At the turn of the twentieth century, Lafcadio Hearn (1850-1904) was instrumental in introducing Western readers to Japanese culture and literature. Raised in Dublin and a longtime resident of the United States, the writer, translator, and teacher arrived in Japan in 1890 and spent the rest of his life there. His writings from Japan became his most popular works, and he was famed not only as an interpreter of Japanese myths but also as a teller of...

A retelling of the traditional Japanese tale about a poor sail maker who gains a beautiful but mysterious wife skilled at weaving magical sails.

While chasing a dumpling, a little lady is captured by wicked creatures from whom she escapes with the means of becoming the richest woman in Japan.

A poor Japanese woman maneuvers events to change the lazy habits of her son.

In ancient Japan a struggling artist is angered when his housekeeper brings home a tiny white cat he can barely afford to feed.

A kind old man and his greedy wife pay separate visits to the tongue-cut sparrow and receive as gifts just what they deserve.

Relates how Bokuden Tsukahara, the greatest swordsman of sixteenth-century Japan, deals with a boastful, bullying warrior during a ferry ride across a great river.

"Myths and Legends of Japan", written in 1913, was an immediate best-seller when it was first released. With the Meiji Restoration, Japan began a period of modernization in the late 19th century that would open up the country to the rest of the world for the first time. This allowed historians like F. Hadland Davis, the author of "Myths and Legends of Japan", an unprecedented opportunity to study and introduce Japanese culture to Western audiences....

Tiny but capable and adventurous young Issun Boshi goes to Japan's capital city of Kyoto, where he proves himself a valuable servant to kind Lord Sanjo and his daughter, Princess Sanjo.

A magical boy grants a poor flower-seller's every wish until the greedy and ungrateful man grows tired of the boy's unpleasant behavior and sends him away.