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Out of the East
subtitled 'Reveries And Studies In New Japan'
341 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1895
About the author
Lafcadio Hearn
1,578 books470 followersGreek-born American writer Lafcadio Hearn spent 15 years in Japan; people note his collections of stories and essays, including
Kokoro
(1896), under pen name Koizumi Yakumo.
Rosa Cassimati (Ρόζα Αντωνίου Κασιμάτη in Greek), a Greek woman, bore Patrick Lafcadio Hearn (Πατρίκιος Λευκάδιος Χερν in Greek or 小泉八雲 in Japanese), a son, to Charles Hearn, an army doctor from Ireland. After making remarkable works in America as a journalist, he went to Japan in 1890 as a journey report writer of a magazine. He arrived in Yokohama, but because of a dissatisfaction with the contract, he quickly quit the job. He afterward moved to Matsué as an English teacher of Shimané prefectural middle school. In Matsué, he got acquainted with Nishida Sentarô, a colleague teacher and his lifelong friend, and married Koizumi Setsu, a daughter of a samurai.
In 1891, he moved to Kumamoto and taught at the fifth high school for three years. Kanô Jigorô, the president of the school of that time, spread judo to the world.
Hearn worked as a journalist in Kôbé and afterward in 1896 got Japanese citizenship and a new name, Koizumi Yakumo. He took this name from "Kojiki," a Japanese ancient myth, which roughly translates as "the place where the clouds are born". On that year, he moved to Tôkyô and began to teach at the Imperial University of Tôkyô. He got respect of students, many of whom made a remarkable literary career. In addition, he wrote much reports of Japan and published in America. So many people read his works as an introduction of Japan. He quit the Imperial University in 1903 and began to teach at Waseda University on the year next. Nevertheless, after only a half year, he died of angina pectoris.
Rosa Cassimati (Ρόζα Αντωνίου Κασιμάτη in Greek), a Greek woman, bore Patrick Lafcadio Hearn (Πατρίκιος Λευκάδιος Χερν in Greek or 小泉八雲 in Japanese), a son, to Charles Hearn, an army doctor from Ireland. After making remarkable works in America as a journalist, he went to Japan in 1890 as a journey report writer of a magazine. He arrived in Yokohama, but because of a dissatisfaction with the contract, he quickly quit the job. He afterward moved to Matsué as an English teacher of Shimané prefectural middle school. In Matsué, he got acquainted with Nishida Sentarô, a colleague teacher and his lifelong friend, and married Koizumi Setsu, a daughter of a samurai.
In 1891, he moved to Kumamoto and taught at the fifth high school for three years. Kanô Jigorô, the president of the school of that time, spread judo to the world.
Hearn worked as a journalist in Kôbé and afterward in 1896 got Japanese citizenship and a new name, Koizumi Yakumo. He took this name from "Kojiki," a Japanese ancient myth, which roughly translates as "the place where the clouds are born". On that year, he moved to Tôkyô and began to teach at the Imperial University of Tôkyô. He got respect of students, many of whom made a remarkable literary career. In addition, he wrote much reports of Japan and published in America. So many people read his works as an introduction of Japan. He quit the Imperial University in 1903 and began to teach at Waseda University on the year next. Nevertheless, after only a half year, he died of angina pectoris.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
June 22, 2008
while it may seem just a collection of stories and remembrances, musings and fascinations of an outsider, sometimes hit and miss, deep down this book is a love story. not hopeless, romantic, platonic, fantasy, or unrequited, but intelligent love. this is love that analyzes, penetrates, compares, studies, digs, and tries to understand the other, physically, psychologically, and spiritually taking into account the differences of that other and, while never releasing his own identity, using it as both mirror and standard by which to question and reflect upon the truth and groundings of his beliefs and pre-conceived systems. i wish more people loved like Hearn...
also my copy is a General Electric Company San Francisco office library book, last checked out in 1931 by a Miss Eluasm, printed on letterpress. it feels good in your hands, and may have tainted my view of the book. to borrow, inquire within.
also my copy is a General Electric Company San Francisco office library book, last checked out in 1931 by a Miss Eluasm, printed on letterpress. it feels good in your hands, and may have tainted my view of the book. to borrow, inquire within.
March 21, 2016
Lafcadio Hearn was probably as responsible as anyone for opening the Western mind to the ways of the Japanese, having lived and worked there, marrying a Japanese woman and becoming a naturalized citizen.
He made his fame through translating Japanese ghost stories, but he also wrote a vast amount of essays and articles, with this being a collection of short, thoughtful pieces.
He was a teacher, and he taught young men in conservative Kyushu, where the 'ancient samurai spirit lives on'. He set questions for his students, such as "My first day at school", "What do men remember longest?" and "What is most difficult to understand?".
