Lafcadio Hearn's Japan: An Anthology of His Writings on the Country and It's People

By Lafcadio Hearn

Book Overview

This collection of writings from Lafcadio Hearn paints a rare and fascinating picture of pre-modern Japan.

Over a century after his death, author, translator, and educator Lafcadio Hearn remains one of the best-known Westerners ever to make Japan his home. His prolific writings on things Japanese were instrumental in introducing Japanese culture to the West.

In this masterful anthology, Donald Richie shows that Hearn was a reliable and enthusiastic observer who faithfully recorded detailed accounts of the people, customs, and culture of late 19th-century Japan. Opening and closing with excerpts from Hearn's final books, Richie's astute selection from among over 4,000 printed pages also reveals Hearn's later, more sober and reflective attitudes to the things that he observed and wrote about.

Part One, The Land, chronicles Hearn's early years when he wrote primarily about the appearance of his adopted home. Part Two, The People, records the author's later years when he came to terms with the Japanese people themselves.

The 18 writings include:

The Chief City of the Province of the Gods
Three Popular Ballads
In the Cave of the Children's Ghosts
Bits of Life and Death
A Street Singer
Kimiko
On A Bridge

Through Lafcadio Hearn's Japan, discover turn-of-the-century Japan through the eyes of a talented and eloquent observer.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 4805308737
• ISBN13: 9784805308738
• Release Date: October 2007
• Publisher: Tuttle Publishing
• Length: 224 Pages
• Weight: 0.65 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 5.1" x 7.9"

Customer Reviews

A compilation of folk stories from Japan

Lafcadio Hearn published a series of short stories to be printed in a famous periodical in US. These are a few of those stories. His approach is reminiscent of Washington Irving, Tales of Alhambra. That is to say, that the stories are part folk, part his own imagination or views. Just like a Gaugin's painting of Tahitian women, Mr Hearn "recreated" his own Japan. The stories and descriptions are beautiful, very atmospheric, and easthetic. They are a pleasure to read over and over.

A Very Rewarding Piece

The selection of works by Lafcadio Hearn shows the true Japan of ancient times. In his writings, there is a great deal of description and depth which allows the reader to fully understand how completely different it is from the Western world he came from. The first half deals with his surroundings-the garden he would watch for hours, his home where he would watch the townspeople go about their daily routines, the temples with their own unique legends and traditions. The second half of the book, though, is more interesting in that he describes the people in particular. Through his friends and those around him he tells exciting anecdotes that reveal the real Japan. I enjoyed this book very much and am glad I decided to purchase it. For anyone interested in learning about Japan following the beginning of the Meiji era (after 1868) this is definitely a good book to start with.