Ghost stories are universal, but Japanese ghost stories, argues Zack Davisson in “Yurei: The Japanese Ghost,” are unique. So much so that Davisson, a translator and essayist who is something of a specialist in the supernatural, uses yūrei, the Japanese word for spook, throughout the text. He also makes big claims for them, saying that “almost all of Japan’s most talented writers have turned their considerable talents to yūrei at some point in their careers.” Define “most” and “talented.”
But Davisson largely succeeds in his main aim: retelling some of Japan’s most famous ghost stories in lively modern prose while putting them into their cultural, social and religious context. If you are looking for a concise description of traditional Japanese funerary rites, you’ve come to the right place.
Source: The Japan Times
But Davisson largely succeeds in his main aim: retelling some of Japan’s most famous ghost stories in lively modern prose while putting them into their cultural, social and religious context. If you are looking for a concise description of traditional Japanese funerary rites, you’ve come to the right place.
Source: The Japan Times
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