University Press of Colorado Utah State University Press Chapter Title: Front Matter Book Title: Ghosts And The Japanese Book Subtitle: Cultural Experience in Japanese Death Legends Book Author(s): Michiko Iwasaka and Barre Toelken Published by: University Press of Colorado, Utah State University Press. (1994) Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt46nrwv.1 JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact [email protected]. Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at http://about.jstor.org/terms This book is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial- NoDerivatives 4.0 International. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/. University Press of Colorado, Utah State University Press are collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to Ghosts And The Japanese This content downloaded from 195.113.180.195 on Fri, 24 Nov 2017 12:22:35 UTC All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms This content downloaded from 195.113.180.195 on Fri, 24 Nov 2017 12:22:35 UTC All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms ~r-~ Ghosts and the ~_ Japanese ~ ~ ~ A. This content downloaded from 195.113.180.195 on Fri, 24 Nov 2017 12:22:35 UTC All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms The ghost of a bamboo flute (hitoyogiri, a kind of shakuhachi) appears between the waves. Artist and date unknown. II This content downloaded from 195.113.180.195 on Fri, 24 Nov 2017 12:22:35 UTC All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms Ghosts and the Japanese Cultural Experience in Japanese Death Legends by Michiko Iwasaka and Barre Toelken Utah State University Press Logan, Utah 1994 iii This content downloaded from 195.113.180.195 on Fri, 24 Nov 2017 12:22:35 UTC All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms Copyright © 1994 Utah State University Press All rights reserved Utah State University Press Logan, Utah 84322-7800 This publication was supported in part by the College of Human­ ities, Arts, and Social Sciences, Utah State University. Cover painting by Setsu6, reproduced, by permission, from the original in the Zensh6an Temple, Tokyo. Cover and book design by Scott Engen. Typeset in TEX from WordPerfect files by The Bartlett Press, Inc. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Iwasaka, Michiko, 1945- Ghosts and the Japanese: cultural experience in Japanese death legends / by Michiko Iwasaka and Barre Toelken p. cm. Includes bibliographical references (p. ) and index. ISBN 0-87421-179-4 1. Folklore-Japan. 2. Death-Japan-Folklore. 3. Death­ Social aspects-Japan. 4. Legends-Japan-History and criticism. 5. Funeral rites and ceremonies-Japan. 6. Japan­ Social life and customs. I. Toelken, Barre. II. Title. GR340.1868 1994 398.2'0952'05-dc20 94-17577 CIP iv This content downloaded from 195.113.180.195 on Fri, 24 Nov 2017 12:22:35 UTC All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms Respectfully dedicated to Kunio Iwasaka v This content downloaded from 195.113.180.195 on Fri, 24 Nov 2017 12:22:35 UTC All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms The ghosts of a married couple carrying a skull. Artist: Otai (other information unknown). vi This content downloaded from 195.113.180.195 on Fri, 24 Nov 2017 12:22:35 UTC All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms University Press of Colorado Utah State University Press Chapter Title: Table of Contents Book Title: Ghosts And The Japanese Book Subtitle: Cultural Experience in Japanese Death Legends Book Author(s): Michiko Iwasaka and Barre Toelken Published by: University Press of Colorado, Utah State University Press. (1994) Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt46nrwv.2 JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact [email protected]. Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at http://about.jstor.org/terms This book is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial- NoDerivatives 4.0 International. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/. University Press of Colorado, Utah State University Press are collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to Ghosts And The Japanese This content downloaded from 195.113.180.195 on Fri, 24 Nov 2017 12:22:35 UTC All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms ~ Contents ~~. Foreword, by David Hufford xi ~ Preface xvii Part I: An Introduction to the Left Stairway 1 Part II: Death Customs in Contem- ~ porary Japan 13 Suggested Reading and Related Resources 39 Part III: Japanese Death Legends and Vernacular Culture 43 ~ Mothers and Children 60 Revenge and Anger 79 Omens 96 Ghosts at Sea 103 A.. Passions 108 Epilogue 117 Sources and Notes 119 Suggested Reading 122 Bibliography 125 Index 133 vii This content downloaded from 195.113.180.195 on Fri, 24 Nov 2017 12:22:35 UTC All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms This content downloaded from 195.113.180.195 on Fri, 24 Nov 2017 12:22:35 UTC All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms Illustrations Ghost of a bamboo flute Frontispiece Ghost couple with a skull vi ~ Standard depiction of a ghost 7 Ghost of a decadent monk 12 Ghost of a blind musician a crossing a river 17 Ghost performance on the Kabuki stage 23 Ghost in a snowstorm 27 ~ Ghost who yearns for candlelight 37 Rare ghost with feet 47 A mother's ghost appears at her child's bedside 53 Ubume (ghost of a mother with a A live infant) 65 Ghost with feet leaning against a decorative column 77 Mysterious moon hovering over a weeping willow 99 Umibozu, a sea-phantom 109 Ghost who appears in mosquito netting 113 ix This content downloaded from 195.113.180.195 on Fri, 24 Nov 2017 12:22:35 UTC All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms Color plates in Part III Hototogisu, the ghost of a prostitute in a Kabuki play Utagawa Shigesumi at the Otaki waterfall Kohada Koheiji, the murdered husband in a Kabuki play A woman's ghost holding a severed head x This content downloaded from 195.113.180.195 on Fri, 24 Nov 2017 12:22:35 UTC All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms University Press of Colorado Utah State University Press Chapter Title: Foreword Chapter Author(s): David J. Hufford Book Title: Ghosts And The Japanese Book Subtitle: Cultural Experience in Japanese Death Legends Book Author(s): Michiko Iwasaka and Barre Toelken Published by: University Press of Colorado, Utah State University Press. (1994) Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt46nrwv.3 JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact [email protected]. Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at http://about.jstor.org/terms This book is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial- NoDerivatives 4.0 International. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/. University Press of Colorado, Utah State University Press are collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to Ghosts And The Japanese This content downloaded from 195.113.180.195 on Fri, 24 Nov 2017 12:22:35 UTC All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms David J. Hufford Foreword Ghosts and the Japanese is a fine book that has both great scholarly merit and broad appeal. In it Michiko I wasaka and Barre Toelken describe Japanese death customs, provide translations of con­ temporary Japanese ghost legends, and place both within their cultural and his­ torical context. In the process Iwasaka and Toelken have illustrated the many ways in which such legends not only re­ flect deep cultural values but also are a central part of the dynamic process by which those values are shaped, main­ tained, and transmitted. This thorough cultural account is greatly enriched by illustrations drawn from rare Japanese art work portraying ghosts. The book does a remarkable job of addressing three important and fascinating topics. Because of the careful attention to the cultural context of these stories, this book will be of great interest to all who study narratives and cultural process. It also provides an excellent introduction to Japanese culture at a time when grow­ ing political and economic ties have greatly increased the need for Western­ ers to understand Japan. No amount of history or economic theory can provide the human understanding that comes xi This content downloaded from 195.113.180.195 on Fri, 24 Nov 2017 12:22:35 UTC All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms Ghosts and the Japanese with the kind of encounter with values, beliefs, and world­ view that Iwasaka and Toelken have provided.