One of the first books to present stories about Japan to the West and helped shape the West's understanding of Japanese culture. The book boasts 30 fascinating myths, legends and historical accounts from Japan.It includes the famous story of the 47 Ronin as well as Mitford's eyewitness account of a hara-kiri ritual suicide, the first to be published in English.Has a new foreword by Professor Michael Dylan Foster, which sheds light on the importance of the book as a classic of Japanese folklore, literature and history.