| Tales of Moonlight and Rain Contributor(s): Ueda, Akinari (Author), Chambers, Anthony (Translator) |
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ISBN: 0231139136 ISBN-13: 9780231139137 Publisher: Columbia University Press OUR PRICE: $26.73 Product Type: Paperback - Other Formats Published: December 2008 Annotation: "Tales of Moonlight and Rain" alludes to the belief that mysterious beings appear on cloudy, rainy nights and in mornings with the lingering moon. In "Shiramine," the vengeful ghost of the former emperor Sutoku reassumes the role of king; in "The Chrysanthemum Vow," a faithful revenant fulfills a promise; "The Kibitsu Cauldron" tells a tale of spirit possession; and in "The Carp of My Dreams," a man straddles the boundaries between the waking world and dream. Akinari's masterful combination of phrases from Japanese classics with creatures from Chinese and Japanese fiction and lore lend the collection its eerie beauty. This translation skillfully maintains the allure and complexity of Akinari's original prose. |
| Additional Information |
| BISAC Categories: - Literary Collections | Asian - General |
| Dewey: 895.633 |
| Lexile Measure: 1350 |
| Series: Translations from the Asian Classics (Paperback) |
| Physical Information: 0.6" H x 5" W x 8.5" (0.55 lbs) 248 pages |
| Themes: - Cultural Region - Japanese |
| Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
| Publisher Description: First published in 1776, the nine gothic tales in this collection are Japan's finest and most celebrated examples of the literature of the occult. They subtly merge the world of reason with the realm of the uncanny and exemplify the period's fascination with the strange and the grotesque. They were also the inspiration for Mizoguchi Kenji's brilliant 1953 film Ugetsu. The title Ugetsu monogatari (literally "rain-moon tales") alludes to the belief that mysterious beings appear on cloudy, rainy nights and in mornings with a lingering moon. In "Shiramine," the vengeful ghost of the former emperor Sutoku reassumes the role of king; in "The Chrysanthemum Vow," a faithful revenant fulfills a promise; "The Kibitsu Cauldron" tells a tale of spirit possession; and in "The Carp of My Dreams," a man straddles the boundaries between human and animal and between the waking world and the world of dreams. The remaining stories feature demons, fiends, goblins, strange dreams, and other manifestations beyond all logic and common sense. The eerie beauty of this masterpiece owes to Akinari's masterful combination of words and phrases from Japanese classics with creatures from Chinese and Japanese fiction and lore. Along with The Tale of Genji and The Tales of the Heike, Tales of Moonlight and Rain has become a timeless work of great significance. This new translation, by a noted translator and scholar, skillfully maintains the allure and complexity of Akinari's original prose. |