Other editions of book Kwaidan: Stories and Studies of Strange Things

Excerpt from Kwaidan: Stories and Studies of Strange ThingsIt may be doubted whether any orien tal race has ever had an interpreter gifted with more perfect insight and sympathy than Laf cadio Hearn has brought to the translation of Japan into terms of our occidental speech. His long residence in that country, his flexibility of mind, poetic imagination, and wonderfully pel lucid style have fitted him for the most delicate of literary tasks. He has seen marvels, and he has told of them in a marvelous way. There is scarcely an aspect of contemporary Japanese life, scarcely an element in the social, political, and military questions involved in the present conflict with Russia which is not made clear in one or another of the books with which he has charmed American readers.About the PublisherForgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.comThis book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

Unlike some other reproductions of classic texts (1) We have not used OCR(Optical Character Recognition), as this leads to bad quality books with introduced typos. (2) In books where there are images such as portraits, maps, sketches etc We have endeavoured to keep the quality of these images, so they represent accurately the original artefact. Although occasionally there may be certain imperfections with these old texts, we feel they deserve to be made available for future generations to enjoy.

KwaidanStories and Studies of Strange ThingsLafcadio HearnJapanese Ghost StoriesKwaidan: Stories and Studies of Strange Things, often shortened to Kwaidan, is a book by Lafcadio Hearn that features several Japanese ghost stories and a brief non-fiction study on insects. It was later used as the basis for a movie called Kwaidan by Masaki Kobayashi in 1964.Kaidan is Japanese for "ghost story".Hearn declares in his introduction to the first edition of the book, which he wrote on January 20, 1904, shortly before his death, that most of these stories were translated from old Japanese texts. He also states that one of the stories — Yuki-onna — was told to him by a farmer in Musashi Province, and his was apparently the first record of it, both by his own account and according to the research of modern folklorists. Riki-Baka is based on a personal experience of Hearn's. While he does not declare it in his introduction, Hi-Mawari — among the final narratives in the volume – seems to be a recollection of an experience in his childhood (it is, setting itself apart from almost all the others, written in the first person and set in rural Wales).TABLE OF CONTENTSTHE STORY OF MIMI-NASHI-HOICHIOSHIDORITHE STORY OF O-TEIUBAZAKURADIPLOMACYOF A MIRROR AND A BELLJIKININKIMUJINAROKURO-KUBIA DEAD SECRETYUKI-ONNATHE STORY OF AOYAGIJIU-ROKU-ZAKURATHE DREAM OF AKINOSUKERIKI-BAKAHI-MAWARIHORAIINSECT STUDIESBUTTERFLIESMOSQUITOESANTS Notes

This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it.This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work.Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. To ensure a quality reading experience, this work has been proofread and republished using a format that seamlessly blends the original graphical elements with text in an easy-to-read typeface.We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

A miscellany of ghost stories, odd tales, and curious observations by a master storyteller who penetrated Japan more deeply than any other Westerner. Lafcadio Hearn captures the folk spirit and quaint “exoticism” of a land thought at the time to be both mysterious and sinister. Lafcadio Hearn (1850–1904) gained Japanese citizenship and wrote many books about Japan for Western readers.

Upon his arrival in Japan in 1890, Lafcadio Hearn found himself enamored with the culture, people, and stories of the country, and would make Japan his home until his death in 1904. His collections of stories published during this time became the most popular of Hearn's writings, and earned him veneration worldwide as not only a great translator of Japanese mythology, but as a sensational teller of strange and wonderfully macabre tales. "Kwaidan" is most commonly translated as weird or horror tales, but to assign one word to the people, places, ghosts and gods in this work, one can only use the word strange. This collection of supernatural tales includes "The Story of Mimi-Nashi-Hōīchi," "Ubazakura," and "Rokuro-Kubi," and other stories translated from old Japanese texts. Hearn was made a professor of English literature in the Imperial University of Tokyo in 1895, and is today revered by the Japanese for providing significant insights into their own national character.

Excerpt from Kwaidan: Stories and Studies of Strange ThingsIt may be doubted whether any orien tal race has ever had an interpreter gifted with more perfect insight and sympathy than Laf cadio Hearn has brought to the translation of Japan into terms of our occidental speech. His long residence in that country, his flexibility of mind, poetic imagination, and wonderfully pel lucid style have fitted him for the most delicate of literary tasks. He has seen marvels, and he has told of them in a marvelous way. There is scarcely an aspect of contemporary Japanese life, scarcely an element in the social, political, and military questions involved in the present conflict with Russia which is not made clear in one or another of the books with which he has charmed American readers.About the PublisherForgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.comThis book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

238pp. Ltd. to 1500 copies of which this is No. 1381. Hardboard case w/ glassine cover. Case: Very Good w/ some tanning on spine area, each corner w/ about 1/2inch surface tear, a 3inch tear on edge, a few tiny paint spots. Cover: Very Good w/ some edge/corner wears. The Book: Very Good++ w/ minute corner wears. Intro by Oscar Lewis. Famous stories by Hearn, a.k.a. Koizumi Yagumo.