“This slim tome is a landmark work in the field of Japanese folklore studies, as its publication marks the beginning of the field as it is known today. Yanagita Kunio collected and retold these tales from oral versions given to him by local writer and folklorist Sasaki Kizen. Originally published as Tōno monogatari, it contains the traditions and beliefs, folktales and legends, of the farming villages of the Tōno district in northeastern Japan, a region noted even today for its preservation of the lore and ways of the days of antiquity. Including tales of ghosts, strangers, deities, kappa, wolves, and other myserious happenings, this delightful work has been republished on the occasion of its one hundredth anniversary.
For more information about folklore pioneer Yanagita Kunio, see my article at the Samurai Archives:
http://wiki.samurai-archives.com/index.php?title=Yanagita_Kunio”
Michael wrote this review Sunday, September 7 2008.
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