Lafcadio Hearn's Japan: An Anthology of his Writings on the Country and it's People Paperback – Illustrated, October 15, 2007

Thoroughly enjoyed this book of some of the earliest English adaptations of Japanese folklore.

Lafcadio Hearn took up residence in Japan at a time when Western influence on the people and culture were minimal. His descriptions of customs and the individual people he encounters are filled with his own sense of wonder at the difference from anything he's known as a westerner. As a record of Japan in the Miejii Period his writing is incredibly atmospheric and evocative. This is a valuable selection for anyone interested in the period of Japanese history preceding the modernization of the 20th century. Hearn's style can feel dated at times but it is packed with reflective observations of a world about to go through transformative changes. Like old photographs these sketches can be revisited again and again to gain a sense of just how exotic Japan must have felt to an early visitor.

This is an excellent collection of the work of a keen observer of 19th century Japan. Hearn's insights are somewhat politically incorrect by today's standards but in spite of that -- or rather because of it -- contain some very penetrating observations on the Japanese character and psychology based on a great deal of experience. Hearn is widely regarded as an authority on the subject and provides a window into the differences between Western and Japanese culture. Anyone genuinely curious about Japan should acquaint themselves with his work.

A little slow to start, but as he finds his bearings in the country he also finds his voice in his writing. Charming.

Fascinating to hear the views of an English teacher who chanced upon the lovely Matsue 100 years ago.... A lovely and enthusiastic style. I recommend this book heartily.

Anyone interested in Japanese cultural needs to start with the writings of Lafcadio Yearn.

Good

Many good reads

Lafcadio Hearn or Yakuma Kiozumi, the name he took as he was a Japanese citizen, was an impressionist and converted to Buddhism. He was living in Japan for 15 years and deeply involved in the culture. He married into a Japanese local samurai family named Setsuko and could experiencing country live and as well city live in many facets. He was humble and knew that he never would understand the Japanese culture, but he wanted to absorb all the peculiar things and report them in a living writing to the English-speaking community worldwide. He had to make his living with teaching and mainly with writing as a journalist for a newspaper in Kobe.His stories and revelations are immerging us into the alien culture. We learn the Japanese respect the people and the nature. They feel the divine in the natural objects and appreciate the living beings. Superstitions and Buddhist customs are often very close together The culture has deep roots in the past, in the myths, in the tradition of the ancestors. The past is always at the present. For us as non-Japanese it is difficult to reach the inside of the human thinking and feeling of a Japanese human being. Understanding is a long process and will never be completed. The limit is the language which is the key for understanding to follow the hermeneutical process. Hearn could not speak or read Japanese. He was a beginner in that matter, but he was asking for the meaning of the words and gave not up until he achieved the true insights. From this working with the people he could write the stories. For example, he described the hair dress of the Japanese ladies and discovered many superstitions and myths about the coiffure. Hairs can transform the shape and evolved into vipers showing the relationship between a wife and the concubines who are living under one roof.The book opens the world of the Japanese culture. The writing was done more than 100 years ago, nevertheless the narratives are still valid. Natural places like around Matsue where Hearn was living for the first years in Japan, were describes very romantic. In the writing a strong reverence for the nature is palpable. Maybe today, it is difficult to find such natural remained places but the connection between the human being and his surrounding nature is still the same. The Japanese love for a landscape garden is shown in the modelling of a charming and living garden in minuscule forms in the cities where the private space is very tiny.Donald Richie guides us through the selected writings by adding many biographical background information to understand the motivation of the writer and his necessity of the telling the stories.He states “He reported was he saw. It is for this reason that we read him now”.

Excellent introduction to each section