Japanese Ghost Stories

by Hiroko Yoda (Introduction)

Many of the ghost stories of Japan came to the fore during the Edo period with its famous woodblocks of ukiyo-e , the floating world.

With a new introduction, this collection of Japanese ghost stories brings together fantastic tales of vengeful spirits, mountain-dwelling phantoms, man-eating oni , haunted trees, and child-rearing ghosts, with stories such as Yuki-Onna, Hoichi the Earless, The Ghost of O-Kiku from The Bancho Sarayashiki , the sorry tale of O-Iwa from the Yotsuya Kaidan, The Peony Lantern and The Ghost Who Bought Candy. Japan has a long and ancient custom of sharing stories of the supernatural, brought to fashionable prominence in the Kaidan literature of the Edo period, now presented here for the modern reader.

FLAME TREE 451 : From myth to mystery, the supernatural to horror, fantasy and science fiction, Flame Tree 451 offers a healthy diet of werewolves and mechanical men, blood-lusty vampires, dastardly villains, mad scientists, secret worlds, lost civilizations and escapist fantasies. Discover a storehouse of tales gathered specifically for the reader of the fantastic.

Genres: Horror, Nonfiction

256 pages, Paperback

Published November 28, 2023

Reviews

[Julicke · Rating 4 out of 5]

To a Western reader, many elements and patterns in these stories are quite familiar: ghosts with unfinished business, vengeful spirits terrorizing their wrongdoers, haunted cemetaries, the rule of threes, tragic love stories resulting in death, exorcisms, etc. What made this an interesting and often surprising read for me were the specifically Japanese elements like haunted temples, elaborate Buddhist cleansing and protective rituals, tricksy foxes and badgers disguised as loved ones, physical transformations as either a result of moral corruption (e.g. people turning into oni) or as a result of devotion (e.g. people turning into protective trees), some rather gruesome body horror, and more. Overall, these stories provided a window to a culture fixated on justice and morality (particularly fidelity in marriage and spiritual purity), even beyond the grave.

Not all the stories were as entertaing and some could have done with a bit more context, but I mostly had a good time with this.

[📖Moon Book Eater🍽️ · Rating 2 out of 5]

I had high hopes for this book, but it was just such a facts packed book. Very dry, no spook.

[Ashesh Mitra · Rating 4 out of 5]

A solid mixed bag of stories from different parts of Japan, dealing with the rich folklore or should I say ghost lore of the nation. Some of these stories are not for the faint of heart, some of these stories do a great job of showing that not all ghosts are evil, and almost all of these stories make you appreciate the tradition of hyakumonogatari more and more. The ideal read for a night of fun and frolic or at a campfire, when the lights are low and the flames are licking your feet to keep them warm

[Kristin · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's an interesting read. Consistents of a compilation of more traditional stories translated into English by other people.

I was kind of hoping for more "modern" (still old but popular in media to this day) ghostly tales (such as Kuchisake-onna or Teke Teke), maybe even some more light-hearted stories, like Betobeto-san. So, in that aspect, it was a bit disappointing. But it's still an interesting read.

[Salem Zarir · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very few of these stories are actually scary, and about half of them only seem to carry the sweet mystery of Japan. But, at least, none of the stories seemed down right bad. These were my favourites: A passional Karma, Jiu-roku-zakura, Yuki-onna, The reconciliation, Mujina, Yotsuya Kwaidan, Shiramine, The ghost that bought candy.

[Lauren · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was good, but I really wanted it to be... better? spookier? creepier?

If I'm being honest, I feel that a lot of the beauty and poetry of Japanese stories gets lost in translation and I feel as though the "creep factory" of these stories does as well. The stories are pretty good, don't get me wrong, but I was really hoping they would be scarier. They are ghost stories after all, and one expects to at least be creeped out by a ghost story if not thoroughly scared. It's definitely worth a read though. I think my favorites were The Spirit of the Lantern, A Haunted Temple in Inaba Province, The Spirit of the Willow Tree, The Blue Hood, and The Ghost Who Bought Candy.

In all fairness, this was my first foray into Japanese short stories, so I may be judging a little harshly. I really DID enjoy them though!

[Silena · Rating 5 out of 5]

A collection of ghost stories from Japan.