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Summary
Summary
An extraordinary collection of Japanese ghost stories, many in English for the first time!
This spine-chilling anthology of 77 spooky stories from the Japanese collection Tales from Shinshu is compiled and edited by award-winning author Noboru Wada. It features traditional tales of yokai, ghosts, mountain witches, demons and apparitions frequently sighted in and around the mountainous Shinshu region in central Japan.
The terrifying tales in this collection include :
The Legend of the Snow Woman : A beautiful woman appears at Minokichi's door one night in a snowstorm. They marry and live happily, until one day her terrible secret is revealed.
Kappa Taro : A legendary yokai terrifies villagers by luring them into a pond, where they drown. Can Suwa Yorito, famed for his strength, successfully challenge this terrifying demon?
The Yamamba Witch's Daughter: Who would ever dream of marrying a mountain witch? Can the Yamamba's daughter find the love and happiness she seeks?
These stories have been passed down for generations from grandparents to their grandchildren, sitting around the hearth on cold and snowy winter nights. They are well-known throughout Japan and are believed by the inhabitants of Shinshu to have actually occurred in the distant past.
Author Notes
Noboru Wada was born in Nagano, in central Japan. He graduated from Shinshu University and worked as a school teacher for 31 years. In 1977, he received the first Kenjiro Tsukahara Literary Award for his work The Fortress of Sorrow , which depicts Korean slave laborers forced to build a bunker for Japanese military officials during World War II. In 2005, he won the Sankei Award for his book Weapons Can't Save the Earth . In addition to anti-war and anti-discrimination children's books, he has written biographies, ghost stories and science fiction for children. From 2011 - 2017 he was director of the Kurohime Fairy Tales Museum in Nagano. Many of his books are illustrated by his daughter, Haruna Wada. The Snow Woman and Other Yokai Tales is his first work to be published in English.
William Scott Wilson holds BAs from Dartmouth and The Monterey Institute and an MA from the University of Washington. His first trip to Japan in 1966 was to undertake a kayak trip funded by National Geographic Magazine , paddling 1200 miles through the Inland Sea from Shimonoseki to Tokyo. The story appeared in the September, 1967 issue. He has worked as a translator and cultural advisor for the Japanese Consul-General in Seattle, a teacher of Japanese language and social studies, and a guide for Japanese tourists. He has written over 20 books that have been translated into 21 languages. His first book, a translation of an 18th century treatise on Samurai philosophy, the Hagakure , was featured in the film Ghost Dog by director Jim Jarmusch. He was awarded a Commendation from the Foreign Ministry of Japan in 2005 and inducted into the Order of the Rising Sun in 2015.
Reviews (1)
Publisher's Weekly Review
Drawing from the Japanese folklore volume Tales from Shinshu, manga writer Wada pulls together an enchanting compendium of short stories that offer fascinating glimpses into Japanese history, culture, and folk beliefs. Several are moralistic in tone, like "The Demons That Were Stuck in the Eye by Irises," about a greedy man who, "when he came of the age to take a wife, often repeated, 'For me, I need to find a woman who doesn't eat, but works hard. Otherwise I won't get married.'" He learns his folly before the story's out. Other tales explore the origins of traditions: "The Kappa and the Dumplings" reveals why casting dumplings into a river will save future swimmers from drowning. Especially poignant is "The Woman Who Could Not Tell Her Name," which explores the tragedy of a time when "women could not speak their names even though they were doing important work." Wilson's translation maintains the frank, fairy tale flatness of the originals, many of which were passed down through oral tradition. Though demons, ghosts, and other mythological monsters feature throughout, there's no hint of horror here. Instead, these 79 brief glimpses into Japanese folk culture open a world of subtle strangeness. (Apr.)
