173x105mm/ 256pages

A collection of eerie and mysterious tales from Japan that captivated Lafcadio Hearn
Twenty of Hearn’s most celebrated stories, reimagined with great care, are presented here in a beautiful translation. Alongside the title piece Mimi-nashi Hōichi (Hōichi the Earless) and Yuki-onna (The Snow Woman), the volume includes enduring classics such as Noppera-bō (The Faceless Ghost) and Rokurokubi (The Long-Necked Woman), which continue to be read and cherished today. The translator’s afterword offers a glimpse into the extraordinary life of Lafcadio Hearn.

In Hōichi the Earless, Hōichi, a blind biwa player renowned for his moving recitations of the Tale of the Heike, falls under the spell of the vengeful spirits of the defeated Heike clan. To protect him, a priest covers his body with sacred sutras – but forgets to write them on his ears…

These twenty ghost and mystery tales, still treasured today, are accompanied by twenty-nine evocative illustrations by the popular picture book artist Ken Kuroi.

The afterword, A Western Heart, a Japanese Heart – The Path of Lafcadio Hearn, written by the translator, introduces the remarkable and eventful life of this much-loved author.

耳なし芳一(みみなしほういち)
雪女(ゆきおんな)
むじな
おしどり
鳥取のふとん(とっとりのふとん)
ろくろ首(ろくろくび)
乳母ざくら(うばざくら)
果心居士の幻術(かしんこじ の げんじゅつ)
羽を折られた天狗（はね を おられたてんぐ
十六ざくら(じゅうろくざくら)
えんま大王の前で(えんまだいおうのまえで)
人を食う鬼(ひとをくうおに)
茶わんの中の顔(ちゃわんのなかのかお)
やなぎの木の霊(やなぎのきのれい)
ちんちん小ばかま(ちんちんこばかま)
玉の願い(たまのねがい)
力ばか（ちからばか）
がま
氏神のやくそく（うじがみのやくそく）
かがみの少女（しょうじょ）
解説　西洋の心、日本の心　ー小泉八雲のたどった道ー　保永貞夫