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In Light of Shadows: More Gothic Tales by Izumi Kyoka
In Light of Shadows is the long-awaited second volume of short fiction by the Meiji-Taishô writer Izumi Kyôka. It includes the famous novella Uta andon (A story by lantern light), the bizarre, antipsychological story "Mayu kakushi no rei" (A quiet obsession), and Kyôka’s hauntingly erotic final work, "Rukôshinsô" (The heartvine), as well as critical discussions of each of these three tales. Translator Charles Inouye places Kyôka’s "literature of shadows" (kage no bungaku) within a worldwide gothic tradition even as he refines its Japanese context. Underscoring Kyôka’s relevance for a contemporary international audience, Inouye adjusts Tanizaki Jun’ichirô’s evaluation of Kyôka as the most Japanese of authors by demonstrating how the writer’s paradigm of the suffering heroine can be linked to his exposure to Christianity, to a beautiful American woman, and to the aesthetic of blood sacrifice.
In Light of Shadows masterfully conveys the magical allusiveness and elliptical style of this extraordinary writer, who Mishima Yukio called "the only genius of modern Japanese letters."
In Light of Shadows masterfully conveys the magical allusiveness and elliptical style of this extraordinary writer, who Mishima Yukio called "the only genius of modern Japanese letters."
192 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2005
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About the author
Kyōka Izumi
323 books127 followersJapanese profile: 泉 鏡花
Kyōka was born Kyōtarō Izumi on November 4, 1873 in the Shitashinmachi section of Kanazawa, Ishikawa, to Seiji Izumi, a chaser and inlayer of metallic ornaments, and Suzu Nakata, daughter of a tsuzumi hand-drum player from Edo and younger sister to lead protagonist of the Noh theater, Kintarō Matsumoto. Because of his family's impovershed circumstances, he attended the tuition-free Hokuriku English-Japanese School, run by Christian missionaries.
Even before he entered grade school, young Kintarō's mother introduced him to literature in picture-books interspersed with text called kusazōshi, and his works would later show the influence of this early contact with such visual forms of story-telling. In April 1883, at ten years old, Kyōka lost his mother, who was 29 at the time. It was a great blow to his young mind, and he would attempt to recreate memories of her in works throughout his literary career.
At a friend's boarding house in April 1889, Kyōka was deeply impressed by Ozaki Kōyō's "Amorous Confessions of Two Nuns" and decided to pursue a career in literature. That June he took a trip to Toyama Prefecture. At this time he worked as a teacher in private preparatory schools and spent his free time running through yomihon and kusazōshi. In November of that year, however, Kyōka's aspiration to an artistic career drove him to Tokyo, where he intended to enter the tutelage of Kōyō himself.
On 19 November 1891, he called on Kōyō in Ushigome(part of present-day Shinjuku) without prior introduction and requested that he be allowed into the school immediately. He was accepted, and from that time began life as a live-in apprentice. Other than a brief trip to Kanazawa in December of the following year, Kyōka spent all of his time in the Ozaki household, proving his value to Kōyō through correcting his manuscripts and household tasks. Kyōka greatly adored his teacher, thinking of him as a teacher of more than literature, a benefactor who nourished his early career before he gained a name for himself. He felt deeply a personal indebtedness to Kōyō, and continued to admire the author throughout his life.
Kyōka was born Kyōtarō Izumi on November 4, 1873 in the Shitashinmachi section of Kanazawa, Ishikawa, to Seiji Izumi, a chaser and inlayer of metallic ornaments, and Suzu Nakata, daughter of a tsuzumi hand-drum player from Edo and younger sister to lead protagonist of the Noh theater, Kintarō Matsumoto. Because of his family's impovershed circumstances, he attended the tuition-free Hokuriku English-Japanese School, run by Christian missionaries.
Even before he entered grade school, young Kintarō's mother introduced him to literature in picture-books interspersed with text called kusazōshi, and his works would later show the influence of this early contact with such visual forms of story-telling. In April 1883, at ten years old, Kyōka lost his mother, who was 29 at the time. It was a great blow to his young mind, and he would attempt to recreate memories of her in works throughout his literary career.
At a friend's boarding house in April 1889, Kyōka was deeply impressed by Ozaki Kōyō's "Amorous Confessions of Two Nuns" and decided to pursue a career in literature. That June he took a trip to Toyama Prefecture. At this time he worked as a teacher in private preparatory schools and spent his free time running through yomihon and kusazōshi. In November of that year, however, Kyōka's aspiration to an artistic career drove him to Tokyo, where he intended to enter the tutelage of Kōyō himself.
On 19 November 1891, he called on Kōyō in Ushigome(part of present-day Shinjuku) without prior introduction and requested that he be allowed into the school immediately. He was accepted, and from that time began life as a live-in apprentice. Other than a brief trip to Kanazawa in December of the following year, Kyōka spent all of his time in the Ozaki household, proving his value to Kōyō through correcting his manuscripts and household tasks. Kyōka greatly adored his teacher, thinking of him as a teacher of more than literature, a benefactor who nourished his early career before he gained a name for himself. He felt deeply a personal indebtedness to Kōyō, and continued to admire the author throughout his life.
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
August 28, 2013
I read the 'Holy Man of Mount Kyoka' by Izumi Kyoka, not this. The story demonstrates Japanese romanticism, influenced by Edo art and Noh dramas. It is a great story of a monk fighting against his emotions as a human and the natural elements that seem to come alive to kill him with snakes and leaches. The story acts as a metaphor to demonstrate how humans have developed too far to the point of having god-like powers that are as amazing as they are damaging to the natural world. The style is elegant and flows nicely.
