This collection of lore contains many stories about fairy-folk and monsters, virtuous people who outshine the wicked, and life-changing magic. The last story reminds me a bit of Cinderella, but with a fascinating twist. ( )

Chronicle Books presents 15 tales of horror from classic Japanese literature. The stories are divided into three sections (Journeys, Ghosts & Monsters, and Justice), with each story beginning with an original illustration by Kotaro Chiba. The stunning artwork is reminiscent of woodblock prints and demand the reader’s attention. In sum, this is a nice collection of folktales with twists of horror and enchantment, but the real attraction is the illustrations.

The Bottom Line: This is a gorgeous book; however, I unfortunately found the translated text to be quite stilted. Rather than racing through this book, I read the stories over time. Overall, I have given this a rating of 4 stars (5 for the illustrations and 3 for the text). It is important to note that the texts are readily available in the public domain with about half of the tales from Yei Theodora Ozaki’s Japanese Fairy Tales and another half from Lafcadio Hearn’s Kwaidan: Stories and Studies of Strange Things. This book will appeal to those interested in Japanese folktales, literature, and culture. ( )

Lovely book, which should be no surprise, as the publisher is Chronicle Books and they do great work. This volume has stories collected by Lafcadio Hearn and Yei Theodora Ozaki. It is divided into three thematic sections: Journeys, Ghosts and Monsters, and Justice. Despite the fact that I have several collections of Hearn's work, this is a great addition to my collection. It is beautifully illustrated by Kotaro Chiba, with end sheets that reference chiyogami paper. Chiba's work is very interesting; it straddles the worlds of ukiyo-e and contemporary manga. The illustrations for the "Ghosts and Monsters" stories are particularly compelling.

These fifteen delightful tales are drawn from works by Lafcadio Hearn and Yei Theodora Ozaki. Even though the texts are available elsewhere it is the presentation that makes this edition worth while. The selections are thematically arranged in three sections: "Journeys", "Ghosts and Monsters", and "Justice." The design--the size, the cover, the art work, the typeface, the paper--all perfect. The illustrations are wonderful--whimsical when they should be and monstrous when that is what is needed. This is a book I love to hold.

The selections include eight stories from Ozaki's Japanese Fairy Tales and seven from Hearn's Kwaidan. The source works are in the public domain and available on Project Gutenberg. ( )