In Ghostly Japan is Lafcadio Hearn's wonderfully-written long essay on various interesting subjects in Japan. He talks of supernatural and ghost stories, Buddhist proverbs, there's an interesting meditation on spirituality brought upon by the howling of his dog (I particularly liked this one because of its humor), the curious history and activities surrounding incense, on the science of divination, among other subjects. This is a must-read for any serious cultural understanding of Japan. Treat it as an introduction of sorts. What stands out is the writing of Hearn. It is warm and inviting. Though written more than a century ago, it is still highly readable. (Also I recommend his separate short essay 'On the Gothic' as it explains the reason for his fascination with subjects of this sort.) ( )

Yet another intriguing work on Japanese folklore and traditions from Lafcadio Hearn. Not quite as engaging as his Kwaidan volume but still fascinating. Interspersed among the "ghost tales" are essays on the history of incense in Japan, Japanese poetry, and Buddhist proverbs. What makes him so interesting to me, however, is that Hearn was writing during the 1890s and turn of the century on ancient Japanese social practices and beliefs. As such, his commentary is sprinkled with observations from his own time in Japan as well. Thus we get a sort of twofer with his books. Not only does he bring the ancient and medieval world of Japan to English readers, but he also brings us observations of another era of Japanese culture now lost to time, the Meiji era in which Hearn lived and wrote. ( )

The title of this book is somewhat misleading. It does have ghost stories in it, but it is much more than that. It is more like an ethnographic study of Japanese folklore and fairy tales with a good dose of daily life style and religion thrown into the mix. In-other-words, there is a little bit of everything from Meji Japan in this book. For the religious explanations alone it is well worth the reading time. However, it is also very much the product of its times. It times were the Victorian era so the reading isn't all that easy. For a person interested in Japanese history this is a must read. ( )

Lo interesante del libro es la presentación de las historias dentro del contexto local del Japón, desde un punto de vista más antropológico que literario, sin embargo un par de ellas sí que llegan a intimidar. ( )