In Ghostly Japan (1899)
Lafcadio Hearn (Yakumo Koizumi)

First published in 1899, the title of this excellent book is misleading as it elicits images of a book filled with ghost stories of ancient Japan. Although not completely untrue, readers might be disappointed and should look instead to Mr. Koizumi's excellent Kwaidan.

There is a style of writing that has grown obsolete in this day and age. It is difficult to find the correct way to describe it. It is honest writing, literal and plain with no additional effects to surprise or entertain. The ideas stretch out, leaving a clear path for the reader to follow. Characteristic of this style is it deals with something fresh and new, such as an undiscovered country or culture. This is why this genre no longer exists. This new age, with its technology and exhaustive means of recording history, gives very room for a little man's insight on a new world. It is indeed a smaller world now. This is what makes In Ghostly Japan a fantastic read.

The stories show a brief glimpse of a world that can never be captured in print ever again -- Lafcadio Hearn was a foreigner in a land he discovered and loved. This experience makes it more real and authentic than the most well-researched World War II suspense thriller.

In Ghostly Japan features 15 essays that discuss reincarnation, karma and the behavior of the Japanese. The folktales may be familiar, the essays overly analytic (Incense, Silkworm). But Yakumo Koizumi nevertheless employs the same skill he used in narrating the terrifying Kwaidan.

The first tale alone (Fragment) made me realize this book was a unique and original compilation from which later writers used as a source of inspiration (as Hadland Davis did with his flat Myths and Legends of Japan).

What compilation of Japanese stories would be incomplete without a retelling of the Romance of the Peony Lantern? Mr. Koizumi tells the story with the help of the Japanese playwright Kikuguro and a friend. The result charms and scares the reader leaving him not without awe. Mr. Koizumi adds 100 powerful Buddhist passages, too and avoids overanalyzing or cheapening its value.

The Ingwa banashi (Tale of Evil Karma) and the Tale of the Tengu are also wonderful tales and Mr. Koizumi's own experiences at Yaidzu successfully concludes this short but compelling masterpiece.

In Ghostly Japan is not a good introduction to Japanese culture but it is a necessary book for the serious reader of Asian Literature. Moreover, it is a forgotten piece of great literature about a world when it was new, where the sun rises early in the morning and ghosts do come out at night.

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Lafcadio Hearn (1850-1904) Hearn was born on a Greek island but travelled to Ireland, Ohio and New Orleans before falling in love with the islands of Japan. He became a Japanese citizen, married Setsu Koizumi (the daughter of a local samurai) and took on the name of Yakumo Koizumi. Mr. Koizumi understood the values and beauty of the East and became the interpreter of things Japanese to the West.