Margins
Mujina book cover
Mujina
2012
First Published
3.48
Average Rating
46
Number of Pages
明治時代に来日した日本研究家で、帰化後は小泉八雲の名で知られたラフカディオ・ハーンの作品(翻訳者は戸川明三)。原話は町田宗七編「百物語」の中の第33席、御山若松の話、いわゆる“のっぺらぼう”の話である。筋はほぼ同じながら原作と異なる八雲の再話部分がいくつかあるが、その注目すべき一つは、化け物の正体が「かわうそ」から「むじな」に変えられたことである。これは、八雲が幼時に見た顔のない幻の話を妻セツの養母が「顔なしの怪物なら貉」だと言ったことによる。日本人の読者ならたぬきを知っているためにおかしみがあるが、日本語を知らない英語の読者には、得体の知れない怪奇な印象を残すことになる。
Avg Rating
3.48
Number of Ratings
33
5 STARS
18%
4 STARS
33%
3 STARS
33%
2 STARS
9%
1 STARS
6%
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Author

Lafcadio Hearn
Lafcadio Hearn
Author · 45 books

Greek-born American writer Lafcadio Hearn spent 15 years in Japan; people note his collections of stories and essays, including Kokoro (1896), under pen name Koizumi Yakumo. Rosa Cassimati (Ρόζα Αντωνίου Κασιμάτη in Greek), a Greek woman, bore Patrick Lafcadio Hearn (Πατρίκιος Λευκάδιος Χερν in Greek or 小泉八雲 in Japanese), a son, to Charles Hearn, an army doctor from Ireland. After making remarkable works in America as a journalist, he went to Japan in 1890 as a journey report writer of a magazine. He arrived in Yokohama, but because of a dissatisfaction with the contract, he quickly quit the job. He afterward moved to Matsué as an English teacher of Shimané prefectural middle school. In Matsué, he got acquainted with Nishida Sentarô, a colleague teacher and his lifelong friend, and married Koizumi Setsu, a daughter of a samurai. In 1891, he moved to Kumamoto and taught at the fifth high school for three years. Kanô Jigorô, the president of the school of that time, spread judo to the world. Hearn worked as a journalist in Kôbé and afterward in 1896 got Japanese citizenship and a new name, Koizumi Yakumo. He took this name from "Kojiki," a Japanese ancient myth, which roughly translates as "the place where the clouds are born". On that year, he moved to Tôkyô and began to teach at the Imperial University of Tôkyô. He got respect of students, many of whom made a remarkable literary career. In addition, he wrote much reports of Japan and published in America. So many people read his works as an introduction of Japan. He quit the Imperial University in 1903 and began to teach at Waseda University on the year next. Nevertheless, after only a half year, he died of angina pectoris.

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