This collection of writings from Lafcadio Hearn paints a rare and
fascinating picture of pre-modern Japan.
Over a century after his death, author, translator, and educator
Lafcadio Hearn remains one of the best-known Westerners ever to make
Japan his home. His prolific writings on things Japanese were
instrumental in introducing Japanese culture to the West.
In this masterful anthology, Donald Richie shows that Hearn was a
reliable and enthusiastic observer who faithfully recorded detailed
accounts of the people, customs, and culture of late 19th-century Japan.
Opening and closing with excerpts from Hearn's final books, Richie's
astute selection from among "over 4,000 printed pages" also reveals
Hearn's later, more sober and reflective attitudes to the things that he
observed and wrote about.
Part One, "The Land," chronicles Hearn's early years when he wrote
primarily about the appearance of his adopted home. Part Two, "The
People," records the author's later years when he came to terms with the
Japanese people themselves.
The 18 writings include:
The Chief City of the Province of the Gods
Three Popular Ballads
In the Cave of the Children's Ghosts
Bits of Life and Death
A Street Singer
Kimiko
On A Bridge
Through Lafcadio Hearn's Japan, discover turn-of-the-century Japan
through the eyes of a talented and eloquent observer.