April 1, 2008
I didn't like these stories as much as the ones in Japanese Gothic Tales, for the simple reason that they were more difficult to understand. Kyoka's focus on his own private imagery makes his stories difficult to get through at times. Inouye's explanations at the end help, but the stories were still pretty frustrating at points. Still, the imagery is beautiful, and Kyoka was a very interesting man.
September 20, 2015
Estoy enamorado de este autor. Y solo me queda un libro suyo de relatos por leer...
September 28, 2023
I had come this close to crossing the Mountain of Death and the River of Three Hells. Having walked the moat’s edge with the dead girl and got this lantern for her.
August 12, 2025
"İçinde bulunduğu bu durum, onun için ürkütücü veya korkutucu olmaktan çok aşağılayıcıydı."
"O anda çevrelerindeki her şey birden kaybolmuş gibiydi. Ne gökyüzü vardı onlar için ne de yeryüzü. Sanki tüm insanlık yok olmuş, onların dışında tek bir kişi bile kalmamıştı."
"Bilinci yerinde değilken sırrını başkalarına söylemekten öyle çok korkuyordu ki bunun yerine ölmeyi yeğlerdi."
"O anda çevrelerindeki her şey birden kaybolmuş gibiydi. Ne gökyüzü vardı onlar için ne de yeryüzü. Sanki tüm insanlık yok olmuş, onların dışında tek bir kişi bile kalmamıştı."
"Bilinci yerinde değilken sırrını başkalarına söylemekten öyle çok korkuyordu ki bunun yerine ölmeyi yeğlerdi."
February 26, 2022
See my review for the first volume of Izumi Kyoka stories by the same translator: Japanese Gothic Tales. That book contains the best stories, such as "The Holy Man of Mt Koya." This book contains 3 more stories: "A Song of Lantern Light", a structurally complex tale of two stories combined into one; "A Quiet Obsession," a modern ghost story, and "The Heartvine," an autobiographical story Izumi Kyoka wrote towards the end of his life. Kyoka's world is beautiful but elusive, a world of shadows, and his language is extremely difficult to translate. Charles Shiro Inouye has done a great job.
Also see my blog: https://adblankestijn.blogspot.com/p/...
Also see my blog: https://adblankestijn.blogspot.com/p/...
January 8, 2023
Gorgeous, although it is not as good as Japanese Gothic Tales, Kyoka's style is still as beautiful as ever. Readers that don't know and/or don't care about Kyouka himself might feel like this book is boring and/or hard to understand. However to those that aren't like that I believe this book is almost as enjoyable as the last and that you shouldn't hesitate to read it.
May 2, 2023
Like the previous collection, this second volume contains one excellent long story together with a couple of shorter and comparatively less impressive pieces. In this case, the gem is 'A Song by Lantern Light', in which Kidahachi, the son of a famous Noh actor is angered by stories of 'Sozan', a provincial amateur who has been bragging that he can perform Noh songs better than 'those guys in Tokyo.' Kidahachi pays a visit to Sozan to find out how good he really is. Sozan is a blind masseur turned restaurant owner said to be keeping three concubines, the thought of which Kidahachi also finds distasteful. Unimpressed by Sozan's singing, he decides to take him down a peg or two, humiliating the braggart by beating out the correct rhythm, causing Sozan to falter in his performance. Kidahachi follows this victory by berating the man in the harshest terms, then walks out. Sozan sends Omie, the young woman who had ushered him in to see Sozan and whom Kidahachi takes to be one of the concubines, to go after Kidahachi and bring him back, but he rebuffs her. The following day, he learns that Sozan has committed suicide. When Kidahachi's father hears what has transpired, he is furious and disowns Kidahachi, who is soon reduced to becoming a wandering samisen player. One day, he encounters Omie, whom he has by this time learned was actually Sozan's daughter. This is significant as he would never have been so harsh towards her father had he known this at the time. She is now working as a geisha but is in danger of losing her job as she's unable to play the shamisen depsite having made a great effort to learn the instrument. Stricken by guilt, Kidahachi sees a way of making amends and decides to help her.
'A Song by Lantern Light' is apparently considered one of the author's greatest works. Unravelling in a clever flashback structure which flits between the past and present in a way that is ahead of its time and containing some nice humour mixed in with the tragedy, it stands up very well indeed.
'A Quiet Obsession' and 'The Heartvine' are ghost stories which wander off in unexpected directions and have quite odd endings. They're enjoyable enough for the most part and you can tell that Izumi is a literary artist and not a hack, but they're also baffling at times and contain elements that may be easier to understand for Japanese people.
'A Song by Lantern Light' is apparently considered one of the author's greatest works. Unravelling in a clever flashback structure which flits between the past and present in a way that is ahead of its time and containing some nice humour mixed in with the tragedy, it stands up very well indeed.
'A Quiet Obsession' and 'The Heartvine' are ghost stories which wander off in unexpected directions and have quite odd endings. They're enjoyable enough for the most part and you can tell that Izumi is a literary artist and not a hack, but they're also baffling at times and contain elements that may be easier to understand for Japanese people.
December 20, 2023
Er is geen licht zonder schaduw en geen schaduw zonder licht... zoals voor alles vormen tegengestelden één geheel en harmonisch evenwicht tussen beide is noodzakelijk om datgene wat wij onze "werkelijkheid" noemen te doen ontstaan.
Verhalen van Izumi Kyoka lees je niet in één ruk na elkaar. Je doet het met mondjesmaat, elke dag één verhaal, om het de tijd te laten te bezinken en erover na te denken. Zo doe ik het althans en zo voelt het goed aan.
Verhalen van Izumi Kyoka lees je niet in één ruk na elkaar. Je doet het met mondjesmaat, elke dag één verhaal, om het de tijd te laten te bezinken en erover na te denken. Zo doe ik het althans en zo voelt het goed aan.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews