Mononoke, Japanese Ghost Stories

Whether they are found at a bend in a forest path, in the middle of a street, or in a bedroom, Japanese ghosts and other spirits lurk around… The chilling tale of the mysterious snow woman, the story of a valiant samurai, the well-hidden secret of a deceased person, not to mention the ever-present yokai…

At the beginning of the 20th century, Yakumo Koizumi was the first to gather the foundational myths of the Japanese archipelago into a collection as fascinating as it was singular. (Re)discover in a brand new translation these timeless tales that have inspired many contemporary artists, from cinema to literature, and which still influence Japanese pop culture.

Yakumo Koizumi, born Lafcadio Hearn (1850-1904), was an Irish writer. Arriving in Japan in 1890, he met his wife, Setsuko Koizumi, and took Japanese nationality. Hired as a professor of English literature at the Imperial University of Tokyo, he wrote his works and studies on the traditions of the archipelago until the end of his life.

We present here a new translation of his emblematic work Kwaidan: Stories and Studies of Strange Things.

Review from La Librairie du Grimoire Ancien

This new translation of Kwaidan by Ynnis Éditions is a major publishing event for fans of Japanese folklore and fantasy literature. Yakumo Koizumi (Lafcadio Hearn) remains one of the most important cultural bridges between the West and Meiji-era Japan, and his work transcends a mere collection of tales to become a true poetic ethnography.

The author does not merely transcribe legends: he inhabits them, reinvents them with a rare literary sensibility, blending dread with melancholy, the supernatural with the intimate. Each story—whether it's the Yuki-onna (snow woman) or the mischievous yokai—reveals a deep understanding of Shinto animism and the Japanese conception of the afterlife.

This edition offers a contemporary translation that respects the musicality of the original text while making it accessible to modern French-speaking readers. An essential work for anyone interested in the roots of Japanese fantasy, from Miyazaki to Junji Ito, and how these ancestral tales continue to nourish global popular culture.

— La Librairie du Grimoire Ancien