Dreams, Myths and Fairy Tales in Japan addresses Japanese culture insightfully, exploring the depths of the psyche from both Eastern and Western perspectives, an endeavor the author is uniquely suited to undertake. The present volume is based upon five lectures originally delivered at the prestigious round-table Eranos Conferences in Ascona, Switzerland. Readers interested in Japanese myth and religion, comparative cultural studies, depth psychology or clinical psychology will all find Professor Kawai’s offerings to be remarkably insightful while at the same time practical for their own daily work. From the contents: –Interpenetration: Dreams in Medieval Japan –Bodies in the Dream Diary of Myôe –Japanese Mythology: Balancing the Gods –Japanese Fairy Tales: The Aesthetic Solution –Torikaebaya: A Tale of Changing Sexual Roles

This book examines the haunting, sad, and lively depths of the Japanese soul by interpreting some of major themes in fairy tales. A Japanese Jungian psychologist credited with founding Japanese analytical and clinical psychology and a senior professor at Kyoto University, Hayao Kawai (1928-2007) addresses here such questions as why so many Japanese fairy tales end in a "Happily ever after" marriage, and why the female figure best expresses the culture's ego and the country's possible future. Throughout the book, Kawai delicately presents the multiple layers of the Japanese psyche.The American poet and essayist Gary Snyder, who lived for years in Japan, gaining familiarity with the soul of its culture and thought, introduces Kawai's book to the reader.

Shape-shifters, demons, and lovers populate a landscape blossoming with story in this collection of imaginative contributions by Steve Berman, Eugie Foster, Jay Lake, Yoon Ha Lee, Robert Jordan Levy, Lisa Mantchev, Richard Parks, Ekaterina Sedia, Erzebet YellowBoy, and others.

This collection of Japanese fairy tales is the outcome of a suggestion made to me indirectly through a friend by Mr. Andrew Lang. They have been translated from the modern version written by Sadanami Sanjin. These stories are not literal translations, and though the Japanese story and all quaint Japanese expressions have been faithfully preserved, they have been told more with the view to interest young readers of the West than the technical student of folk-lore. Grateful acknowledgment is due to Mr. Y. Yasuoka, Miss Fusa Okamoto, my brother Nobumori Ozaki, Dr. Yoshihiro Takaki, and Miss Kameko Yamao, who have helped me with translations. The story which I have named “The Story of the Man who did not Wish to Die” is taken from a little book written a hundred years ago by one Shinsui Tamenaga. It is named Chosei Furo, or “Longevity.” “The Bamboo-cutter and the Moon-child” is taken from the classic “Taketari Monogatari,” and is NOT classed by the Japanese among their fairy tales, though it really belongs to this class of literature. The pictures were drawn by Mr. Kakuzo Fujiyama, a Tokio artist. In telling these stories in English I have followed my fancy in adding such touches of local color or description as they seemed to need or as pleased me, and in one or two instances I have gathered in an incident from another version. At all times, among my friends, both young and old, English or American, I have always found eager listeners to the beautiful legends and fairy tales of Japan, and in telling them I have also found that they were still unknown to the vast majority, and this has encouraged me to write them for the children of the West...FROM THE BOOKS.

Over the last few decades, anime has consistently come into fruitful contact with themes, images and symbols associated with the fairy tale tradition. This critical text focuses on the ways in which fundamental principles of the fairy tale tradition are deployed, and hence come to manifest themselves narratively and cinematographically, in anime. Topics covered include modes of storytelling, aesthetics, as well as dramatic, ethical, psychological and social considerations. Of particular interest is the way in which allegorical commentaries on cultural and historical issues are illustrated in anime.

Herein are 35 Japanese Children’s Fairy Stories taken from the Wonderlore of Japan – and plentiful it is. Japanese lore was well already established when Europe was starting to emerge from the Dark Ages. Compiled in the 19th C. by W E Griffis these stories have been illustrated by Ozawa of Tokio which bring a further dimension to the tales. You will fascinating find stories like: The Meeting of the Star Lovers, The Travels of Two Frogs, The Child of the Thunder, The Fire-fly's Lovers, The Battle of the Ape and the Crab, The Wonderful Tea-Kettle and many, many more. The thirty-five stories included within this volume do not contain the usual bloody, and sometimes licentious, elements, with which Japanese popular, and juvenile literature seems to be saturated. These have been avoided to create a volume of children’s stories containing folklore, fairy tales, myths, legends suitable for a western audience. So sit back with steaming beverage and prepare to be entertained for hours. ================== KEYWORDS/TAGS: folklore, fairy tales, myths, legends, children’s stories, Japanese, Wonderlore , Nippon, wonder, lore, bedtime stories, Meeting, Star Lovers, Travels, Two Frogs, Child of Thunder, Tongue-cut Sparrow, Fire-fly's Lovers, Battle of the Ape and Crab, Wonderful Tea-Kettle, Peach-Prince, Treasure Island, Fox, Badger, Seven Patrons of Happiness, Daikoku, Oni, Benkei, Bell, Little Silver's, Dream of Shoji, Tengus, Elves with Long Noses, Kintaro, Wild Baby, Jiraiya, Magic Frog, How the Jelly-Fish Lost its Shell, Lord Cuttle-Fish, Concert, Yorimasa, Brave Archer, Watanabé cuts off the Oni's Arm, Kills the Great Spider, Raiko, Shi Ten Doji, Sazayé, Tai, Smells and Jingles, Lake of the Lute, Matchless Mountain, Waterfall of Yoro, Fountain of Youth, Earthquake Fish, Dream Story of Gojiro, Procession of Lord Long-Legs, Kiyohimé, Power of Love, Fisherman, Moon-Maiden, Jewels of the Ebbing and the Flowing Tide, Kai Riu O, Dragon King, World Under the Sea, Creation of Heaven and Earth, How the Sun Goddess was Enticed out of her Cave

Two hundred and twenty tales from medieval Japan—tales that welcome us into a fabulous faraway world populated by saints, scoundrels, ghosts, magical healers, and a vast assortment of deities and demons. Stories of miracles, visions of hell, jokes, fables, and legends, these tales reflect the Japanese civilization. They ably balance the lyrical and the dramatic, the ribald and the profound, offering a window into a long-vanished culture. With black-and-white illustrations throughout Part of the Pantheon Fairy Tale and Folklore Library