Tales of Old Japan (Annotated)
Enriched Edition. Samurai Honor, Ghost Stories, Buddhist Parables, and Ritual Customs from Edo to Meiji JapanBy Algernon Bertram Freeman-Mitford Baron Redesdale
Length13h 29m
About this audiobook
Tales of Old Japan is a landmark Victorian collection of translated legends, historical episodes, folklore, and social observations from late Tokugawa and early Meiji Japan. Best known for its influential rendering of the Forty-seven Rōnin, the volume combines dramatic narrative with ethnographic commentary, moving between heroic vendetta, ghostly tale, Buddhist parable, and descriptions of ritual practices such as seppuku, marriage, and funerary customs. Its prose bears the marks of nineteenth-century literary diplomacy: elegant, explanatory, occasionally romanticizing, yet unusually attentive to Japanese sources and moral codes. Algernon Bertram Freeman-Mitford, later Baron Redesdale, was a British diplomat posted to Japan during the turbulent years surrounding the Meiji Restoration. His proximity to Japanese officials, scholars, and social life gave him access to stories and customs little known to English readers. Mitford wrote at a moment when Britain was newly fascinated by Japan, and his work reflects both firsthand experience and the interpretive assumptions of an educated Victorian observer seeking to mediate another civilization. This book is recommended to readers interested in Japanese cultural history, comparative literature, folklore, and the Western reception of Japan. Though best read with awareness of its period perspective, it remains a richly informative and compelling gateway into the narratives that shaped modern Anglophone imaginings of old Japan.
This enriched edition has been carefully crafted to add value to your reading experience.
- A comprehensive Introduction outlines these selected works' unifying features, themes, or stylistic evolutions.
- A Historical Context section situates the works in their broader era—social currents, cultural trends, and key events that underpin their creation.
- A concise Synopsis (Selection) offers an accessible overview of the included texts, helping readers navigate plotlines and main ideas without revealing critical twists.
- A unified Analysis examines recurring motifs and stylistic hallmarks across the collection, tying the stories together while spotlighting the different work's strengths.
- Reflection questions inspire deeper contemplation of the author's overarching message, inviting readers to draw connections among different texts and relate them to modern contexts.
- Lastly, our hand‐picked Memorable Quotes distill pivotal lines and turning points, serving as touchstones for the collection's central themes.
Audiobook details
GenreLiterary Classics
Length13 hrs 29 mins
Narrated byListen with 1,000+ voices
FormateBook with Audio
Publish dateNov 20, 2023
LanguageEnglish
Table of contents
1Introduction
27HOW TAJIMA SHUMÉ WAS TORMENTED BY A DEVIL OF HIS OWN CREATION
2Introduction
28CONCERNING CERTAIN SUPERSTITIONS
3Historical Context
29CONCERNING CERTAIN SUPERSTITIONS
4Synopsis (Selection)
30THE VAMPIRE CAT OF NABÉSHIMA
5PREFACE
31THE STORY OF THE FAITHFUL CAT
Show all chaptersShow less
6THE FORTY-SEVEN RÔNINS
32HOW A MAN WAS BEWITCHED AND HAD HIS HEAD SHAVED BY THE FOXES
7THE LOVES OF GOMPACHI AND KOMURASAKI
33THE GRATEFUL FOXES
8KAZUMA'S REVENGE
34THE BADGER'S MONEY
9A STORY OF THE OTOKODATÉ OF YEDO;
35THE PRINCE AND THE BADGER
10BEING THE SUPPLEMENT OF
36JAPANESE SERMONS
11THE STORY OF GOMPACHI AND KOMURASAKI
37JAPANESE SERMONS
12THE WONDERFUL ADVENTURES OF FUNAKOSHI JIUYÉMON
38SERMON I
13THE ETA MAIDEN AND THE HATAMOTO
39SERMON II
14FAIRY TALES
40SERMON III
15FAIRY TALES
41APPENDICES
16THE TONGUE-CUT SPARROW
42APPENDIX A
17THE ACCOMPLISHED AND LUCKY TEA-KETTLE
43AN ACCOUNT OF THE HARA-KIRI
18THE CRACKLING MOUNTAIN
44APPENDIX B
19THE STORY OF THE OLD MAN WHO MADE WITHERED TREES TO BLOSSOM
45THE MARRIAGE CEREMONY
20THE BATTLE OF THE APE AND THE CRAB
46ON THE BIRTH AND BEARING OF CHILDREN
21THE ADVENTURES OF LITTLE PEACHLING
47FUNERAL RITES
22THE FOXES' WEDDING
48THE END
23THE HISTORY OF SAKATA KINTOKI
49Analysis
24THE ELVES AND THE ENVIOUS NEIGHBOUR
50Reflection
25THE GHOST OF SAKURA
51Memorable Quotes
26THE GHOST OF SAKURA.
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