Rediscovering Lafcadio Hearn: Japanese Legends, Life & Culture

Lafcadio Hearn, who died in Japan in 1904, used to be considered one of the best Western writers on Japan in his generation and was widely (and continues to be) admired by the Japanese. Formerly a journalist in Cincinnati renowned for his writing skills in recording horror and the macabre, he came to be known as the great interpreter of Japan. Even today, every Japanese schoolchild knows Koizumi Yakumo (his Japanese name) because they all learn from his short stories in secondary school. Since the last war, however, he has been relegated to the status of a Victorian romantic whose knowledge was gained second-hand from his Japanese wife. This is no longer so, as is shown by some of the world’s top Hearn authorities who contribute to this volume, revealing a man who was so much ahead of his times and whose inspirational guided tour through Japanese culture is of enduring significance. It is notable that one of the key advisers to Douglas MacArthur, US Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces in Japan (SCAP), used his insights into the Japanese people gained from reading Heran to urge MacArthur to maintain the Emperor as the figurehead of te people and so avoid civil war. A century later, despite Japan’s high-tech exterior, Hearn can still be an extremely valuable guide in our understanding of Japanese culture and way of life.