Ancient Tales and Folklore of Japan

By Richard Gordon Smith

Book Overview

This enthralling collection brings together over 50 ancient tales from Japanese folklore, gathered and retold by 19th century traveler and naturalist Richard Gordon Smith.

During his journeys around Japan, Smith recorded ancient Japanese myths and legends in his personal diaries. The result is a fascinating collection of historical legends from all over Japan, with themes including ghosts, unrequited love, Shinto landscape, tree and ocean spirits, samurai culture and tales driven by Bushido and Buddhist ethics.

Gordon Smith's writing combines a realist style with supernatural elements, resulting in an anthology of 'magic realist' tales which will bewitch and captivate readers.

ABOUT THE SERIES: Arcturus World Mythology series brings together captivating retellings of myths and legends from different oral traditions, from Greek and Roman to Norse and Native American, offering rich insight into their cultures and beliefs.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1398836117
• ISBN13: 9781398836112
• Release Date: July 2024
• Publisher: Sirius Entertainment
• Length: 288 Pages
• Weight: 0.90 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 6.0" x 9.2"

Customer Reviews

Tales from another land (from me)

This book offers you an interesting look into the stories that are told around the land. These stories come from various regions and the author is nice enough to give credit to each and every storyteller that gives him these stories. I cannot verify how much truth is any of the folklore, but it doesn't really matter each are satisfying in their own way. The color illustrations are marvelous and done by oriental artists, not western artists. Each color plate gives the feeling of a painting making the story feel like both painting and story have been around a long time. I highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys Japan or would like a slightly different look into the history of Japan. Note this may not be historically accurate, but in my opinion, the stories that are handed down tell as much about the culture as the history itself.