The snippets of answers he includes from their compositions give a fascinating insight into the differences between the Eastern and Western mind.
Elsewhere he retells and then contemplates the meaning of a famous Japanese Faerie story over a thousand years old ('Dream of a Summer Day'), that of the fisherman Urashima Taro, who spared a turtle and was given the hand of the Daughter of the King of the Sea Dragon, but longed to see home again just once more.
He also tells anecdotes about such things as 'Iki-ryo', ghosts of the living that can emanate from feelings such as anger or sorrow, and of lovers' suicide pacts, or 'joshi'.
'Of the Eternal Feminine' starts out to explain how the Japanese consider English novels "indecent" (it's nothing to do with prudery), then expands the argument to show how fundamentally different their idea of Art and Nature is to the Western norm.
Similarly, in another essay he describes jiu jitsu, which literally translates as 'to conquer by yielding', then shows how Japan has used the same technique to assimilate Western ideas without imitating or being overrun by them.
Finally, in 'A Wish Fulfilled' he meets a former pupil, now in the military and on the eve of going to the war with Korea. Their discussion reveals the views of a Japanese soldier at such a time, and as the title suggests he goes off to fight with a joyous heart.
Often delightful, always illuminating.
He made his fame through translating Japanese ghost stories, but he also wrote a vast amount of essays and articles, with this being a collection of short, thoughtful pieces.
He was a teacher, and he taught young men in conservative Kyushu, where the 'ancient samurai spirit lives on'. He set questions for his students, such as "My first day at school", "What do men remember longest?" and "What is most difficult to understand?".
The snippets of answers he includes from their compositions give a fascinating insight into the differences between the Eastern and Western mind.
Elsewhere he retells and then contemplates the meaning of a famous Japanese Faerie story over a thousand years old ('Dream of a Summer Day'), that of the fisherman Urashima Taro, who spared a turtle and was given the hand of the Daughter of the King of the Sea Dragon, but longed to see home again just once more.
He also tells anecdotes about such things as 'Iki-ryo', ghosts of the living that can emanate from feelings such as anger or sorrow, and of lovers' suicide pacts, or 'joshi'.
'Of the Eternal Feminine' starts out to explain how the Japanese consider English novels "indecent" (it's nothing to do with prudery), then expands the argument to show how fundamentally different their idea of Art and Nature is to the Western norm.
Similarly, in another essay he describes jiu jitsu, which literally translates as 'to conquer by yielding', then shows how Japan has used the same technique to assimilate Western ideas without imitating or being overrun by them.
Finally, in 'A Wish Fulfilled' he meets a former pupil, now in the military and on the eve of going to the war with Korea. Their discussion reveals the views of a Japanese soldier at such a time, and as the title suggests he goes off to fight with a joyous heart.
Often delightful, always illuminating.
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July 1, 2021While this might not be as easiliy accessible as others of his, this is still an interesting read. It does instill the wish to be able to travel not only in space but also in time to be able to wander in the steps of the author for a while.
April 4, 2012
It was pretty good.
July 15, 2019
Hearn's second book on Japan, published in 1895.
October 30, 2019
3 1/4 stars
May 20, 2026
邦題「東の国から」今回も平井呈一のクラッシックで流麗な日本語訳で読んだ。
「夏の日の夢」は浦島太郎伝説から、白昼夢のようなハーンの想像の世界が面白い。
そして、熊本第五高等学校の生徒とのやり取りが興味深い「九州の学生とともに」。ハーンは松江から熊本に行っても、熱血教師であり、彼自身が知識の宝庫だ。こんな先生に授業を受けた学生はさぞかし幸せだったろう。一生の宝物になっただろう。
松江時代の教え子小須賀浅吉が熊本の連隊に出征する時に恩師ハーンを訪ねる話「願望成就」は、新聞の戦死者名簿に彼の名前を発見するところで終わっている。厳しい現実だ。
明治から昭和２０年まで、ずっと日本は戦争をしてきた。
西洋とは違う日本人の死生観にハーンは驚きを隠せない。
「夏の日の夢」は浦島太郎伝説から、白昼夢のようなハーンの想像の世界が面白い。
そして、熊本第五高等学校の生徒とのやり取りが興味深い「九州の学生とともに」。ハーンは松江から熊本に行っても、熱血教師であり、彼自身が知識の宝庫だ。こんな先生に授業を受けた学生はさぞかし幸せだったろう。一生の宝物になっただろう。
松江時代の教え子小須賀浅吉が熊本の連隊に出征する時に恩師ハーンを訪ねる話「願望成就」は、新聞の戦死者名簿に彼の名前を発見するところで終わっている。厳しい現実だ。
明治から昭和２０年まで、ずっと日本は戦争をしてきた。
西洋とは違う日本人の死生観にハーンは驚きを隠せない。
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews