Hearn's Japan - Lafcadio Hearn

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Résumé :
Finally the treatment these true classics deserve: thoroughly re-edited and modernized texts, with glossary, index...and beautiful layout to boot.
Lafcadio Hearn (1850-1904), the son of an Irish Surgeon-Major and a Greek woman of noble lineage, who settled in Japan after a checkered career in journalism in Cincinnati and New Orleans, is still considered by many the most astute interpreter of the country and its people.
In the first part of this series, we follow Hearn as he arrives in Yokohama in the spring of 1880 and is immediately taken with its 'sun-steeped ways,' the ubiquitous kuruma with their oddly gesticulating runners, the narrow streets with their 'profusion of Chinese and Japanese characters in white, black, blue, or gold decorating everything'-all to Hearn is 'unspeakably pleasurable and new.'
His unquenchable curiosity leads him outside the town's European quarter. Starting with local temples and shrines, he soon wanders farther afield, to Kamakura, home of the famous Engaku-ji, Kencho-ji, Hasedera, and the great Daibutsu statue. From there, he visits the island of Enoshima and its Dragon Cavern. Then to Yokohama again to visit a Bonichi, attend a Bon Matsuri, observe a Bon Odori. And then to Matsue, the place to which his name has become so inextricably linked.
Led, introduced, and informed by guides and friends, with each experience, Hearn's love for the Japanese grows, his understanding for their ways deepens. And it is this pairing of love and insight that make his Writings From a Mystical Country so compelling and enchanting-even now, more than a century after his death.

Biographie:
Lafcadio Hearn was born in the Greek Ionian Islands on June 27, 1850. When he was 6 years old, he moved from the Island of Leucos to Ireland and was raised by his Irish great-aunt until the age of 16. He was then sent to the US and began working as a journalist, first in Cincinnati and then in New Orleans. He also spent time translating French literature into English and soon developed his own writing style as well as his own interests in storytelling.In 1890, Hearn found his place in life when he traveled to Japan and became enchanted with Japanese culture, history, language, and folklore. His upbringing had been a lonely one, but he soon found his family when he fell in love with Setzu Koizumi and married her in 1891. Hearn became a Japanese citizen, took the name Yakumo Koizumi, and taught at the Imperial University for many years. He and his wife had four children, and it has been recorded that he was a loving father and family man.Lafcadio Hearn's works demonstrate sincere love and devotion for Japan. Most entertaining are his Japanese ghost stories, which give rich insight into the history, culture, and traditions of the Japanese people. These stories were not only widely translated but also adapted into film with the movie Kwaidan in 1964. He remained devoted to Japan until his passing in 1904 at the age of 54....

Sommaire:
Finally the treatment these true classics deserve: thoroughly re-edited and modernized texts, with glossary, index...and beautiful layout to boot. Lafcadio Hearn (1850-1904), the son of an Irish Surgeon-Major and a Greek woman of noble lineage, who settled in Japan after a checkered career in journalism in Cincinnati and New Orleans, is still considered by many the most astute interpreter of the country and its people. In the first part of this series, we follow Hearn as he arrives in Yokohama in the spring of 1880 and is immediately taken with its 'sun-steeped ways,' the ubiquitous kuruma with their oddly gesticulating runners, the narrow streets with their 'profusion of Chinese and Japanese characters in white, black, blue, or gold decorating everything'-all to Hearn is 'unspeakably pleasurable and new.' His unquenchable curiosity leads him outside the town's European quarter. Starting with local temples and shrines, he soon wanders farther afield, to Kamakura, home of the famous Engaku-ji, Kench?-ji, Hasedera, and the great Daibutsu statue. From there, he visits the island of Enoshima and its Dragon Cavern. Then to Yokohama again to visit a Bonichi, attend a Bon Matsuri, observe a Bon Odori. And then to Matsue, the place to which his name has become so inextricably linked. Led, introduced, and informed by guides and friends, with each experience, Hearn's love for the Japanese grows, his understanding for their ways deepens. And it is this pairing of love and insight that make his Writings From a Mystical Country so compelling and enchanting-even now, more than a century after his death. ...