Japanese Ghost Stories

by Lafcadio Hearn

  7. the Satsuma war: The Anglo-Satsuma War of 1863 was an incident in which the Royal Navy bombarded the Japanese city of Kagoshima in retaliation for its ships being fired on by Japanese coastal batteries.

  8. Kern’s translation of the Saddharma-Pundarika, ch. xxvi: A reference to H. Kern (trans.), The Saddharma-Pundarîka, or The Lotus of the True Law (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1884).

  9. ryō: The currency unit used in Japan prior to the Meiji era.

  10. Fudō: Fudō Myō-ō is a deity of esoteric Japanese Buddhism.

  11. Jizō: The representation of the figure of the Buddha as a protector of children and travellers. There are many small statues to him throughout Japan.

  INGWA-BANASHI

  From In Ghostly Japan, pp. 205–12.

  1. Ingwa-Banashi: ‘Tales of Fate’.

  2. tenth … twelfth Bunsei: A period of Japanese history, Bunsei (1818–30) is usually twinned with the earlier Bunka era to form the Bunka-Bunsei or Kasei period (1804–30).

  3. Kōkwa: An era in Japanese history (1844–8).

  STORY OF A TENGU

  From In Ghostly Japan, pp. 215–21.

  1. Emperor Go-Reizei: Go-Reizei (r. 1045–68) was the seventieth emperor of Japan.

  2. Tengu: The tengu (‘heavenly dog’) is a demonic supernatural being in Japanese folklore that can also be a Shintō god (kami). It is often depicted as a cross between a bird of prey and a human.

  3. the holy mountain Gridhrakûta: Also known as ‘Vulture Peak Mountain’, this was a site frequented by the Buddha where he preached a number of key sermons.

  4. Vulture Peak: See previous note.

  5. Mandârava and Manjûshaka flowers: These were among the Four Flowers of Heaven that, according to the Buddhist scriptures, rained down on the Buddha as he preached to a multitude of bodhisattvas – a sign of celestial approval. In Japan the mandarava flower is usually equated with the datura, but it is actually the Indian coral tree (Erythrina variegata), which produces clusters of bright red flowers.

  THE RECONCILIATION

  From Shadowings (Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1900), pp. 5–11.

  1. for the time of seven existences: For seven successive lifetimes; based on the Buddhist belief in repeated cycles of birth and death. See also Hearn’s footnote on p. 45.

  A LEGEND OF FUGEN-BOSATSU

  From Shadowings, pp. 15–19.

  THE CORPSE-RIDER

  From Shadowings, pp. 33–8.

  THE SYMPATHY OF BENTEN

  From Shadowings, pp. 41–54.

  1. Emperor Seiwa: Seiwa (r. 858–76) was the fifty-sixth emperor of Japan.

  2. Genroku: An era of Japanese history (1688–1704), regarded as the golden age of the Edo period (1603–1868).

  3. Goddess Benten: Benten is a contraction of ‘Benzaiten’, a Buddhist goddess of wisdom in Japan, derived from the Hindu goddess Saraswati. She is often depicted holding a biwa, the traditional Japanese lute that features in ‘The Story of Mimi-Nashi-Hōïchi’ in this volume.

  4. Shirushi aréto … Chigiri narétomo: ‘When first love is over, it’s like a broom, so well used that only the handle remains and is of no use.’

  5. Sama: A respectful honorific suffix attached to the end of a name.

  THE GRATITUDE OF THE SAMÉBITO

  From Shadowings, pp. 57–66.

  OF A PROMISE KEPT

  From A Japanese Miscellany (Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1901), pp. 5–11.

  1. the festival Chōyō: Chōyō no Sekku, the ‘Chrysanthemum Festival’, is held on the ninth day of the ninth month, i.e. 9 September.

  2. Ugétsu Monogatari: A reference to Ugetsu Monogatari (‘Tales of Moonlight and Rain’), a collection of nine supernatural tales by Ueda Akinari (1734–1809), first published in 1776. Hearn’s story follows the outlines of one of the tales, ‘Kikka no Chigiri’ (‘The Chrysanthemum Pledge’), based on a Chinese original featuring a man who, unable to keep a promise to visit a friend’s house because he is imprisoned, commits suicide so that his ghost can fulfil his commitment.

