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A review by theesotericcamel
Tales of Moonlight and Rain by Ueda Akinari
5.0
I’m guessing that this was an academic endeavour for Anthony H. Chambers, as each story was very thoroughly researched and annotated... As such, this is not your average collection of translated Japanese ghost stories. Although it does deliver on that account too. To be more precise, this book is a collection of stories written by Ueda Akinari, a popular Edo period writer. (This particular collection was originally published in 1776 to give you a perspective of age.) He would go on to influence almost all of the modern Japanese writers to follow, including the likes of Mishima, Tanazaki, and Kyouka...
It was also the inspiration for Mizoguchi’s masterpeice movie “Ugestu.” Being traditional Japanese ghost stories, you should know not expect jump scares or excessive gore. These are elegant and atmospheric. Very much poetry in prose form. And there is a deliberate reason behind this... As the translator, Anthony H. Chambers explains.
It is clear that it was a labour of love for the translator, Anthony H. Chambers. He begins the edition with a lengthy introduction explaining Akinari’s historical importance and subsequent influence. He then explains how the collection came about. You can skip this if you just want to get to the stories, but it does help to contextualise the work at hand. What becomes clear is that Akinari was also heavily influenced by Chinese and Japanese classical literature, and flaunts his literary knowledge throughout the stories. Each story is also introduced with a break down of the setting, characters, background, and affinities, that is other literary works that directly influenced the particular story. Each story is also annotated throughout with cultural explanations and modern place names. As well as information that would have been known to the reader of the time, but not by current ones. This may all sound daunting and dry, but I assure you, it is discreetly done as rather than getting in the way of the story, they serve to enhance understanding and appreciation of it! As someone who has lived in Japan for the past 11 years, I really appreciated all the cultural notes. And I could see echoes of Chamber’s observations throughout my subsequent travels in Japan! The translation of the stories themselves is elegant and engaging, making the stories easy to get into. There are definitely spooky moments to be had here!
I get the sense that this was some sort of academic project for Chamber’s university, and also a project he deeply cared about. So much work went into making Akinari accessible to western audiences. I think he was successful in his endeavour! I will definitele be hanging on to my copy for years to come!
It was also the inspiration for Mizoguchi’s masterpeice movie “Ugestu.” Being traditional Japanese ghost stories, you should know not expect jump scares or excessive gore. These are elegant and atmospheric. Very much poetry in prose form. And there is a deliberate reason behind this... As the translator, Anthony H. Chambers explains.
It is clear that it was a labour of love for the translator, Anthony H. Chambers. He begins the edition with a lengthy introduction explaining Akinari’s historical importance and subsequent influence. He then explains how the collection came about. You can skip this if you just want to get to the stories, but it does help to contextualise the work at hand. What becomes clear is that Akinari was also heavily influenced by Chinese and Japanese classical literature, and flaunts his literary knowledge throughout the stories. Each story is also introduced with a break down of the setting, characters, background, and affinities, that is other literary works that directly influenced the particular story. Each story is also annotated throughout with cultural explanations and modern place names. As well as information that would have been known to the reader of the time, but not by current ones. This may all sound daunting and dry, but I assure you, it is discreetly done as rather than getting in the way of the story, they serve to enhance understanding and appreciation of it! As someone who has lived in Japan for the past 11 years, I really appreciated all the cultural notes. And I could see echoes of Chamber’s observations throughout my subsequent travels in Japan! The translation of the stories themselves is elegant and engaging, making the stories easy to get into. There are definitely spooky moments to be had here!
I get the sense that this was some sort of academic project for Chamber’s university, and also a project he deeply cared about. So much work went into making Akinari accessible to western audiences. I think he was successful in his endeavour! I will definitele be hanging on to my copy for years to come!