Tales of Moonlight And Rain

by Ueda, Akinari; Chambers, Anthony H.

• ISBN13: 9780231139120
• ISBN10: 0231139128
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2006-12-01
• Publisher: Columbia Univ Pr

Summary

First published in 1776, the nine gothic tales in this collection are Japan's finest and most celebrated examples of the literature of the occult. They subtly merge the world of reason with the realm of the uncanny and exemplify the period's fascination with the strange and the grotesque. They were also the inspiration for Mizoguchi Kenji's brilliant 1953 film Ugetsu.The title Ugetsu monogatari(literally "rain-moon tales") alludes to the belief that mysterious beings appear on cloudy, rainy nights and in mornings with a lingering moon. In "Shiramine," the vengeful ghost of the former emperor Sutoku reassumes the role of king; in "The Chrysanthemum Vow," a faithful revenant fulfills a promise; "The Kibitsu Cauldron" tells a tale of spirit possession; and in "The Carp of My Dreams," a man straddles the boundaries between human and animal and between the waking world and the world of dreams. The remaining stories feature demons, fiends, goblins, strange dreams, and other manifestations beyond all logic and common sense.The eerie beauty of this masterpiece owes to Akinari's masterful combination of words and phrases from Japanese classics with creatures from Chinese and Japanese fiction and lore. Along with The Tale of Genjiand The Tales of the Heike, Tales of Moonlight and Rainhas become a timeless work of great significance. This new translation, by a noted translator and scholar, skillfully maintains the allure and complexity of Akinari's original prose.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	vii
Introduction	1	(1)
The Early Modern Period in Japan	2	(1)
About the Author	3	(5)
Bunjin, National Learning, and Yomihon	8	(3)
About Tales of Moonlight and Rain	11	(23)
About the Translation	34	(11)
Tales of Moonlight and Rain	45	(2)
Preface	47	(4)
BOOK ONE
Shiramine	51	(24)
The Chrysanthemum Vow	75	(16)
BOOK TWO
The Reed-Choked House	91	(19)
The Carp of My Dreams	110	(11)
BOOK THREE
The Owl of the Three Jewels	121	(18)
The Kibitsu Cauldron	139	(16)
BOOK FOUR
A Serpent's Lust	155	(31)
BOOK FIVE
The Blue Hood	186	(16)
On Poverty and Wealth	202	(19)
Bibliography	221