Saitō Takashi, ed.

Ghastly Tales from the Yotsuya kaidan

A newly revised and corrected translation of what is perhaps the most famous and oft told tales of horror in Japan. The legend of Iwa and her curse blurs the lines between fact and fiction as it spins its terrifying tale of ghostly vengeance. For nearly three hundred years in the repertoire of itinerant storytellers, in dramatic performances on stage, and in modern adaptations for anime and film, Iwa’s story has lost none of its intoxicating power over the imagination. 

Available from Amazon US, UK, JP, &c. Also available in e-book format for Apple and Kindle.

“Japan’s most famous ghost story was previously only available in English in a version by James S. De Benneville published in 1917. The archaic language used by that author was old-fashioned even at the time, and a bit off-putting today, so Takashi Saito has updated the language to make it more accessible to the modern reader, and he’s done an excellent job. He has also written a very informative introduction explaining the complicated history and various sources of the story, while the book itself is well-formatted.” —M. R. Dowsing

“The first version I read was by James Benneville, published in 1916. He claims it was told to him by a storyteller in the Yoshiwara pleasure district, who insisted that it was the true account of the legend. That version was basically unreadable because of the horrid transcription/translation. So, luckily this version has come out, corrected and properly translated.” —Anna Biller