Seeking Japanese Weird

[Teetering-Crutches]

Plenty of Japanese Weird that is worth seeking:

KURO DOHAN PRESS

[Zaharoff]

Thank you for mentioning Kurodahan Press, guys!
I ordered two titles.


Asamatsu, Ken - Inverted Kingdom: Tales Of The Hidden Gods 2

The opener, “The Horror In The Kabuki Theatre” is the longest and most challenging work in this collection. Challenging because it is filled with names I was not familiar with. Aside from the artist Hokusai, most were playwrights and performers, along with a producer or two. The story explains how evil or misguided souls misused the theater to crack a fissure into another reality, allowing older gods a foothold back into this world. Fans of HPL will recognize this all too well. And hey! The titles seems like a riff on “The Horror In The Museum.”
“Taste Of The Snake’s Honey” is a decadent stroll into drugs, slavery, debauched sex, and jaded attempts to relieve excruciating ennui. Our protagonist inherits his father’s international trading firm, as well as his father’s long time Shanghainese partner. All is permitted, including the corpse.
I imagine all cultures share certain taboos. Such as, no matter how cheap the rent, living next to the cemetery may not be wise. Or, once family members exhibit deteriorating symptoms, do not tarry departure. Of course, many horror franchises rely on individuals ignoring warnings, as does our hero in “Summoned By The Shadows.”
He is an overworked, unlucky taxi driver. As his wife spirals, he clutches the hope things will improve, that they will save enough money to move. Just a little more time.

[Zaharoff]

Various (Editor: Higashi, Masao) - Kaiki: Uncanny Tales from Japan Vol 3

Selection of “classic” ghosts and hauntings, this time swirling in the metropolis.
“The Diabolical Tongue” launches with the telegram with the name of an old friend and an unfamiliar address. Arriving – too late – our narrator watches as police remove the corpse of his friend. A suicide.
“The Face” should appeal to Silent cinema devotees. Snippets of various movies of the famous female actor have been spliced and edited into an extraordinarily unsettling film.
Edogawa Rampo is represented by “Doctor Mera’s Mysterious Crimes.” The rental room has an inferior view. Worse, its reputation is abysmal. Two suicides is bad enough, but a third? The narrator of this, however, is a strange character, leaving the reader to doubt … or not.
“Spider” may be the most accessible tale, and the one most likely to make your skin crawl, before-during-after reading. Probably depends on how you view arachnids,
“Expunged By Yakumo,” as in Koizumi Yakumo, also known a Lafcadio Hearn. Just as the Western writer put his twist on a traditional Japanese folktale, so too here as a further turn is given Hearn’s “In A Cup Of Tea.” Confession: I never stare at the surface reflection of my cups of tea, and I drink an enormous amount. Perhaps I should take more care.
A thoughtful collection of mixed gems. I have touched on less than half. For those who can live with ofttimes unexplained mysteries.

[Molly Grue]

Somewhat off-topic, but in regards to Lafcadio Hearn, I've been tempted by this LOA volume (as I have a small but growing collection of LOA titles, mostly "genre" in one sense or another), and have no prior familiarity with Hearn. Is it a good place to begin?

https://www.amazon.com/Lafcadio-Hearn-American-Writings-Library/dp/1598530399/ref=sr_1_5?keywords=lafcadio+hearn&qid=1642636277&sr=8-5

 

https://www.amazon.com/Lafcadio-Hearn-American-Writings-Library/dp/1598530399/ref=sr_1_5?keywords=lafcadio+hearn&qid=1642636277&sr=8-5

[Gnosticangel]

Re. Lafcadio Hearn, many fans of the Weird prefer his Japanese-influenced writings, which mainly followed his emigration to Japan in 1890, where he lived until his death in 1904.

Out of historical interest have read some of his pre-Japan journalistic work including his New Orleans correspondence. Good historical American material; but if you are mainly interested in the weirder Hearn, would not recommend this particular book.

Instead, perhaps try "Kwaidan: Stories and Studies of Strange Things" (1904) which includes some Japanese ghost stories, or Swan River Press' OOP "Insect Literature."

"As Lafcadio Hearn observes in his essay "Insects in Greek Poetry", "the capacity to enjoy the music of insects and all that it signifies in the great poem of nature tells very plainly of goodness of heart, aesthetic sensibility, a perfectly healthy state of mind." And to this, one might add a keen sense of wonder. Insect Literature collects twenty essays and stories written by Hearn, mostly in Japan, a land where insects were as appreciated as in ancient Greece. With a witty gentleness bordering on the eerie, Hearn describes in these pieces the song of the cricket, the spectral flight of dragon-flies, quotes the entomological haiku of classical Japan, and recalls Buddhist tales in which the souls of insects and men are never far one from the other."

Insect Literature - The Swan River Press

[Molly Grue]

Quote Originally Posted by Gnosticangel

Re. Lafcadio Hearn, many fans of the Weird prefer his Japanese-influenced writings, which mainly followed his emigration to Japan in 1890, where he lived until his death in 1904. Out of historical interest have read some of his pre-Japan journalistic work including his New Orleans correspondence. Good historical American material; but if you are mainly interested in the weirder Hearn, would not recommend this particular book. Instead, perhaps try "Kwaidan: Stories and Studies of Strange Things" (1904) which includes some Japanese ghost stories, or Swan River Press' OOP "Insect Literature." "As Lafcadio Hearn observes in his essay "Insects in Greek Poetry", "the capacity to enjoy the music of insects and all that it signifies in the great poem of nature tells very plainly of goodness of heart, aesthetic sensibility, a perfectly healthy state of mind." And to this, one might add a keen sense of wonder. Insect Literature collects twenty essays and stories written by Hearn, mostly in Japan, a land where insects were as appreciated as in ancient Greece. With a witty gentleness bordering on the eerie, Hearn describes in these pieces the song of the cricket, the spectral flight of dragon-flies, quotes the entomological haiku of classical Japan, and recalls Buddhist tales in which the souls of insects and men are never far one from the other." Insect Literature - The Swan River Press

Interesting, thanks. Hearn has been on the edge of my awareness for quite some time, but I've always just sort of shrugged and moved on, assuming I would start in the "wrong" place and not find his stuff very arresting. I've developed a (very minor) tangential interest in lepidoptery due to my current obsession with Nabokov (if he's so fascinated by butterflies, my thinking goes, it must be worth pursuing on some level), and the book you recommend seems to explore similar territory.