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Lucky's Books and Comics

Japanese Legends and Folklore

Japanese Legends and Folklore

Regular price $19.95 CAD
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Japanese Legends and Folklore invites English speakers into the intriguing world of Japanese folktales, ghost stories and historical eyewitness accounts. With a fascinating selection of stories about Japanese culture and history, A.B. Mitford - who lived and worked in Japan as a British diplomat - presents a broad cross section of tales from many Japanese sources. Discover more about practically every aspect of Japanese life - from myths and legends to society and religion.

This book features 30 fascinating Japanese stories, including:- The Forty-Seven Ronin - the famous, epic tale of a loyal band of Samurai warriors who pay the ultimate price for avenging the honor of their fallen master.
- The Tongue-Cut Sparrow - a good-hearted old man is richly rewarded when he begs forgiveness from a sparrow who is injured by his spiteful, greedy wife.
- The Adventures of Little Peach Boy - a tale familiar to generations of Japanese children, a small boy born from a peach is adopted by a kindly childless couple.
- Japanese Sermons - a selection of sermons written by a priest belonging to the Shingaku sect, which combines Buddhist, Shinto and Confucian teachings.
- An Account of Hara-Kiri - Mitford's dramatic first person account of a ritual Samurai suicide, the first time it had been reported in English.


Thirty-one reproductions of woodblock prints bring the classic tales and essays to life. These influential stories helped shape the West's understanding of Japanese culture. A new foreword by Professor Michael Dylan Foster sheds light on the book's importance as a groundbreaking work of Japanese folklore, literature and history.
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