  3. harakiri: More commonly known as seppuku, harakiri is a form of Japanese ritual suicide by means of disembowelment.

  OF A PROMISE BROKEN

  From A Japanese Miscellany, pp. 15–26.

  1. kaimyō: The name Japanese Buddhist monks and nuns are given when entering the religious life.

  BEFORE THE SUPREME COURT

  From A Japanese Miscellany, pp. 29–34.

  1. The great Buddhist priest … says in his book Kyō-gyō Shin-shō: The actual title of the text is Ken Jōdo Shinjitsu Kyōgyōshō Monrui (‘A Collection of Passages Revealing the True Teaching, Practice and Realization of the Pure Land [Path]’), usually abbreviated to Kyōgyōshinshō, and it is the principal work of Shinran Shōnin (1173–1263), a Pure Land Buddhist. Written between 1217 and 1224, it sets out the fundamental principles of the True Sect of Pure Land Buddhism.

  2. Nihon-Rei-Iki: Abbreviated from Nihonkoku Genpō Zen’aku Ryōiki, which translates as ‘Ghostly Strange Records from Japan’, it was written between between AD 787 and 824.

  3. Bukkyō-Hyakkwa-Zenshō: A multi-volume encyclopedia of Buddhism included in the list of ‘old Japanese books’ from which Hearn in the introduction to his Kwaidan (Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1904) states he had drawn many of his ‘Weird Tales’.

  THE STORY OF KWASHIN KOJI

  From A Japanese Miscellany, pp. 37–51.

  1. kakémono: A Japanese scroll painting.

  2. Yasō-Kidan: Translated literally as ‘Night-Window Demon Talk’, Yasō-Kidan is a collection of horror stories edited by Ishikawa Kōsai (1833–1918), a Japanese writer and scholar of classical Chinese literature.

  3. Oda Nobunaga: Oda Nobunaga (1534–82) was a leading statesman dedicated to unifying Japan.

  4. Kwannon: The Japanese goddess of mercy.

  5. ryō: The currency unit used in Japan prior to the Meiji era (1868–1912).

  6. Lord Nobunaga came to his death … Akéchi Mitsuhidé: Akechi Mitsuhide (1528–82) was a military commander under Oda Nobunaga whose rebellion against his master in 1582 led to Nobunaga’s death.

  THE STORY OF UMÉTSU CHŪBEI

  From A Japanese Miscellany, pp. 55–61.

  1. Lord Tomura Jūdayū: Tomura Jūdayū, also known as Tomura Yoshiari, was an elder (karō) of the Satake clan which participated in the civil war that followed the restoration of imperial rule in 1868, ending up on the emperor’s side.

  2. tasuki-cords: A tasuki is a sash used to hold up the sleeves of a kimono.

  THE LEGEND OF, YUREI-DAKI

  From Kottō: Being Japanese Curios, With Sundry Cobwebs (New York: Macmillan Company, 1902), pp. 3–7.

  IN A CUP OF TEA

  From Kottō, pp. 11–17.

  1. the third Tenwa: The third year of the Tenwa or Tenna era (1681–4), or 1684.

  IKIRYŌ

  From Kottō, pp. 29–35.

  1. Ikiryō: In Japanese folklore, the spirit of a living person who could haunt others.

  THE STORY OF O-KAMÉ

  From Kottō, pp. 47–54.

  1. ‘Aa! uréshiya!’ cried O-Kamé: O-Kamé’s words may be translated as ‘How wonderful!’ or, more literally, ‘How happy!’, which is fitting as O-Kame is a happy female face, traditionally depicted as a mask or figurine.

  THE STORY OF CHŪGORŌ

  From Kottō, pp. 73–82.

  1. hatamoto: A hatamoto (the literal meaning of which is ‘at the base of the flag’) was an upper-rank samurai employed directly by the shōguns of feudal Japan.

