"Myths and Legends of Japan," written in 1913, was an immediate best-seller when it was first released. With the Meiji Restoration, Japan began a period of modernization in the late 19th century that would open up the country to the rest of the world for the first time. This allowed historians like F. Hadland Davis, the author of "Myths and Legends of Japan" an unprecedented opportunity to study and introduce Japanese culture to Western audiences...