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A review by mercurialrush
In Ghostly Japan: Japanese Legends of Ghosts, Yokai, Yurei and Other Oddities by Lafcadio Hearn
4.0
This was less of a collection of Japanese ghost stories and more a series of essays about ghostly things, or things that are hidden and beyond the understanding of humans. There's a good mix between actual ghost stories ("Furisode", "A Passional Karma"), stories and essays about Buddhism ("Story of a Tengu", "Footprints of the Buddha"), and even poetry ("Bits of Poetry").
My favorite piece was probably "Ululation", where Hearn remembers an old wolf that used to protect his home and who was adopted by the entire village. He speaks of the superstitions behind dogs (and canines) howling at night and connects it to life. Here's one of my favorite lines from this essay:
"[...] but there is nothing beautiful in the fact that life is fed by continual murder, — that the tenderest affection, the noblest enthusiasm, the purest idealism, must be nourished by the eating of flesh and and the drinking of blood. All life, to sustain itself, must devour life."
My favorite piece was probably "Ululation", where Hearn remembers an old wolf that used to protect his home and who was adopted by the entire village. He speaks of the superstitions behind dogs (and canines) howling at night and connects it to life. Here's one of my favorite lines from this essay:
"[...] but there is nothing beautiful in the fact that life is fed by continual murder, — that the tenderest affection, the noblest enthusiasm, the purest idealism, must be nourished by the eating of flesh and and the drinking of blood. All life, to sustain itself, must devour life."