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Kwaidan: Stories and Studies of Strange Things
Lafcadio Hearn
Book Overview:
Most of the following Kwaidan, or Weird Tales, have been taken from old Japanese books,— such as the Yaso-Kidan, Bukkyo-Hyakkwa-Zensho, Kokon-Chomonshu, Tama-Sudare, and Hyaku-Monogatari. Some of the stories may have had a Chinese origin: the very remarkable "Dream of Akinosuke," for example, is certainly from a Chinese source. But the story-teller, in every case, has so recolored and reshaped his borrowing as to naturalize it… One queer tale, "Yuki-Onna," was told me by a farmer of Chofu, Nishitama-gori, in Musashi province, as a legend of his native village. Whether it has ever been written in Japanese I do not know; but the extraordinary belief which it records used certainly to exist in most parts of Japan, and in many curious forms… The incident of "Riki-Baka" was a personal experience; and I wrote it down almost exactly as it happened, changing only a family-name mentioned by the Japanese narrator.
Most of the following Kwaidan, or Weird Tales, have been taken from old Japanese books,— such as the Yaso-Kidan, Bukkyo-Hyakkwa-Zensho, Kokon-Chomonshu, Tama-Sudare, and Hyaku-Monogatari. Some of the stories may have had a Chinese origin: the very remarkable "Dream of Akinosuke," for example, is certainly from a Chinese source. But the story-teller, in every case, has so recolored and reshaped his borrowing as to naturalize it… One queer tale, "Yuki-Onna," was told me by a farmer of Chofu, Nishitama-gori, in Musashi province, as a legend of his native village. Whether it has ever been written in Japanese I do not know; but the extraordinary belief which it records used certainly to exist in most parts of Japan, and in many curious forms… The incident of "Riki-Baka" was a personal experience; and I wrote it down almost exactly as it happened, changing only a family-name mentioned by the Japanese narrator.
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—And indeed the dead man gave no more trouble. Nothing at all happened.
OF A MIRROR AND A BELL
Eight centuries ago, the priests of Mugenyama, in the province of Totomi (1), wanted a big bell for their temple; and they asked the women of their parish to help them by contributing old bronze mirrors for bell-metal.
[Even to-day, in the courts of certain Japanese temples, you may see heaps of old bronze mirrors contributed for such a purpose. The largest collection of this kind that I ever saw was in the court of a temple of the Jodo sect, at Hakata, in Kyushu: the mirrors had been given for the making of a bronze statue of Amida, thirty-thre. . . Read More
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Community Reviews
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I first encountered Lafcadio Hearn in an Anthology of American stories, in a weird little story: The Boy Who D
"Buddhism finds in a dewdrop the symbol of that other microcosm which has been called the soul..."
This is a collection of weird stories taken, mostly, from old Japanese books. Lafcadio acknowledges that many of the stories may have a Chinese origin. Mind you, Lafcadio was a lecturer of English
Rating of stories in progress:
The story of Mimi-Nashi-Hoichi - GOOD - 4 stars. Made me push Heike Monogatari up the TBR mountain.
Oshidori - Too Dramatic - 3 stars
The Story of O-Tei - Nice- 3 stars
Ubazakura - 2.5 stars
Of a Mirror and a Bell - 3.5
JIKININKI - 4.2 stars best one yet
MUJINA - Freaked the
Sizi etkilemek istemem... Ama etkilemek zorundayım; korku, garip, tekinsiz öyküleri, meselleri seviyorsanız, bir batılının gözünden süzülüp gelen bu uzakdoğu mücevherlerini kaçırmayınız. Her seferinde "Bu Uzakdoğuluların sorunu ne dostum?" dedirten türde gelişkin bir tanrılar, canavarlar, türlü varl
Lafcadio Hearn, çok ayrıksı bir yaşama sahip bir yazar. Hayatının erişkinliğe kadar olan yıllarını Avrupa ve Amerika'da geçiren yazar; sonraki durağı olan Japonya'da deyim yerindeyse büyüleniyor ve Japonya'ya yerleşmenin yanında tam bir Japon olma yolunda kendini geliştirip bir Japon olarak ölüyor.