The original classic collection where a biracial Japanese woman made her adopted homeland's fairy tales her own. Yei Theodora Ozaki had a 19th-century British upbringing, but embraced her Eastern heritage once she moved to Japan at sixteen. Refusing to marry, she made her own way and fell in love with the folklore of her new home. The Japanese Fairy Book became the first of many collections she adapted to bridge her two cultures and share these treasured stories with the English-speaking world. Marvel at the Dragon King and his palace under the sea. Awe over Princess Moonlight outwitting every would-be suitor to stay with her elderly foster parents. Cheer on Momotaro, the boy born from a peach who fights ogres with his trusty animal companions. Explore the age of giants and gods with wise Empress Jokwa as she defends her kingdom from a tyrannical wizard. Whimsical and tragic, epic and frightening, Ozaki's translations of cunning creatures, brave samurai, royal dramas, and folk adventures from a bygone era will enchant readers of any age. Immerse yourself in this fresh edition of one bold woman's vision of her country's beloved fairy tales today.

The Japanese Fairy Book

Die Geschichten spielen in verlassenen Gegenden, verfallenen Tempeln und sonderbaren Traumwelten. Dort treffen heimtückische Wandelwesen, riesenhafte Dämonen und selbstsüchtige Sterbliche auf kluge Priester, tapfere Samurai und belehrende Götterboten.

Yei Theodora Ozaki entführt uns in die Welt der japanischen Mythen und Legenden. Dabei vermittelt sie der Leserschaft ein tiefes Verständnis der Werte und Traditionen, die das Land und seine Bewohner bis heute prägen.

Als Tochter einer Engländerin und eines der ersten japanischen Studenten in Europa war die Autorin eine Wanderin und Vermittlerin zwischen den Welten. Ihre Vorliebe für unheimliche Geschichten entstand während der Zeit, als sie in Tokyo im Obergeschoss eines alten buddhistischen Tempels mit Blick auf den Friedhof lebte. Die meisten der Anfang des 20. Jahrhunderts verfassten Erzählungen haben ihre Ursprünge in der Kamakura-Zeit als die Kriegerklasse in Japan enorm an Bedeutung gewann. Und so finden sich in den Geschichten meist moralische Belehrungen verpackt in heroisierenden Beschreibungen von mutigen Samurai, die durch die Macht des Buddhismus gestärkt werden. 

Der vorliegende Band enthält eine Auswahl der besten Geschichten von Yei Theodora Ozaki, die hier erstmals mit erläuternden Kommentaren versehen in deutscher Sprache erscheinen.

Der Mann, der nicht sterben wollte - und andere seltsame Geschichten aus dem alten Japan

Contes traditionnels japonaisÀ PROPOS DE L'AUTEURENée en Angleterre en 1871, Yei Theodora Ozaki est une traductrice. Elle a adapté les contes traditionnels japonais pour les jeunes européens

Contes japonais

Long, long ago there was a large plain called Adachigahara, in the province of Mutsu in Japan. This place was said to be haunted by a cannibal goblin who took the form of an old woman. From time to time many travelers disappeared and were never heard of more, and the old women round the charcoal braziers in the evenings, and the girls washing the household rice at the wells in the mornings, whispered dreadful stories of how the missing folk had been lured to the goblin's cottage and devoured, for the goblin lived only on human flesh. No one dared to venture near the haunted spot after sunset, and all those who could, avoided it in the daytime, and travelers were warned of the dreaded place.

One day as the sun was setting, a priest came to the plain. He was a belated traveler, and his robe showed that he was a Buddhist pilgrim walking from shrine to shrine to pray for some blessing or to crave for forgiveness of sins. He had apparently lost his way, and as it was late he met no one who could show him the road or warn him of the haunted spot.

He had walked the whole day and was now tired and hungry, and the evenings were chilly, for it was late autumn, and he began to be very anxious to find some house where he could obtain a night's lodging. He found himself lost in the midst of the large plain, and looked about in vain for some sign of human habitation.

At last, after wandering about for some hours, he saw a clump of trees in the distance, and through the trees he caught sight of the glimmer of a single ray of light. He exclaimed with joy:

"Oh. surely that is some cottage where I can get a night's lodging!"...

Ancient Japanese Fairy Tales

I have invented none of these stories. They are taken from many different sources, and in clothing them with an English dress my work has been that of adapter rather than translator. In picturesqueness of conception Japanese stories yield the palm to none. And they are rich in quaint expressions and dainty conceits. But they are apt to be written in a style almost too bald. This defect the professional story-teller remedies by colouring his story as he tells it. In the same way I have tried to brighten the rather bare structure of a story, where it seemed to need such treatment; with touches of local colour in order to give emphasis to the narrative, and at the same time make the story more attractive to the foreign reader. Whether I have succeeded or not, the reader must judge for himself. I shall be satisfied if in some small measure I have been able to do for Japanese folklore what Andrew Lang has done for folklore in general, and if the tales in their English dress are found to retain the essential features of Japanese stories.

Warriors of Old Japan

His old widowed mother would not die happy unless he were rehabilitated, and to this end he knew that she and his faithful wife, O Yumi, prayed daily before the family shrine.

How often had he racked his brains to find some way by which it were possible to prove his unchanging fidelity to Shusen; for the true big hearted fellow never resented his punishment, but staunchly believed that the ties which bound him to his lord were in no wise annulled by the separation.

At last the long awaited opportunity had come. In obedience to the mandate of the Shogun Ieyasu that the territorial nobles should reside in his newly established capital of Yedo during six months of the year, the Daimio of Tokushima proceeded to Yedo accompanied by a large retinue of samurai, amongst whom were his chief retainers, the rivals Shusen Sakurai and Gunbei Onota.

Like a faithful watchdog, alert and anxious, jurobei had followed Shusen at a distance, unwilling to let him out of his sight at this critical time, for Gunbei Onota was the sworn enemy of Shusen Sakurai. Bitter envy of his rival's popularity, and especially of his senior rank in the Daimio's service, had always rankled in the contemptible Gunbei's mind. For years he had planned to supplant him, and Jurobei knew through traitors that the honest vigilance of his master had recently thwarted Gunbei in some of his base schemes, and that the latter had vowed immediate vengeance.

Old Japan Romances

Contes japonais est la première traduction en français des contes de Yei Theodora Ozaki, et propose un certain nombre de contes choisis parmi les différents ouvrages de l'auteur : Les Contes de fées japonais (1908) qui sont les plus connus du grand public en Occident ; Les Guerriers du Japon ancien et autres contes, ces contes sont plus liés à l'histoire même du Japon. Et trois contes extraits du recueil, Le Cristal du Bouddha et autres contes : Le Cristal du Bouddha, Issunboshi, La bouilloire de la bonne fortune. Ce recueil de contes en contient vingt-trois. Ces contes présentent un regard unique sur le Japon, sa culture, son insularité et son rapport ancestral aux divinités des eaux (mer, lacs...) et des forêts (elfes). D'autres traits caractéristiques de la culture japonaise apparaissent au long des pages : son sens des valeurs, son rapport quasi familier avec les rois et les empereurs, sa ténacité face aux conditions de vie difficiles...

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