Tales of Moonlight and Rain

by Akinari Ueda, Anthony Chambers

Overview

First published in 1776, the nine gothic tales in this collection are Japan's finest and most celebrated examples of the literature of the occult. They subtly merge the world of reason with the realm of the uncanny and exemplify the period's fascination with the strange and the grotesque. They were also the inspiration for Mizoguchi Kenji's brilliant 1953 film Ugetsu.

The title Ugetsu monogatari (literally "rain-moon tales") alludes to the belief that mysterious beings appear on cloudy, rainy nights and in mornings with a lingering moon. In "Shiramine," the vengeful ghost of the former emperor Sutoku reassumes the role of king; in "The Chrysanthemum Vow," a faithful revenant fulfills a promise; "The Kibitsu Cauldron" tells a tale of spirit possession; and in "The Carp of My Dreams," a man straddles the boundaries between human and animal and between the waking world and the world of dreams. The remaining stories feature demons, fiends, goblins, strange dreams, and other manifestations beyond all logic and common sense.

The eerie beauty of this masterpiece owes to Akinari's masterful combination of words and phrases from Japanese classics with creatures from Chinese and Japanese fiction and lore. Along with The Tale of Genji and The Tales of the Heike, Tales of Moonlight and Rain has become a timeless work of great significance. This new translation, by a noted translator and scholar, skillfully maintains the allure and complexity of Akinari's original prose.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780231139137
Publisher:	Columbia University Press
Publication date:	12/24/2008
Series:	Translations from the Asian Classics Series
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	248
Sales rank:	548,345
Product dimensions:	5.00(w) x 7.90(h) x 0.60(d)
Lexile:	1350L (what's this?)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Ueda Akinari (1734-1809), one of the great writers of Japanese fiction, was also a scholar, poet, physician, and tea master. Anthony H. Chambers is professor of Japanese literature and literary translation at Arizona State University. He has translated many works of Japanese literature, both classical and modern, and is the author of The Secret Window: Ideal Worlds in Tanizaki's Fiction.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments
Introduction
Tales of Moonlight and Rain
Preface
Book One
Shiramine
The Chrysanthemum Vow
Book Two
The Reed-Choked House
The Carp of My Dreams
Book Three
The Owl of the Three Jewels
The Kibitsu Caldron
Book Four
A Serpent's Lust
Book Five
The Blue Hood
On Poverty and Wealth
Bibliography

What People are Saying About This

Haruo Shirane

Anthony Chambers, a master translator of modern fiction, has produced a superb translation of one of the great works of early modern Japan. The informative introductions, careful notes, and wonderful style draw us into the incredibly rich and allusive world of the strange and marvelous that Ueda Akinari has created and that has inspired many generations of writers and readers. A work to be savored that deepens with each rereading.

— Haruo Shirane, Shincho Professor of Japanese Literature, Columbia University

Howard Hibbett

Like Mizoguchi in his classic film Ugetsu Monogatari, Anthony Chambers has captured the haunting, emotion-charged atmosphere of Ueda Akinari's tales. This superb new translation reveals their central place in the millennium-long tradition of Japanese fiction.

— Howard Hibbett, professor of Japanese Literature Emeritus, Harvard University

Editorial Reviews

Chambers's edition of Tales of Moonlight and Rain is well worthwhile... Highly Recommended.

The Complete Review

A shining new version of a living Japanese classic.

Japan Times

Japan scholars and people who just like weird, spooky stuff should enjoy this new edition of Akinari's classic.

Daily Yomiuri - Brad Quinn

Chambers's new translation is a lucid addition to the handful of previous versions.

— James Lasdun's

The Guardian

Japan scholars and people who just like weird, spooky stuff should enjoy this new edition of Akinari's classic.

— Brad Quinn

Daily Yomiuri

Chambers's new translation is a lucid addition to the handful of previous versions.

The Guardian - James Lasdun's