  2. yashiki: The residence or estate of a noble.

  3. the story of Urashima: See ‘The Dream of a Summer Day’ in this volume.

  THE STORY OF MIMI-NASHI-HŌÏCHI

  From Kwaidan: Stories and Studies of Strange Things (Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1904), pp. 3–20.

  1. at Dan-no-ura, in the Straits of Shimonoséki, was fought the last battle … Minamoto clan: The battle of Dan-no-ura was an importa
nt naval engagement that took place off the southern tip of Honshū, Japan’s main island, on 25 April 1185, in which the Minamoto (Genji) clan defeated the Taira (Heike) clan.

  2. Antoku Tennō: The boy-emperor Antoku (r. 1180–85), the eighty-first emperor (tennō) of Japan, was among those who died in the battle.

  3. Heiké-Monogatari: Heike Monogatari (‘The Story of the Heike’), compiled before 1330, recounts the fight between the Heike (Taira) and Minamoto clans for control of Japan.

  4. ‘Hai!’: ‘Yes!’

  5. the death-leap of Niï-no-Ama, with the imperial infant in her arms: An incident at the battle of Dan-no-ura in which Niï-no-Ama, possibly his grandmother, jumped into the sea with the young emperor, Antoku, in her arms, causing them both to drown rather than be captured by the enemy.

  6. Professor Max Müller … Sacred Books of the East: A series of English translations of the major religious texts of Asia in fifty volumes, edited by Max Müller (1823–1900), published between 1879 and 1910.

  JIKININKI

  From Kwaidan, pp. 65–73.

  MUJINA

  From Kwaidan, pp. 77–80.

  1.jinrikishas: Translated literally from Japanese as ‘man-powered vehicle’, a jinrikisha is essentially a two-wheeled cart pulled by a man that usually functions as a small taxi.

  ROKURO-KUBI

  From Kwaidan, pp. 83–99.

  1. Lord Kikuji, of Kyūshū: It is assumed that Hearn is referring here to the Kikuchi daimyō family of Kyūshū, famed for its devotion to the emperor of Japan, which played a prominent role in repulsing the Mongol invasions of Japan in the thirteenth century.

  2. bell-insects: The bell insect or suzumushi (Homoeogryllus japonicus) is a Japanese tree cricket whose distinctive song is much appreciated in Japan.

  3. Rokuro-Kubi: A Japanese ghoul that takes human form and can either stretch its neck or detach its head, which can then move about independently.

  YUKI-ONNA

  From Kwaidan, pp. 111–18.

  THE STORY OF AOYAGI

  From Kwaidan, pp. 121–36.

  THE DREAM OF AKINOSUKÉ

  From Kwaidan, pp. 145–55.

  RIKI-BAKA

  From Kwaidan, pp. 159–62.

  1. kana: Kana are Japanese scripts which, together with Kanji, Chinese characters, make up the Japanese writing system.

  THE MIRROR MAIDEN

  From The Romance of the Milky Way (Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1905), pp. 127–37.

  1. Shōgunate: The system of government under which Japan was ruled by shōguns, effectively military dictators, with the emperor reduced to a largely symbolic role, from 1185 to 1868.

  2. Suijin: The Shintō god of water.

  THE STORY OF ITŌ NORISUKÉ

  From The Romance of the Milky Way, pp. 141–65.

  1. koto: A Japanese stringed instrument.

  2. Amano-kawara-no-Ori-Himé … River of Heaven: One of Japan’s most famous weaving myths concerns Orihime – the daughter of a divine emperor, Tentei, ruler of the heavens – who was sad because she had been too busy to fall in love. Her father arranged for her to marry Kengyuu but then separated them as Orihime was neglecting her weaving, with each now living on different sides of the river of the Milky Way. They were allowed to meet only on one night of the year, that of the seventh day of the seventh month.

  3.the great Heiké general: Hearn is referring here to the epic twelfth-century struggle between the Heike or Taira clan and the Minamoto clan which was the subject of ‘The Story of Mimi-Nashi-Hōïchi’ (see p. 139).

