Kwaidan: Stories and Studies of Strange Things

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Part of the series on
Japanese mythology and folklore
Mythic texts
Kojiki Nihon Shoki Fudoki Kujiki Kogo Shūi Konjaku Monogatarishū Nihon Ryōiki
Divinities
Amaterasu Ame-no-Uzume Inari Izanagi Izanami Kami Myōjin Seven Lucky Gods Susanoo
Legendary creatures and urban legends
Kitsune Oni Onryō Tengu Yōkai Yūrei
Mythical and sacred locations
Mount Hiei Mount Fuji Izumo Ryūgū-jō Takamagahara Yomi Jigoku
Sacred objects
Amenonuhoko Kusanagi Tonbogiri Three Sacred Treasures
Shintō and Buddhism
Bon Festival Setsubun Ema Torii Shinto shrines Buddhist temples
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Kwaidan: Stories and Studies of Strange Things (怪談, Kaidan, also Kwaidan (archaic)), often shortened to Kwaidan ("ghost story"), is a 1904 book by Lafcadio Hearn that features several Japanese ghost stories and a brief non-fiction study on insects.^[1] It was later used as the basis for a 1964 film, Kwaidan, by Masaki Kobayashi.

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 Japanese texts. He also states that one of the stories – Yuki-onna – was told to him by a farmer in Musashi Province, and his was apparently the first record of it, both by his own account and according to the research of modern folklorists. 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).

• The Story of Mimi-nashi Hōichi
• Oshidori
• The Story of O-Tei
• Ubazakura
• Diplomacy
• Of a Mirror and a Bell
• Jikininki
• Mujina
• Rokurokubi (description of folktale)
• A Dead Secret
• Yuki-Onna
• The Story of Aoyagi
• Jiu-Roku-Zakura
• The Dream of Akinosuke
• Riki-Baka
• Hi-Mawari
• Hōrai

Insect studies[]

In the last half of the book, Hearn lists collected Chinese/Japanese superstitions and his own personal thoughts on various members of the insect world.

• Butterflies: Personification of the human soul.
• Mosquitoes: Karmic reincarnation of jealous or greedy people in the form of Jiki-ketsu-gaki or "blood-drinking pretas".
• Ants: Mankind's superior in terms of chastity, ethics, social structure, longevity and evolution.

See also[]

• Ghost stories

References[]

External links[]

• Sacred-Texts.com's digitized edition of the book.

• Kwaidan at Project Gutenberg
• Kwaidan: Stories and Studies of Strange Things public domain audiobook at LibriVox

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