Legends of Japan

Rutland, VT; Tokyo: C.E. Tuttle Co, [1972]. First Edition, First Printing. 12mo with brown and white pictorial boards; in brown and orange pictorial jacket; dark green endpapers; 111 pages; illustrations; 19 cm Near fine in very good (+) jacket with sunning to spine and slightest shelfwear; now in archival mylar. Hardcover. ISBN: 0804808945

Twenty-two tales drawn from two Japanese masterpieces, the Konjaku Monogatari and the Tsurezure Gusa, by Kenko Yoshida, of the Heian and Kamakura periods. This collection of tales was gathered and adapted by Folklorist Hiroshi Naito and originally published as a series in the newspaper Mainichi Daily News. Charming black and white illustrations introduce each tale.

Contents: The fishermen's battle. Wrestling a serpent. The lost chance. The reed-mower and the lady. The iron hat. The demon's spittle. A piece of straw. The hunter's trick. No melon to spare. A water sprite. The ogre's horses. The dragon king's palace. The bishop's kick. The long-nosed goblins. Bewitched by a boar. A cat-hater. The flying water jars. Grave of the chopstick. The bell thieves. The monkey's gratitude. The lost dinner. Reunion with death.

Notes: The tales are drawn from two Japanese masterpieces, the Konjaku Monogatari and the Tsurezure Gusa, by Kenko Yoshida, of the Heian and Kamakura periods.