7 h 24 minAudiobook8 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at cost
Audiobook edition · 7 h 24 minPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
What if a gentle stranger comes from the sea, and even the stars cannot keep two lovers together?
In Japanese Fairy Tales, Grace James gathers old stories of Japan into a world where spirits and animals cross into human life. Fox spirits, cranes, cats and water creatures share these tales with brave warriors and women from the sky or sea. Small creatures hold powers that their size does not suggest.
The collection moves through folk tales, warrior legends and myths, exploring nature, duty and love. Samurai face the demands of courage and loyalty. A weaver and a herdsman, the star lovers, live apart across the River of Heaven, allowed to meet only once a year. Their longing gives the distant sky a deeply human feeling.
What you’ll discover
- Stories rich in wonder Discover old tales of Japan where nature, duty and love meet the powers of spirits.
- Spirits close to home Meet beings from sky and sea whose paths cross with human lives.
- Small creatures, great powers Encounter fox spirits, cranes and cats in stories where size does not measure power.
- The demands of honour Explore samurai legends that place courage, duty and faithfulness to a master at their heart.
- Love across the stars Follow the longing of a weaver and herdsman separated by the River of Heaven.
Who will love it
This book suits readers who enjoy folklore, ghost stories and gentle comedy, and anyone drawn to Japanese myth, with its kind farmers, clever animals, moon fairies and star-crossed lovers.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- Love can pull a loyal man off course
- The dead return for love and for justice
- Kindness is rewarded and greed is punished
- Old myths explain how the world began
- Heaven and sea hold sorrow and wonder
- Human foolishness is a source of gentle comedy
- Passion crosses boundaries and carries a price
- Loyalty and mercy are tested by hardship
- Songs, seasons and refrains give the tales their voice
Who’s who
- TomodataA young samurai, poet and courtier, sent by the Lord of Noto on a mission and warned never to look a maiden in the eyes.
- Green WillowA shy girl in a cottage under three willows, who pours wine for a storm-soaked traveler and calls herself by that name.
- KanèA cheerful, generous poor farmer who shares what he has and finds a fairy mallet after chasing swallows from his rice field.
- MomotaroA boy born from a peach who sets out with millet dumplings and three animal friends to win the treasure of the Ogres' Island.
- Susa the ImpetuousA stormy young god who weeps for his mother, quarrels with his sister the Sun Goddess, and is driven out of heaven.
- AnchinA young, learned monk who meets a lady beside a marshy mere and can no longer find peace in prayer.
- UrashimaA fisherman of the Inland Sea who longs to return to his small children after a night with the Daughter of the Deep Sea.
- Sakura-koA samurai's daughter who becomes the finest geisha dancer in Yedo to feed her mother, and who hides her heart behind a smile.
Formats and delivery
- eBook
- On your phone, tablet, computer or Kindle, with the type as large as you like.
- Large-print eBook
- The same book in bigger, clearer type, from the first page.
- Audiobook
- 7 h 24 min, complete, read by Lucas Linden.
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas in about 8 minutes, to read or to hear.
- Paperback
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Hardcover
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print paperback
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print hardcover
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
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Read and hear Japanische Märchen in 25 languages and switch at any time. Or read two side by side, paragraph by paragraph: the way to learn a language with a book you love.
Japanische Märchen
by Grace James · 1910
A samurai ignores his lord's one warning when a girl called Green Willow pours his wine.
Easy read5–10 hours to read25 languages
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In short
Why would a samurai ignore his lord's warning? Japanese Fairy Tales, gathered by Grace James, opens with that samurai's story and then carries you through thirty-eight stories of ghosts, gods, fairies, foxes and lovers.
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
Love can pull a loyal man off course
The book opens with a young samurai named Tomodata, who serves the Lord of Noto. His lord sends him riding with a message and gives one strict warning: do not look any maiden in the eyes. The first tale asks what happens when duty meets a face you cannot forget.
A typhoon drives Tomodata to a thatched cottage under three green willows. An old couple feed and warm him, and their daughter, who is called the Green Willow, pours his wine. Their eyes meet, and he forgets his lord completely. He leaves at dawn, but she finds him again, and the two ride away together to a city where they settle in a house of white wood.
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What is Japanese Fairy Tales about?
It is a collection of thirty-eight Japanese tales and legends gathered by Grace James. They include ghost stories, myths of the gods, comic stories of greedy and kind neighbors, and tales of love, loyalty and loss.
Where do the stories in Japanese Fairy Tales come from?
The author's note says they come from many sources. Some are from the Record of Ancient Matters, which holds Japan's mythology, some are told from memory from childhood, and others are favorites of the Japanese stage.
Who are Izanagi, Izanami and Susa?
Izanagi and Izanami are the heavenly pair who create the islands of Japan in the mythology. Susa the Impetuous is their stormy son, whose quarrel with his sister Ama Terassu, the Sun Goddess, darkens the world.
The author
Grace James
1882–1965 · English folklorist and children's writer
Grace James (1882–1965) was an English writer born in Tokyo, Japan. She spent her childhood in Japan before moving to England. Her collection Japanese Fairy Tales appeared in 1910, with illustrations by Warwick Goble. She also wrote the John and Mary series of books for children.
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