhood in Ireland, to
create these chilling tales. They are today regarded in Japan as
classics in their own right. 'The stories occupy the reverie world
our mind projects onto the backs of our eyelids, where the ordinary
mingles with the supernatural' - Wall Street Journal
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Japanese Ghost Stories
Lafcadio Hearn; Edited by Paul Murray
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"The Japanese people are more mysterious than I imagined through
Hearn's books." --Albert Einstein Lafcadio Hearn is the most
significant early interpreter of Japan and Japanese culture for the
West--a man who traveled to Japan when he was thirty-nine, and
never left. Lafcadio Hearn's Japan presents Hearn's most famous
stories and essays about his adopted land--recounting his love for
its striking natural beauty and the rich character and customs of
its people. The 18 fascinating essays in this book include: "In a
Japanese Garden" Hearn's classic description of the meditative calm
and serenity he experienced when visiting a traditional Zen garden
just outside his back door "Strangeness and Charm" Expressing his
deep love for the richness and beauty of traditional Japanese
culture "In the Cave of the Children's Ghosts" An account of a
journey to an isolated sea cave where the souls of dead children
are said to congregate Lafcadio Hearn's Japan provides an
unforgettable look at traditional Japan through the eyes of a
sensitive and eloquent foreigner. This new edition features a
foreword by Steve Kemme, a leading expert on Hearn and president of
the Lafcadio Hearn Society (USA). It also includes 21 color photos
showcasing the people and places which Hearn so lovingly describes.
This book, first published in 1903, is an account of Lafcadio
Hearn's insights and experiences of Japan. Hearn, known also by the
Japanese name Koizumi Yakumo, was an international writer who was
best known for his books about Japan and Japanese culture. This
book will be of interest to students of history and Asian Studies.
Spirits surround us in the latest Illuminated Edition: a tome of
all the Japanese ghost stories and strange tales collected and
translated by author Lafcadio Hearn and depicted by the majestic
brushwork of artist Kent Williams. Brimming with over sixty
illustrations, and featuring essays from Academy Award-winning
filmmaker Darren Aronofsky, scholar Kyoko Yoshida and Hearn's
great-grandson and director of the Lafcadio Hearn Museum Bon
Koizumi, this oversized slipcase volume enraptures the imagination
as it chills the blood. Drawn from Hearn's two most celebrated
books, KWAIDAN and SHADOWINGS, this new title constitutes a
complete compendium of the otherworldly and macabre folk tales that
Hearn collected and translated during his travels through Japan in
the late 19th century. Kent Williams is an accomplished and
multiple award-wining painter, comics artist, and draftsman, known
for his richly textured and expressionist paintings. His
illustrations sweep worlds of spirits across the page in an
unsettling vibrant tumble. Corpse brides; flesh-eating jikininki
goblins; the faceless mujina who haunt forgotten places; the
rokuro-kubi, who remove their heads at night: all brought to life
as never before under Williams' visionary brush. A stunning and
startling new entry in Beehive Books celebrated, award-winning
Illuminated Editions series. The edition is housed in a shimmering
die-cut sculpturally embossed slipcase, printed on uncoated
acid-free paper, and published in an oversized 9x12" trim format.
"The papers composing this volume treat of the inner rather than of
the outer life of Japan, for which reason they have been grouped
under the title Kokoro (heart). [This] word signifies also mind, in
the emotional sense; spirit; courage; resolve; sentiment;
affection; and inner meaning, just as we say in English, "the heart
of things." --Lafcadio Hearn As an interpreter of Japan for the
West, Lafcadio Hearn has no peer. His books are still read with
fascination by foreigners and Japanese alike--a tribute to his keen
powers of observation and the vividness of his prose. Kokoro is
Hearn's love letter to Japan--his exploration of the genius of
Japanese civilization and the wonder he felt at encountering these
islands and their inhabitants. The 15 extraordinary stories in this
book include: "Kimiko"-- A beautiful geisha hatches a desperate
plan to save her mother from poverty but then must make a
heartbreaking choice. "A Conservative"-- A samurai's son embraces
the West and travels to Europe but finds his new home to be a
shallow and faithless land. "A Street Singer"-- A woman captivates
crowds with the beauty of her voice, but her life story goes much
deeper than her musical talents. "By Force of Karma"-- The peculiar
tale of a Buddhist priest who receives a letter from a mysterious
woman and ultimately takes his own life. Published six years after
Hearn arrived in Japan, these stories focus on the inner spiritual
life of the Japanese. Sometimes touching and always compelling,
they are drawn from Hearn's own experiences, telling stories of the
people and customs that still make Japan so unique. Kokoro includes
an informative foreword by Patricia Welch which highlights how, 125
years later, our understanding of Japan can still be deepened by
Hearn's heartfelt prose.
