Mysterious Tales of Japan

by Rafe Martin

Here is a collection of ten traditional tales that are haunting and evocative; ghostly and serene; tender, gentle, and mysterious. Each possesses an elegant beauty that unfolds in strange situations and heads toward inevitable conclusions that mirror the realities of our own lives.

Genres: Japan, Short Stories, Anthologies, Folk Tales, Asia, Fairy Tales, Childrens

74 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1996

About the author

Rafe Martin is an award-winning author and storyteller, as well as a lay Zen teacher in the Harada-Yasutani koan line. He is founding teacher of Endless Path Zendo, Rochester, NY.

He is the recipient of the prestigious Empire State Award for the body of his work, as well as multiple American Library Association Notable Book Awards and Parent's Choice Gold Awards. He has been featured at such storytelling events as the Joseph Campbell Festival of Myth and Story, The Sierra Storytelling Festival, and the National Storytelling Festival. He is the father of two grown children and lives with his wife, Rose, in Rochester, NY.

Reviews

[Nancy]

It is really nicely done. The author went back to the 1800's collections of Japanese folktales by Lafadio Hearn who went to Japan in 1890 and stayed for the rest of his life. He saved many folktales from old scrolls and various story tellers.

While there is some melding of old and new to these stories, the main themes of them are still true and very current. I found it wonderful to hear another telling of some tales I heard as a little kid from my Aunt Michiko. The Boy who Drew Cats is one of my favorites and is included here. As well as Kogi. I knew of that tale about the fish and the artist but never knew it's formal title. Not to be outdone, the illustration plates by Tatsuro Kiuchi are lovely and match key moments in each story perfectly.

While classified as a children's book, is is still a lovely delight for adults.

[Courtney Bean]

Traditional, lots of interesting Japanese fairytales with beautiful illustrations

[•*~ 𝓙𝓮𝔀𝓮𝓵𝓼 ~*•]

Read this for school, i remember liking it!
The stories were nice and it was a quick fun read

[Marissa Elera]

Martin has collected eleven ultra elegant Japanese folktales in this work. In his introduction, he explains the pervading sense of “a fundamental respect for the Invisible” that still lives in modern Japan, where he has traveled and researched. He points out that Japanese folktales are tied to Shinto and Buddhist beliefs, in that they are brimming with a subtle mystery and sensitivity. Though there are ample details in the Story Notes and Bibliography at the back of the book, he also mentions in the introduction that Lafcadio Hearn, an American writer who lived in the late 1800’s, is to be credited with his excellent collection done in Japan, and Martin’s own inspiration.

The tale are longer and lyrical in voice, about a whole range of topics. There are samurais on a mission, white ghost ladies, crane maidens, and the power of black hair. The tales would be better suited to middle school, high school, and adult audiences, due to the sophisticated topics, occasional frights, and length. Special tales for oral tellings are “Green Willow”, “The Snow Woman” and “Black Hair”, the sad and terrifying tale of a man who learns his lesson too late.

[Erica]

This anthology of traditional Japanese folk tales weaves nature, magic, and harmony with beautifully minimalist language. The stories focus on the relationship between nature and humans. A repeated theme is self-sacrifice. Characters selflessly help those around them, especially animals, and are rewarded for doing so in the end. Conversely, selfish or disobedient acts are punished. The collection was included on the ALA Notable Children's Books list in July of 2004.
Independently, the stories are haunting and charming, but they tend to follow the same basic plot and become redundant if they are read all together. Each story features one exquisite full page illustration. These are colorful, detailed and evocative.

[Cora]

Mysterious Tales of Japan is a collection of eleven folk and fairy tales from Japan. I enjoy fairy tale collections, especially those from other cultures. Reading these traditional Japanese stories helps the reader get a feel for Japan and its culture. There were many similarities with more common European stories, but there was also more of a haunting quality to them. Nature, plants and animals have a strong presence in these eleven stories. Many of them feature a person that was really a tree, a snake, a frog, etc. I recommend the collection to anyone with an interest in fairy and folk tales, or an interest in Japan.

[Benjamin Zapata]

Another beautiful collection of tales by the internationally known award-winning author and storyteller Rafe Martin, and illustrated by Tatsuro Kiuchi. Inspired by Lafcadio Hearn's collections of Japanese's Folk Tales, Martin has expanded, developed, and reinterpreted each tale in light of his own vision and experience. All ten tales are unforgettable, and my favorites: "Ho-ichi the Earless", "The Boy Who Drew Cats", "The Snow Woman", "The Pine of Akoya","Urashima Taro", and "Kogi".

[Cecilia Rodriguez]

A collection of ten traditional Japanese folk tales. Each story is set off by color plates by Kiuchi.
I am familiar with three of the stories in this collection.
At the back of this edition, Martin explains some of the symbolism contained in the stories.

[Catherine Allibert]

L'univers des contes japonais est plein d'esprits, de fantômes, de samouraïs. Souvent cruel, parfois juste. J'aime leurs douceurs et leurs rêveries. Dans ce recueil de 10 contes, Rafe Martin nous offre les plus connus, dans la lignée de Lafcadio Hearn.

[☀️Carden☀️]

I wanna see this book. NOW. A nice cover? Asian stories entwined with magic and wonder? Yes. Give me it. Now!

I finally have this book! After two months of it being added to my “TBR.”

Let’s see how this goes.

🍒full review to come🍒

[Beroha]

Des contes japonais connus, d'autres moins, on ne peut que regretter l'abondance de fautes d'orthographe dans cette édition.

[Glenn Hammer]

Not "scary" ghost stories.

[Heather]

These stories were fabulous. I would love to share them with a child or group of children.