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Yuki-Onna and Other Stories
Haunting, mysterious and beautiful, but also possessed of unimaginable power and the capacity for terrifying cruelty, the ghosts of Lafcadio Hearn's fiction draw their inspiration from the folklore of ancient Japan. These ghoulish beings range from spectral brides to vengeful phantoms and unruly goblins.
This collection includes such spectacular tales as "Ingwa-Banashi", "The Corpse-Rider" and "Of a Promise Broken". Through his peerless writing he creates a series of unforgettable tales that remind us of forgotten worlds where the boundaries between myth and reality grow thin.
This collection includes such spectacular tales as "Ingwa-Banashi", "The Corpse-Rider" and "Of a Promise Broken". Through his peerless writing he creates a series of unforgettable tales that remind us of forgotten worlds where the boundaries between myth and reality grow thin.
192 pages, Paperback
Published February 1, 2022
12 people are currently reading
95 people want to read
About the author
Lafcadio Hearn
1,474 books454 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
January 26, 2022
My first encounter with Asian folklore and the supernatural was in high school when I watched (and exhausted) Asian cinema vehemently, my favorite motives being the samurai period and supernatural stories.
A movie named "Kwaidan" (dir. Masaki Kobayashi) was very entertaining for me, with some striking shots, especially from the story about Yuki-Onna. A couple of stories from the movie are found in this book and the movie and the book are matched word by word, shot by shot.
My first thought was that Yuki-Onna would be the only Asian story but I was pleasantly surprised that ancient Japan was the focus of the book. I did not know that much about their pantheon of ghosts or folklore in general (only what I learned through their movies or other media) so this book gave me another layer of knowledge of their culture.
I recommend this book to anyone willing to learn more about Japan's mythology or simply to anyone with a penchant for horror stories.
P.S. Except "Kwaidan", other movies of note in this genre would for me be "Onibaba" and "Black Cat" so feel free to peruse them to enhance your reading experience, or vice versa.
A movie named "Kwaidan" (dir. Masaki Kobayashi) was very entertaining for me, with some striking shots, especially from the story about Yuki-Onna. A couple of stories from the movie are found in this book and the movie and the book are matched word by word, shot by shot.
My first thought was that Yuki-Onna would be the only Asian story but I was pleasantly surprised that ancient Japan was the focus of the book. I did not know that much about their pantheon of ghosts or folklore in general (only what I learned through their movies or other media) so this book gave me another layer of knowledge of their culture.
I recommend this book to anyone willing to learn more about Japan's mythology or simply to anyone with a penchant for horror stories.
P.S. Except "Kwaidan", other movies of note in this genre would for me be "Onibaba" and "Black Cat" so feel free to peruse them to enhance your reading experience, or vice versa.
October 26, 2022
What an interesting read this was! The set that I got this book in was primarily focused more on supernatural and cosmic horror, while this one seems much more inspired by Japanese legends and folklore. Since I haven’t read much like that before, it was a unique and interesting experience.
Overall I wouldn’t say there were a lot of stories that particularly stood out to me but everything here was really solid. Some of the stories are more like ghost stories, others are dark folk tales about strange creatures, things of that nature. It’s a concept that I think is pretty well-worn but it’s interesting to get a Japanese twist on them.
Again, not much here that I absolutely loved. But what is here is quite enjoyable and I actually liked it more than expected. Definitely recommend if Japanese culture is appealing to you.
Rating: 7.5/10
Overall I wouldn’t say there were a lot of stories that particularly stood out to me but everything here was really solid. Some of the stories are more like ghost stories, others are dark folk tales about strange creatures, things of that nature. It’s a concept that I think is pretty well-worn but it’s interesting to get a Japanese twist on them.
Again, not much here that I absolutely loved. But what is here is quite enjoyable and I actually liked it more than expected. Definitely recommend if Japanese culture is appealing to you.
Rating: 7.5/10
March 11, 2025
A lesson to learn from this:
If you are a pretty, young wife.
Then you will die
If you are a pretty, young wife.
Then you will die
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 18, 2025
3.5⭐ HMMM...
this is a very interesting book. it was fascinating to read about these Japanese folk tales, and Hearn's writing is pretty good. but, it's a very strange mixed bag.
most of the stories are rather bare bones, and told in a very simplistic way, which is I guess not atypical for fairytales. but sometimes, a story will be longer and more complex, or it will be written in a very different style that's far more in line with something that's found in the Necronomicon box-set (which is where I have this book). some of the stories just felt unpolished, or rather very "guy who wants to relay folklore to his audience in a completely stream-of-consciousness way." sometimes the story will just have an in-text footnote (even though there are regular footnotes), or the story will end abruptly and say something like "this is where the author stops speaking. then I went out a took a walk to think about the character of the story." it happens often enough that I felt Hearn should have just had a short introduction for every story. it's just so weird, and it doesn't help that most of his stories are told very simply, even though some other stories clearly demonstrate his ability to write beautifully. I wished that he would maybe write all his notes in an introduction and then when telling the story, take his own liberties as an author to just write a good, well-written story.
HOWEVER, it might seems from all this that I didn't like it, but I did enjoy it. there are a few specific stories that are both very interesting and well written, and the rest, while never stood out, were still interesting to learn as Japanese folk tales that I've never heard of before.
Overall, not fantastic, but still interesting and I didn't regret reading, especially given how short it is. 6.5/10
this is a very interesting book. it was fascinating to read about these Japanese folk tales, and Hearn's writing is pretty good. but, it's a very strange mixed bag.
most of the stories are rather bare bones, and told in a very simplistic way, which is I guess not atypical for fairytales. but sometimes, a story will be longer and more complex, or it will be written in a very different style that's far more in line with something that's found in the Necronomicon box-set (which is where I have this book). some of the stories just felt unpolished, or rather very "guy who wants to relay folklore to his audience in a completely stream-of-consciousness way." sometimes the story will just have an in-text footnote (even though there are regular footnotes), or the story will end abruptly and say something like "this is where the author stops speaking. then I went out a took a walk to think about the character of the story." it happens often enough that I felt Hearn should have just had a short introduction for every story. it's just so weird, and it doesn't help that most of his stories are told very simply, even though some other stories clearly demonstrate his ability to write beautifully. I wished that he would maybe write all his notes in an introduction and then when telling the story, take his own liberties as an author to just write a good, well-written story.
HOWEVER, it might seems from all this that I didn't like it, but I did enjoy it. there are a few specific stories that are both very interesting and well written, and the rest, while never stood out, were still interesting to learn as Japanese folk tales that I've never heard of before.
Overall, not fantastic, but still interesting and I didn't regret reading, especially given how short it is. 6.5/10
September 17, 2024
This book is mostly a collection of supernatural stories based on Japanese folklore, and what a collection it is! The majority of the stories are quite short, but powerful, with a sort of macabre beauty about them. If you have enjoyed classic Japanese films such as "Rashomon," "Kwaidan," and "Onibaba," you would probably like these stories.
February 16, 2023
My collection is called “Tales and Essays from Old Japan,” with an introduction by Edwin McClellan (1956), but I cannot find it here. It includes Yuki-Onna, The Story of Mimi-Nashi-Hoichi, Mosquitos and others.
September 21, 2024
A lot of interesting stories of the supernatural with inspiration taken from ancient japanese folklore.
Some might say the author is a little crazy, a little silly if you will, and he is. If any of this is actually real (especially Nightmare-Touch) I hope he got therapy or something.
Some might say the author is a little crazy, a little silly if you will, and he is. If any of this is actually real (especially Nightmare-Touch) I hope he got therapy or something.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews