Lafcadio Hearn was one of the earliest Western writers to publish stories and essays about supernatural Japan. He arrived in Japan in 1890 and fell in love with the country and its people. After marrying a samurai's daughter, he became a Japanese citizen and changed his name to Yakumo Koizumi. He began publishing books on Japan in 1894, soon becoming known as the great interpreter of all things Japanese to the West. Yei Theodora Ozaki was born in Victorian England to a Japanese father and an English mother. After her parents' marriage ended, Ozaki began to travel the world, and retell in English the traditional Japanese stories she loved. She later married Yukio Ozaki, a Japanese politician, and went on to publish several collections of Japanese folk tales. Sakyu is an illustrator based in Osaka whose work frequently depicts yokai and other supernatural beings. Blending traditional styles with modern content, she brings humorous insights to contemporary life in Japan. Since graduating from Kyoto Saga University of Arts, her work has appeared in museums in Japan and abroad, including the Museum of International Folk Art exhibit 'Yokai: Ghosts & Demons of Japan', and the video game Samurai Bringer.
""[Hearn's] writing is beautiful, sensitive, and deeply thoughtful."" —Los Angeles Review of Books. ""[Lafcadio Hearn] is today considered one of the first authors to bring Japanese ghost stories to the West. In this collection are seven of those stories—some tragic, some with a hint of comedy, and some downright creepy."" —TheRoarbots.com