Lafcadio Hearn's "The Faceless Ghost" and Other Macabre Tales from Japan
  • Published: 1 December 2015
  • ISBN: 9781611801972
  • Imprint: Shambhala
  • Format: Paperback
  • Pages: 144
  • RRP: $39.99

Lafcadio Hearn's "The Faceless Ghost" and Other Macabre Tales from Japan

A Graphic Novel

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Eerie traditional Japanese ghost stories retold in a graphic novel format.

Eerie traditional Japanese ghost stories retold in a graphic novel format.

Over one hundred years ago, the writer Lafcadio Hearn gathered and translated into English a selection of traditional Japanese ghost/mystery stories. They were published as Kwaidan: Stories and Studies of Strange Things. In this new graphic novel, acclaimed manga creator Sean Michael Wilson retells six of these stories. All of them are very well known in Japan, where ghosts and demons are often called yokai, meaning "the mysterious and weird." Today these stories find expression mostly in movies and manga, but they remain rooted in the traditional ghost stories of the Edo era known as kaidan, which means "recited narrative of strange, mysterious, rare, or bewitching apparitions."
    
The book includes an afterword by William Scott Wilson, the esteemed translator and editor of Japanese texts and samurai philosophy, who puts the stories into historical context.

A 2016 YALSA Great Graphic Novels for Teens Recommendation
  • Published: 1 December 2015
  • ISBN: 9781611801972
  • Imprint: Shambhala
  • Format: Paperback
  • Pages: 144
  • RRP: $39.99
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Praise for Lafcadio Hearn's "The Faceless Ghost" and Other Macabre Tales from Japan

Praise for Sean Michael Wilson's The 47 Ronin:

"A masterful retelling of one of the greatest stories in Japanese culture. An engrossing, engaging, emotional, and unforgettable epic."--Jonathan Ross, BBC television presenter

"A dignified telling of a dignified story. It's violent when it needs to be, precise and calm when it's called for, and never once loses focus. This is a tightly focused, perfectly pitched retelling of the story and a perfect entry point for anyone coming to the story for the first time. The Keanu Reeves version may have all the spectacle, but this version has all the heart."--BleedingCool.com

"Wilson uses exactly the right scenes to tell this famous story, creating a quick, engaging read."--Library Journal

"Despite being widely known in both Japan and abroad, the story of the assassination of a court official named Kira Yoshihisa by the 47 Ronin--and their subsequent suicide--has seldom been retold with accuracy since its occurrence in December 1702. . . . Readers interested in accurate Japanese history rather than Hollywood embellishment will enjoy this well-done retelling of the legendary event."--The Japan Times