F. Hadland Davis

"Myths and Legends of Japan" is an interesting collection of diverse Japanese folk tales, legends, and mythology, including a variety of topics from animal stories to legends of Mount Fuji, as well as some discussions of how these stories relate to Japanese culture. However, the presentation of the legends is couched as much in the early twentieth century English attitudes of H. Hadland Davis as in Japan. As Davis, writing in 1913, expresses in his introduction regarding the rising world power, “we have learnt that her quaintness and prettiness, her fairy-like manners and customs, were but the outer signs of a great and progressive nation,” which Russia had learned the hard way. Davis, then, deeply romanticizes this lost “fairyland,” already nostalgic for its “disappearance,” and retells the stories in very flowery English, recalling the style of western fairy tales. Also, the organization of the stories seems a bit haphazard with little consistency in chapter choice. However, it seems to be a fairly comprehensive collection of Japanese folk tales and mostly enjoyable. The works of Lafcadio Hearn , though,(some of which were included by Davis in this book) would be a better English-language source for Japanese folklore, in my opinion.… (more)

Even though this was written over a hundred years ago, it is till by far the best collection of Japanese myths and legends I've seen. Organised chronologically, then topically, this book aims, and achieves breadth.

While some of the commentary is dated (especially when referring to "present" culture), the rest of it, especially on traditional Japanese culture is invaluable and thoughtfully written.

I also enjoyed the sections on things such as Flowers and Gardens, which moved the book beyond an explanation of Japanese myths to an explanation of Japanese culture.

It is excellent as a starting point to learning about traditional Japanese culture.… (more)