Kwaidan: Stories and Studies of Strange Things
Encyclopedia
, often shortened to Kwaidan, is a book by Lafcadio Hearn
that features several Japanese ghost stories
and a brief non-fiction study on insects. It was later used as the basis for a movie called Kwaidan
by Masaki Kobayashi in 1965.
Kaidan is Japanese
for "ghost story".
texts. He also states that one of the stories — Yuki-onna
— was told to him by a farmer in Musashi Province
, and his was, to the best of his knowledge, the first record of it. Riki-Baka is based on a personal experience of Hearn's. While he does not declare it in his introduction, Hi-Mawari — among the final narratives in the volume — seems to be a recollection of an experience in his childhood (it is, setting itself apart from almost all the others, written in the first person
and set in rural Wales
).
world.
Lafcadio Hearn
Patrick Lafcadio Hearn , known also by the Japanese name , was an international writer, known best for his books about Japan, especially his collections of Japanese legends and ghost stories, such as Kwaidan: Stories and Studies of Strange Things...
that features several Japanese ghost stories
Kaidan
Kaidan is a Japanese word consisting of two kanji: 怪 meaning “strange, mysterious, rare or bewitching apparition" and 談 meaning “talk” or “recited narrative.”-Overall meaning and usage:...
and a brief non-fiction study on insects. It was later used as the basis for a movie called Kwaidan
Kwaidan (film)
is a 1964 Japanese portmanteau film directed by Masaki Kobayashi; the title means 'ghost story'. It is based on stories from Lafcadio Hearn's collections of Japanese folk tales. The film consists of four separate and unrelated stories. Kwaidan is the archaic transliteration of Kaidan, meaning...
by Masaki Kobayashi in 1965.
Kaidan is Japanese
Japanese language
is a language spoken by over 130 million people in Japan and in Japanese emigrant communities. It is a member of the Japonic language family, which has a number of proposed relationships with other languages, none of which has gained wide acceptance among historical linguists .Japanese is an...
for "ghost story".
Stories
Hearn declares in his introduction to the first edition of the book, which he wrote on January 20, 1904, shortly before his death, that most of these stories were translated from old JapaneseJapanese language
is a language spoken by over 130 million people in Japan and in Japanese emigrant communities. It is a member of the Japonic language family, which has a number of proposed relationships with other languages, none of which has gained wide acceptance among historical linguists .Japanese is an...
texts. He also states that one of the stories — Yuki-onna
Yuki-onna
is a spirit or yōkai in Japanese folklore. She is a popular figure in Japanese literature, manga, and animation. Yuki-onna is sometimes confused with Yama-uba , but they are not the same.-Appearance:...
— was told to him by a farmer in Musashi Province
Musashi Province
was a province of Japan, which today comprises Tokyo Prefecture, most of Saitama Prefecture and part of Kanagawa Prefecture. It was sometimes called . The province encompassed Kawasaki and Yokohama...
, and his was, to the best of his knowledge, the first record of it. Riki-Baka is based on a personal experience of Hearn's. While he does not declare it in his introduction, Hi-Mawari — among the final narratives in the volume — seems to be a recollection of an experience in his childhood (it is, setting itself apart from almost all the others, written in the first person
First-person narrative
First-person point of view is a narrative mode where a story is narrated by one character at a time, speaking for and about themselves. First-person narrative may be singular, plural or multiple as well as being an authoritative, reliable or deceptive "voice" and represents point of view in the...
and set in rural Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
).
- The Story of Mimi-nashi HōichiHoichi the Earlessis a character from Japanese mythology. His story is well known in Japan, and the best-known English translation first appeared in the book Kwaidan: Stories and Studies of Strange Things by Lafcadio Hearn....
- Oshidori
- The Story of O-Tei
- Ubazakura
- Diplomacy
- Of a Mirror and a Bell
- JikininkiJikininkiIn Japanese Buddhism, jikininki are the spirits of greedy, selfish or impious individuals who are cursed after death to seek out and eat human corpses. They do this at night, scavenging for newly dead bodies and food offerings left for the dead...
- Mujina
- RokurokubiRokurokubiare yōkai found in Japanese folklore. They look like normal human beings by day, but at night they gain the ability to stretch their necks to great lengths. They can also change their faces to those of terrifying oni to better scare mortals....
(description of folktaleRokurokubi (folktale)Rokurokubi is a tale from Lafcadio Hearn’s Kwaidan. It features a monster by the same name . It takes place, “nearly five hundred years ago”...
) - A Dead Secret
- Yuki-onnaYuki-onnais a spirit or yōkai in Japanese folklore. She is a popular figure in Japanese literature, manga, and animation. Yuki-onna is sometimes confused with Yama-uba , but they are not the same.-Appearance:...
- The Story of Aoyagi
- Jiu-Roku-Zakura
- The Dream of AkinosukeThe Dream of AkinosukeThe Dream of Akinosuke is a Japanese folktale, made famous outside of Japan by Lafcadio Hearn's translation of the story in Kwaidan: Stories and Studies of Strange Things....
- Riki-Baka
- Hi-Mawari
- Hōrai
Insect studies
In the last half of the book, Hearn presents collected Chinese/Japanese superstitions and his own personal thoughts on various members of the insectInsect
Insects are a class of living creatures within the arthropods that have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body , three pairs of jointed legs, compound eyes, and two antennae...
world.
- Butterflies: Personification of the human soulSoulA soul in certain spiritual, philosophical, and psychological traditions is the incorporeal essence of a person or living thing or object. Many philosophical and spiritual systems teach that humans have souls, and others teach that all living things and even inanimate objects have souls. The...
. - Mosquitoes: Karmic reincarnationReincarnationReincarnation best describes the concept where the soul or spirit, after the death of the body, is believed to return to live in a new human body, or, in some traditions, either as a human being, animal or plant...
of jealous or greedy people in the form of Jiki-ketsu-gaki or "blood-drinking pretas". - Ants: Mankind's superior in terms of chastityChastityChastity refers to the sexual behavior of a man or woman acceptable to the moral standards and guidelines of a culture, civilization, or religion....
, ethicsEthicsEthics, also known as moral philosophy, is a branch of philosophy that addresses questions about morality—that is, concepts such as good and evil, right and wrong, virtue and vice, justice and crime, etc.Major branches of ethics include:...
, social structureSocial structureSocial structure is a term used in the social sciences to refer to patterned social arrangements in society that are both emergent from and determinant of the actions of the individuals. The usage of the term "social structure" has changed over time and may reflect the various levels of analysis...
, longevityLongevityThe word "longevity" is sometimes used as a synonym for "life expectancy" in demography or known as "long life", especially when it concerns someone or something lasting longer than expected ....
and evolutionEvolutionEvolution is any change across successive generations in the heritable characteristics of biological populations. Evolutionary processes give rise to diversity at every level of biological organisation, including species, individual organisms and molecules such as DNA and proteins.Life on Earth...
.
External links
- Sacred-Texts.com's digitized edition of the book.