Chapter I: Preface

In writing _Myths and Legends of Japan_ I have been much indebted to numerous authorities on Japanese subjects, and most especially to Lafcadio Hearn, who first revealed to me the Land of the Gods. It is impossible to enumerate all the writers who have assisted me in preparing this volume. I have borrowed from their work as persistently as Japan has borrowed from other countries, and I sincerely hope that, like Japan herself, I have made good use of the material I have obtained from so many sources.

I am indebted to Professor Basil Hall Chamberlain for placing his work at my disposal, and I have found his encyclopædic volume, _Things Japanese_, his translation of the _Kojiki_, his _Murray's Hand-book for Japan_ (in collaboration with W. B. Mason), and his _Japanese Poetry_, of great value. I thank the Executors of the late Dr. W. G. Aston for permission to quote from this learned authority's work. I have made use of his translation of the _Nihongi_ (_Transactions of the Japan Society_, 1896) and have gathered much useful material from _A History of Japanese Literature_. I am indebted to Mr. F. Victor Dickins for allowing me to make use of his translation of the _Taketori Monogatari_ and the _Ho-jō-ki_. My friend Mrs. C. M. Salwey has taken a sympathetic interest in my work, which has been invaluable to me. Her book, _Fans of Japan_, has supplied me with an exquisite legend, and many of her articles have yielded a rich harvest. I warmly thank Mr. Yone Noguchi for allowing me to quote from his poetry, and also Miss Clara A. Walsh for so kindly putting at my disposal her fascinating volume, _The Master-Singers of Japan_, published by Mr. John Murray in the "Wisdom of the East" series. My thanks are due to Messrs. Houghton, Mifflin Company, for allowing me to quote from Lafcadio Hearn's _Glimpses of Unfamiliar Japan_ and _The Japanese Letters of Lafcadio Hearn_; to Messrs. George Allen & Sons, for giving me permission to quote from Sir F. T. Piggott's _Garden of Japan_; to the Editor of the _Academy_, for permitting me to reprint my article on "Japanese Poetry," and to Messrs. Cassell and Co. Ltd., for allowing me to reproduce "The Garden of Japan," which I originally contributed to _Cassell's Magazine_. The works of Dr. William Anderson, Sir Ernest Satow, Lord Redesdale, Madame Ozaki, Mr. R. Gordon Smith, Captain F. Brinkley, the late Rev. Arthur Lloyd, Mr. Henri L. Joly, Mr. K. Okakura, the Rev. W. E. Griffis, and others, have been of immense value to me, and in addition I very warmly thank all those writers I have left unnamed, through want of space, whose works have assisted me in the preparation of this volume.

CONTENTS

Introduction
I. The Period of the Gods
II. Heroes and Warriors
III. The Bamboo-cutter and the Moon-maiden
IV. Buddha Legends
V. Fox Legends
VI. Jizō, the God of Children
VII. Legend in Japanese Art
VIII. The Star Lovers and the Robe of Feathers
IX. Legends of Mount Fuji
X. Bells
XI. Yuki-onna, the Lady of the Snow
XII. Flowers and Gardens
XIII. Trees
XIV. Mirrors
XV. Kwannon and Benten. Daikoku, Ebisu, and Hotei
XVI. Dolls and Butterflies
XVII. Festivals
XVIII. The Peony-lantern
XIX. Kōbō Daishi, Nichiren, and Shōdō Shonin
XX. Fans
XXI. Thunder
XXII. Animal Legends
XXIII. Bird and Insect Legends
XXIV. Concerning Tea
XXV. Legends of the Weird
XXVI. Three Maidens
XXVII. Legends of the Sea
XXVIII. Superstitions
XXIX. Supernatural Beings
XXX. The Transformation of Issunboshi and Kintaro, The Golden Boy
XXXI. Miscellaneous Legends

A Note on Japanese Poetry
Gods and Goddesses
Genealogy of the Age of the Gods
Bibliography
Index of Poetical Quotations
Glossary and Index

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

The Lovers who exchanged Fans _Frontispiece_
Uzume awakens the Curiosity of Ama-terasu
Susa-no-o and Kushi-nada-hime
Hoori and the Sea God's Daughter
Yorimasa slays the Vampire
Yorimasa and Benkei attacked by a ghostly company of the Taira Clan
Raiko and the Enchanted Maiden
Raiko slays the Goblin of Oyeyama
Prince Yamato and Takeru
Momotaro and the Pheasant
Hidesato and the Centipede
The Moonfolk demand the Lady Kaguya
Buddha and the Dragon
The Mikado and the Jewel Maiden
Jizō
A Kakemono Ghost
Sengen, the Goddess of Mount Fuji
Visu on Mount Fuji-Yama
Kiyo and the Priest
Yuki-Onna, the Lady of the Snow
Shingé and Yoshisawa by the Violet Well
Matsu rescues Teoyo
Shinzaburō recognised Tsuyu and her maid Yoné
The Jelly-Fish and the Monkey
The Firefly Battle
Hōïchi-the-Earless
The Maiden of Unai
Urashima and the Sea King's Daughter
Tokoyo and the Sea Serpent
The Kappa and his Victim
Kato Sayemon in his Palace of the Shōgun Ashikaga
Tōtarō and Samébito