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Yuki-Onna and Other Stories – Arcturus Classics by Lafcadio Hearn

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ACHUKA Book of the Day 16 Feb 2022

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Forbidden Planet

Haunting, mysterious and beautiful, but also possessed of unimaginable power and the capacity for terrifying cruelty, the ghosts of Lafcadio Hearn’s fiction draw their inspiration from the folklore of ancient Japan. These ghoulish beings range from spectral brides to vengeful phantoms and unruly goblins.

This collection includes such  tales as “Ingwa-Banashi”, “The Corpse-Rider” and “Of a Promise Broken”.

Lafcadio Hearn (1850-1904) was born in the Ionian Islands in Greece. As a child he moved first to Ireland and then to the United States where he worked as a journalist. Increasingly disenchanted with western society, he moved to Japan, where he married. There too he became disenchanted and complained about the loss of Japanese culture after the Meiji Restoration. He spent his life attempting to document the culture he loved in both fiction and carefully researched non-fiction studies.

ABOUT THE SERIES: The Arcturus Classics series brings together high-quality paperback editions of classics works, presented with contemporary graphic cover designs. Together they make a  collection which is perfect for any home library.

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Setsuko and the Song of the Sea by Fiona Barker ill. Howard Gray

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Setsuko loves the sea. She swims its shallows. She dives its depths. But she worries that her friends have chosen to abandon her way of life. Then she meets a whale who also fears he is the last of his kind. In return for giving him hope, he gifts her a song which she uses to remind people of the beauty of the ocean. Setsuko took the song and made it her own. They played together from the first crisp light of morning until the setting of the evening sun. Everyone who heard Setsuko’s song was filled with the wonder of the sea. They remembered the beauty and mystery of the ocean. A story of an unlikely friendship, Setsuko and her friend the whale have one thing in common – their love of the sea. Much like the revered ama-san, – women who have been diving off the coast of the Shima peninsula in Japan for over 2,000 years – Setsuko is a strong girl who is on the path to becoming one of these real-life mermaids.

10% of the net profits from each book will be donated to the Marine Conservation Society, the UK charity working for seas full of life.

Howard Grey is a dolphin geneticist and children’s illustrator.
Follow him on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hgray_illustrator/

Tsunami Girl by Julian Sedgwick ill. Chie Kutsuwada

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ACHUKA Book of the Day 16 Mar 2021

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Fifteen-year-old Yuki is struggling at school with her confidence, and goes to Japan to stay with her grandfather, a well-known manga artist with whom she is very close. But during her visit, the 2011 East Coast Earthquake and Tsunami take place and her beloved Grandpa is lost.

Interwoven with Japanese folk tales, modern-day ghost stories, and the creation of her very own vibrant manga hero, Yuki finds the courage to overcome extraordinary odds and take her first steps into the world that lies beyond catastrophe. With powerful, emotional manga from Japanese manga artist, Chie Kutsuwada, this is a highly-original coming-of-age story from the relatively new imprint, Guppy Books.

We recommend this interview with the author on Tripfiction.

Click here for a selection of pages and panels from the manga element of Tsunami Girl.

Children’s author Miyoko Matsutani dies at 89

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Author of children’s books Miyoko Matsutani died Feb. 28 of natural causes at a Tokyo hospital, her family said Monday. She was 89.

Among her works was “Tatsunoko Taro” (“Taro the Dragon Boy”), a fairy tale published in 1960 and later made into an animated film and adapted for the stage.

She also wrote the best-selling “Chiisai Momo-chan” (“Little Momo”) series, based on her parenting experience, starting in 1964.

via Children's author Miyoko Matsutani dies at 89 | The Japan Times.

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egmont

Egmont Press has acquired a new fantasy adventure series set in modern Japan for readers of 9+. Sword of Kuromori is by debut author Jason Rohan.

Stella Paskins, Fiction Publisher at Egmont Press, pre-empted World rights in a three-book, six-figure sum deal from Anne Clark at Anne Clark Literary Agency. The first title in the series will publish in May 2014 and will be a lead title on Egmont’s list.

“I am massively excited about Sword of Kuromori,” commented Stella Paskins. “Jason’s mix of page-turning action with smart dialogue and sparkling characters is brilliant. The fusion of hi-tech and ancient myth works really well and readers are going to devour this world of breathtaking battles and exotic monsters.”

Jason Rohan said, “As a long time admirer of Japanese culture, I’m honoured and thrilled to be bringing this rich and vibrant folklore to a wider audience. I’m also humbled by the faith that Stella and the Egmont team have placed in me by committing to three novels, and I can’t wait to see what ideas the design team come up with, given the wealth of source material.”

Jason Rohan has worked as a staff writer for Marvel Comics in New York and as an English teacher in Japan, where he lived for five years. He returned to the UK and now lives in West London with his wife and five children.

https://www.achuka.co.uk/blog/819/