  4. the years of Jü-ei: The Juei era in Japan spanned the years from 1182 to 1184. The reigning emperors were the Taira ruler Antoku (r. 1180–85) and the Minamoto ruler Go-Toba (r. 1183–98), proclaimed emperor while Antoku was still alive.

  5. the period of Jō-an (1169 A. D.): The Jōan era spanned the years from 1171 to 1175, so Hearn’s date of AD 1169 is slightly inaccurate.

  6. Emperor Takakura: Takakura (r. 1168–80) was the eightieth emperor of Japan.

  APPENDIX: NIGHTMARE-TOUCH

  From Shadowings, pp. 235–46.

  1. Orfila’s Traité des Exhumés: Mathieu Joseph Bonaventure Orfila (1787–1853) was an important figure in the development of forensic medicine. His studies included the decomposition of bodies, on which topic he published Traité des exhumations juridiques: et considérations sur les changemens physiques que les cadavres éprouvent en se pourrissant dans la terre, dans l’eau, dans les fosses d’aisance et dans le fumier (‘Treatise on legal exhumations and an investigation into the physical changes undergone by cadavers decomposing in soil, water, cesspits and manure’) in Paris in 1831.

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  Cover: Yarai, 1972 © Toshio Saeki. Courtesy of Presspop Inc.

  Hokusai images: Bibliothèque de l’Institut National d’Histoire de l’Art, Collections Jacques Doucet, 8 Est 172 (1)

  Bibliothèque de l’Institut National d’Histoire de l’Art, Collections Jacques Doucet, 8 Est 172 (2)

  Bibliothèque de l’Institut National d’Histoire de l’Art, Collections Jacques Doucet, 8 Est 172 (3)

  ISBN: 978-0-241-38128-1

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  OF GHOSTS AND GOBLINS

  1 ‘It is excellent: I pray you give me a little more.’

  2 Kwashi: Japanese confectionery.

  THE DREAM OF A SUMMER DAY

  3 A little gift of money, always made to a hotel by the guest shortly after his arrival.

  4 See The Classical Poetry of the Japanese, by Professor Chamberlain, in Trübner’s Oriental Series. According to Western chronology, Urashima went fishing in 477 A. D., and returned in 825.

  NINGYŌ-NO-HAKA

  1 The posthumous Buddhist name of the person buried is chiseled upon the tomb or haka.

  2 ‘Children without parents, like the seagulls of the coast. Evening after evening the sleeves are wrung.’ The word chidori – indiscriminately applied to many kinds of birds – is here used for seagull. The cries of the seagull are thought to express melancholy and desolation: hence the comparison. The long sleeve of the Japanese robe is used to wipe the eyes as well as to hide the face in moments of grief. To ‘wring the sleeve’ – that is, to wring the moisture from a tear-drenched sleeve – is a frequent expression in Japanese poetry.

  A PASSIONAL KARMA

  1 The hatamoto were samurai forming the special military force of the Shōgun. The name literally signifies ‘Banner-Supporters’. These were the highest class of samurai – not only as
the immediate vassals of the Shōgun, but as a military aristocracy.

  2 Perhaps this conversation may seem strange to the Western reader; but it is true to life. The whole of the scene is characteristically Japanese.

  3 The invocation Namu Amida Butsu! (‘Hail to the Buddha Amitâbha!’), repeated, as a prayer, for the sake of the dead.

  4 Komageta in the original. The geta is a wooden sandal, or clog, of which there are many varieties – some decidedly elegant. The komageta, or ‘pony-geta’ is so-called because of the sonorous hoof-like echo which it makes on hard ground.

  5 The sort of lantern here referred to is no longer made […]. It was totally unlike the modern domestic hand-lantern, painted with the owner’s crest; but it was not altogether unlike some forms of lanterns still manufactured for the Festival of the Dead, and called Bon-dōrō. The flowers ornamenting it were not painted: they were artificial flowers of crêpe-silk, and were attached to the top of the lantern.