Tales of Old Japan

About this book

Forty-seven masterless samurai carry out a patient act of revenge. Elsewhere, fox spirits intervene in human affairs and ordinary households become the setting for strange obligations and supernatural visits.

A. B. Mitford's collection brings together Japanese historical episodes, folk stories and observations of customs encountered during his diplomatic service. Accounts of ritual suicide and feudal loyalty reflect the values and prejudices of the period in which he wrote. Even so, the book remains an absorbing record of stories that helped shape foreign perceptions of Japan during the nineteenth century.