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
Rating★★★★ 4.1 (2.3K)
Includes Goodreads, Amazon, LibraryThing, StoryGraph
GenreLiterary Classics
Length13 hrs 29 mins
Narrated byListen with 1,000+ voices
FormateBook with Audio
Publish dateNov 20, 2023
LanguageEnglish
Table of contents
1Introduction
2Introduction
3Historical Context
4Synopsis (Selection)
5PREFACE
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6THE FORTY-SEVEN RÔNINS
7THE LOVES OF GOMPACHI AND KOMURASAKI
8KAZUMA'S REVENGE
9A STORY OF THE OTOKODATÉ OF YEDO;
10BEING THE SUPPLEMENT OF
11THE STORY OF GOMPACHI AND KOMURASAKI
12THE WONDERFUL ADVENTURES OF FUNAKOSHI JIUYÉMON
13THE ETA MAIDEN AND THE HATAMOTO
14FAIRY TALES
15FAIRY TALES
16THE TONGUE-CUT SPARROW
17THE ACCOMPLISHED AND LUCKY TEA-KETTLE
18THE CRACKLING MOUNTAIN
19THE STORY OF THE OLD MAN WHO MADE WITHERED TREES TO BLOSSOM
20THE BATTLE OF THE APE AND THE CRAB
21THE ADVENTURES OF LITTLE PEACHLING
22THE FOXES' WEDDING
23THE HISTORY OF SAKATA KINTOKI
24THE ELVES AND THE ENVIOUS NEIGHBOUR
25THE GHOST OF SAKURA
26THE GHOST OF SAKURA.
27HOW TAJIMA SHUMÉ WAS TORMENTED BY A DEVIL OF HIS OWN CREATION
28CONCERNING CERTAIN SUPERSTITIONS
29CONCERNING CERTAIN SUPERSTITIONS
30THE VAMPIRE CAT OF NABÉSHIMA
31THE STORY OF THE FAITHFUL CAT
32HOW A MAN WAS BEWITCHED AND HAD HIS HEAD SHAVED BY THE FOXES
33THE GRATEFUL FOXES
34THE BADGER'S MONEY
35THE PRINCE AND THE BADGER
36JAPANESE SERMONS
37JAPANESE SERMONS
38SERMON I
39SERMON II
40SERMON III
41APPENDICES
42APPENDIX A
43AN ACCOUNT OF THE HARA-KIRI
44APPENDIX B
45THE MARRIAGE CEREMONY
46ON THE BIRTH AND BEARING OF CHILDREN
47FUNERAL RITES
48THE END
49Analysis
50Reflection
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