By Kyota Ko
Setting & details: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Authenticity of Japanese characters & dialogue: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Translation quality: N/A
Entertainment value: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
My recommendation: These folk tales are not the ones told over and over in the West—they’re unusual legends that reveal a lot about Japan, and Kyota Ko does a very entertaining job of telling them. At the end of each tale, he ties it to a fascinating aspect of Japanese culture that nobody (even me!) knows about. An extremely worthy read.
Folk tales and urban legends are one of the best ways to winkle out the inside scoop on Japan, because they reveal peoples’ greatest fears and desires, as well as how they react to stressful situations and what kind of behavior is rewarded or punished.
Kyota Ko is not just a great storyteller, he ties each folk tale to a deeper insight into Japanese culture, using his impressive knowledge of Japanese history to deliver insights in a way that’s both enlightening and entertaining.
For example, he tells the cautionary story of “Tofu Jizo,” about a merchant who was punished for employing his shady business practices on a saint who he thought was a normal customer. Kyota Ko goes on to use Tofu Jizo to illustrate kentoku and intoku—two different acts of goodwill. One (kentoku) is a good deed that results in recognition (giving up your seat on the train to an elderly lady and receiving her thanks) while the other (intoku) is a good deed done without expectation of reward (deciding not to sit down in that empty seat in case an elderly lady gets on the train and needs it). He illustrates these ideas with the story of Maeda Toshitsune, an actual warlord who saved his clan from Tokugawa persecution by growing his nose hair and peeing on a “do not pee here” sign. How? Ahahahaha, READ THE BOOK.
Every story delivers excellent insights like these—I devoured these folktales and was disappointed when I turned the last page.
You can get it right now, or check out the December Japanagram to see if you won a copy. All subscribers are automatically entered to win—if you’re not yet a member of this lucky group, click this button to subscribe, and be automatically signed up to enter.
I first learned of Kyota Ko’s books because his Japan-centric Instagram posts are one of the few I’m cheered to see pop up in my feed every day. You can follow him too @themetroclassic
How I pick the book giveaway winners: At the end of November, I will load all the email addresses of current Japanagram subscribers into an online random name picker and ask it to choose one lucky subscriber to get the book from this month’s review. I’ll publish the winner’s email in the next Japanagram (obscured in a way so only the subscriber will be able to recognize it as their own, of course) so check your November Japanagram to see if you won!
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Jonelle Patrick writes novels set in Japan, and blogs at Only In Japan and The Tokyo Guide I Wish I’d Had
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