Ancient Tales And Folklore Of Japan
Condition: SECONDHAND
This is a secondhand book. The jacket image is a photograph of the exact copy we have in stock. This image shows the condition of this book. Further condition remarks are below.
Condition remarks:
Book: Good
Jacket: Worn/faded, no tears
Pages: Good
Markings: No markings
A rich treasury of Japanese mythology and oral tradition, Ancient Tales and Folklore of Japan presents a sweeping collection of legends, ghost stories, and supernatural narratives gathered firsthand by Richard Gordon Smith during his extensive travels throughout Japan in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Drawing on encounters with local storytellers, fishermen, and villagers, Smith chronicles tales of vengeful spirits, shape-shifting foxes, sea dragons, and heroic samurai with an ethnographer's eye and a storyteller's heart. The tone is atmospheric and reverential, honoring the cultural weight of each legend while rendering it accessible to Western readers unfamiliar with Japanese tradition. Illustrated with vivid detail, the collection illuminates the moral frameworks, spiritual beliefs, and regional customs that shaped everyday life in feudal and Meiji-era Japan. It remains an invaluable primary source for folklorists, historians, and anyone captivated by the haunting beauty of Japan's mythological imagination.
Author: Richard Gordon Smith
Format: Hardback
Published: 1986, Bracken Books
Genre: Myths & legends
Condition remarks:
Book: Good
Jacket: Worn/faded, no tears
Pages: Good
Markings: No markings
A rich treasury of Japanese mythology and oral tradition, Ancient Tales and Folklore of Japan presents a sweeping collection of legends, ghost stories, and supernatural narratives gathered firsthand by Richard Gordon Smith during his extensive travels throughout Japan in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Drawing on encounters with local storytellers, fishermen, and villagers, Smith chronicles tales of vengeful spirits, shape-shifting foxes, sea dragons, and heroic samurai with an ethnographer's eye and a storyteller's heart. The tone is atmospheric and reverential, honoring the cultural weight of each legend while rendering it accessible to Western readers unfamiliar with Japanese tradition. Illustrated with vivid detail, the collection illuminates the moral frameworks, spiritual beliefs, and regional customs that shaped everyday life in feudal and Meiji-era Japan. It remains an invaluable primary source for folklorists, historians, and anyone captivated by the haunting beauty of Japan's mythological imagination.