Japanese Fairy Tales
1910
A luminous collection of Japanese folk tales translated and retold by Grace James in 1910, these stories transport readers to a Japan where the boundary between the mortal world and the realm of spirits is thin as morning mist. The opening tale, "Green Willow," follows Tomodata, a loyal samurai dispatched on a dangerous mission by his lord, who encounters a maiden of ethereal beauty during his journey. Their meeting sparks a love so overwhelming that it eclipses duty, honor, and all earthly obligations. This sets the tone for a collection steeped in longing, sacrifice, and the supernatural consequences of human desire. The tales feature shape-shifting spirits, enchanted objects, cunning tricksters, and heroes who must navigate the hidden laws that govern both the seen and unseen worlds. James writes with a delicate precision that honors the oral traditions from which these stories emerged, capturing the particular melancholy that permeates Japanese folklore: the understanding that beauty and transience are inseparable, that love often arrives like a season, and that even magic cannot exempt anyone from loss.
Editions
X-Ray
“There is a proverb which says "As the soul is at three so it is at one hundred,””
— Grace James
“But, alas! in this world nothing lasts forever. Even the moon is not always perfect in shape, but loses its roundness with time, and flowers bloom and then fade.””
— Grace James
“Yesterday in your honorable shadow my life was saved, and I have come to offer you my thanks and to tell you how grateful I am for your kindness to me.””
— Grace James
“Thus did the unkind step-mother humble herself and ask forgiveness of the girl she had so wronged.””
— Grace James
“One old courtier, Jofuku by name, said that far away across the seas there was a country called Horaizan,””
— Grace James
“Then they all surrounded the poop little animal and pulled out all his fur.””
— Grace James
“At all times, among my friends, both young and old, English or American, I have always found eager listeners to the beautiful legends and fairy tales of Japan, and in telling them I have also found that they were still unknown to the vast majority, and this has encouraged me to write them for the children of the West. Y. T. O. Tokio, 1908.””
— Grace James
“Union amongst ourselves is better than any earthly gain. When we are not at peace amongst ourselves it is no easy thing to subdue an enemy.””
— Grace James
“So the jelly fish slowly walked towards the pine-tree. In those ancient days the jelly fish had four legs and a hard shell like a tortoise.””
— Grace James
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