Ugetsu Monogatari or Tales of Moonlight and Rain (Routledge Revivals) : A Complete English Version of the Eighteenth-Century Japanese Collection of Tales of the Supernatural

Ugetsu Monogatari , or Tales of Moonlight and Rain numbers among the best-loved Japanese classics. These nine illustrated tales of the supernatural from eighteenth-century Osaka combine popular appeal with a high literary standard. The author expressed his complex views on human life and society in simple yet poetic language. Akinari questioned the prevailing moral values and standards of his age whilst entertaining his readers with mystery and other-worldly occurrences. This is a reissue of Leon Zolbrod's definitive English translation of the work, first published in 1974. Ugetsu Monogatari or Tales of Moonlight and Rain A Complete English Version of the Eighteenth-Century Japanese Collection of Tales of the Supernatural 4 Copyright 5 UGETSU MONOGATARI TALES OF MOONLIGHT AND RAIN A Complete English Version of the Eighteenth-Century Japanese Collection of Tales of the Supernatural 8 Copyright 9 Translator's Foreword 12 CONTENTS 16 ILLUSTRATIONS 18 INTRODUCTION 22 1 Meaning of the Title 22 2 Biographical Sketch of Ueda Akinari 25 3 Reading Books 31 4 The Romance of Travel and the Poetry of Place 35 5 Historical Background 42 6 Philosophy and Religion 49 7 The Art of Fiction 54 8 World of the Supernatural 58 9 Literary Style 61 10 Chinese Influence 66 11 Influence of Japanese Classics 71 12 Structure 77 13 Akinari's Legacy 82 14 The Present Edition 87 Notes on the Introduction 93 UGETSU MONOGATARI 100 VOLUME ONE 102 Preface 102 I White Peak (Shiramine) 103 II Chrysanthemum Tryst (Kikuka no chigiri) 114 VOLUME TWO 128 III The House Amid the Thickets (Asaji ga yado) 128 IV The Carp That Came to My Dream (Muo no rigyo) 141 VOLUME THREE 148 V Bird of Paradise (Bupposo) 148 VI The Caldron of Kibitsu (Kibitsu no kama) 160 VOLUME FOUR 174 VII The Lust of the White Serpent (Jasei no in) 174 VOLUME FIVE 198 VIII The Blue Hood (Aozukin) 198 IX Wealth and Poverty (Himpuku-ron) 207 Notes on the Text 220 APPENDICES 274 APPENDIX 1: Imperial Succession in the Twelfth Century 274 APPENDIX 2: Alphabetical Index to the First Line of Verses Translated in the Text and Notes 276 APPENDIX 3: Map of Japan in Provinces 280 APPENDIX 4: Japanese Literary Sources: Alphabetical List of Selected Titles 282 APPENDIX 5: Chinese Literary Sources: Alphabetical List of Titles Mentioned in the Introduction and Notes 286 APPENDIX 6: Seven Representative Tokugawa Collections of Tales of the Supernatural That Preceded Ugetsu monogatari 288 Select Bibliography 290 Texts in fapanese Consulted for the Present Edition 290 Translations into European Languages 290 Japanese Secondary Sources 291 Western Secondary Sources 292 巷に跋扈する異界の者たちを呼び寄せる深い闇の世界を、卓抜した筆致で描ききった短篇怪異小説集。秋成壮年の傑作。崇徳院が眠る白峯の御陵を訪ねた西行の前に現れたのは Based on the first woodblock edition of 1776 with illustrations and an introduction for Western readers. Translated and edited by Leon M. Zolbrod *Ugetsu Monogatari*, or *Tales of Moonlight and Rain* numbers among the best-loved Japanese classics. These nine illustrated tales of the supernatural from eighteenth-century Osaka combine popular appeal with a high literary standard. The author, Ueda Akinari, expressed his complex views on human life and society in simple yet poetic language. Akinari questioned the prevailing moral values and standards of his age whilst entertaining his readers with mystery and other-worldly occurrences. __Ugetsu Monogatari____Tales of Moonlight and Rain__