Kwaidan: Stories and Studies of Strange Things

By Lafcadio Hearn

Book Overview

Delve into the eerie and enchanting world of "Kwaidan," a collection of classic Japanese ghost stories and legends retold by Lafcadio Hearn. This volume gathers haunting tales of the supernatural, drawing from Japanese folklore and sacred stories. Explore themes of horror, the uncanny, and the enduring power of the spirit world through these meticulously recounted accounts.

Hearn masterfully weaves together elements of Japanese culture and tradition, offering a glimpse into a realm where the boundaries between the living and the dead blur. Discover captivating narratives that have resonated through generations, showcasing the rich tapestry of Japanese legends. "Kwaidan" provides a fascinating window into a world steeped in mystery and the supernatural, securing its place as a timeless collection of Asian literature. A republication of historical text.

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. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1022977601
• ISBN13: 9781022977600
• Release Date: March 2025
• Publisher: Anson Street Press
• Length: 106 Pages
• Weight: 0.35 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.2" x 6.1" x 9.2"

Customer Reviews

Japan's most famous collection of ghost and monster tales

"Kwaidan" is Hearn's most famous book, and justifiably so. It is the least academic of his works, collecting together some of Japan's core ghost and monster stories into one slim volume. Much like the Brothers Grimm, Hearn did not actually create these stories but rather compiled them and put them into written form for the first time, learning them from folk tales and storytellers.Along with famous, "Kwaidan" is Hearn's most influential book. "The Story of Mimi-nashi Hoichi" is as well-known in Japan as "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" is in the United States. The "Yuki Onna" has made it into a few films, including Kurosawa's "Dreams" and the filmed version of this book, "Kwaidan."The stories themselves are of excellent quality, ranging from spooky ghost tales to humorous tales of wandering monks encountering monsters. Each story ranges from 5-15 pages long.Along with the stories are three insect studies, the likes of which can be found in all Hearn books. These are excellent academic studies of insects in traditional Japanese folk lore, including children's songs and haiku poetry involving insects.Included are:The 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-BabaHi-MawariHoraiInsect Studies -ButterfilesMosquitosAnts

things that go bump in the night

This is a deliciously creepy collection of Japanese folk stories from Lafcadio Hearn (aka Koizumi Yagumo). Hearn was born in Greece, raised in Ireland, and then spent later years in the U.S. (esp. Cincinatti and New Orleans), where he worked as a reporter. In 1890, during the early Meiji Era, he settled in Japan. Hearn taught English in several places (Yokohama, Shimane-ken, Kyushu, and Tokyo-shi), married into a samurai family (gaining the name Koizumi Yagumo and Japanese citizenship), and wrote several books about Japanese culture and folklore. Kwaidan is a fun, spooky book, and I highly recommend it. (Also, if you or your children have read the Harry Potter books, you'll see that some of the "Dark Creatures" therein are actually of Japanese origin).

Ghost stories by a Western more Japanese than Japanese

Lafcadio Hearn is well-known in his Japanese name, Koizumi Yagumo. Actually, I never doubted that Koizumi Yagumo was a born-Japanese. His famous Kwaidan, or Japanese ghost stories are so "Japanese" and it really scared me. When my brother told me that Koizumi Yagumo is actually a Western people, I didn't believe it at first... He was born in 1850 in Greek, his mother's country. Educated in his father's country, Ireland, he went to USA when he was 19 years old. He worked as a journalist in New Orlens, then came to Japan and became an English teacher in Matsue, Shimane prefecture in 1890. He married with Yae Koizumi and got Japanese citizenship. Kwaidan includes ghost stories lik Earless Ho Ichi, a Biwa (Japanese PiPa) player and story teller of famous Heike legends, who was possesed by Heike (the warrior family once governed Japan then defeated) warriors' ghosts because of his talent, and Mujina, bewitched racoon dogs which scare people to death. Koizumi Yagumo is more Japanese than Japanese... Koizumi Yagumo is still popular in Japan (and I believe a lot of people still believe that he is a born-Japanese...). When I searched Koizumi Yagumo in Japanese Goo, it hit 422!