This book, first published in 1903, is an account of Lafcadio
Hearn's insights and experiences of Japan. Hearn, known also by the
Japanese name Koizumi Yakumo, was an international writer who was
best known for his books about Japan and Japanese culture. This
book will be of interest to students of history and Asian Studies.
Glimpses of Unfamiliar Japan is a complete, two-volume set of one
of the most outstanding books on 19th century Japanese history and
culture. Though Lafcadio Hearn went on to write a dozen more books
on Japan, this collection of first impressions remains his most
popular. Among the reasons is that here, more than anywhere else,
the author most vividly captured a place that so affected him that
he stayed for the rest of his life. The modern reader can still,
through these pages, experience that "first charm of Japan,
intangible and volatile as a perfume." Glimpses of Unfamiliar Japan
combines two volumes of a work that first appeared in 1894. In the
pages of this book are the customs, the superstitions, the charming
scenery, the revelations of Japanese character, and all the other
elements that Lafcadio Hearn found so bewitching. Here, for
example, are essays on such subjects as the Japanese garden, the
household shrine, the festivals, and the bewildering Japanese
smile--all aspects of Japanese life that have endured in spite of
the changes that have taken place during the modernization of
Japan. The Japanese character and the Japanese tradition are still
fundamentally the same as Hearn found them to be, and for this
reason, his writing is still extremely revealing to modern readers.
This edition also contains a new foreword by noted writer and
examiner of Japanese culture Donnie Richie that puts Lafcadio Hearn
and his classic works into perspective for readers just discovering
Hearn's writing for the first time.
Featuring elegant designs, In a Japanese Garden Coloring Book is
the perfect stress-reliever for fans of classical Japanese art and
literature. For centuries, Japanese artists have honored simple
beauty in prints, paintings and books. This adult coloring book
recreates 23 artworks for you to color--images of flowers and
trees, garden residents such as the bird and the butterfly, and
in-the-moment scenes of people taking in the pleasures of these
peaceful corners of the world. A copy of the original print sits
opposite your coloring "canvas" as a reference. Reflections from
Lafcadio Hearn's In a Japanese Garden as well some works of the
great haiku masters will inspire you as you apply pencils or fine
markers to your page. When your masterpiece is complete, tear it
out at the perforation to frame and display.
A collection of twenty-eight brilliant and strange stories,
inspired by Japanese folk tales and written by renowned Western
expatriate Lafcadio Hearn Lafcadio Hearn (1850-1904) was one of the
nineteenth century's best-known writers, his name celebrated
alongside those of Mark Twain and Robert Louis Stevenson. Born in
Greece and raised in Ireland, Hearn was a true prodigy and world
traveler. He worked as a reporter in Cincinnati, New Orleans, and
the West Indies before heading to Japan in 1890 on a commission
from Harper's. There, he married a Japanese woman from a samurai
family, changed his name to Koizumi Yakumo, and became a Japanese
subject. An avid collector of traditional Japanese tales, legends,
and myths, Hearn taught literature and wrote his own tales for both
Japanese and Western audiences. Japanese Tales of Lafcadio Hearn
brings together twenty-eight of Hearn's strangest and most
entertaining stories in one elegant volume. Hearn's tales span a
variety of genres. Many are fantastical ghost stories, such as "The
Corpse-Rider," in which a man foils the attempts of his former
wife's ghost to haunt him. Some are love stories in which the
beloved is not what she appears to be: in "The Story of Aoyagi," a
young samurai narrowly escapes the wrath of his lord for marrying
without permission, only to discover that his wife is the spirit of
a willow tree. Throughout this collection, Hearn's reverence for
Japan shines through, and his stories provide insights into the
country's artistic and cultural heritage. With an introduction by
Andrei Codrescu discussing Hearn's life and work, as well as a
foreword by Jack Zipes, Japanese Tales of Lafcadio Hearn provides a
unique window into one writer's multicultural literary journey.
The dead wreak revenge on the living, paintings come alive,
spectral brides possess mortal men and a priest devours human flesh
in these chilling Japanese ghost stories retold by a master of the
supernatural. Lafcadio Hearn drew on the phantoms and ghouls of
traditional Japanese folklore - including the headless
'rokuro-kubi', the monstrous goblins 'jikininki' or the faceless
'mujina' who stalk lonely neighbourhoods - and infused them with
his own memories of his haunted childhood in nineteenth-century
Ireland to create these terrifying tales of striking and eerie
power. Today they are regarded in Japan as classics in their own
right. Edited with an introduction by Paul Murray
These astonishing tales blend elements of horror, science fiction
and cosmic terror that are as powerful today as they were when they
were first published.
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