An extraordinary collection of Japanese folk tales, many in English for the first time!

This book contains 79 stories from the Japanese collection Tales from Shinshu, compiled and edited by award-winning author Noboru Wada. It features traditional tales of yokai, ghosts, mountain witches, demons and apparitions frequently sighted in and around the mountainous Shinshu region in central Japan, such as:

• The Legend of the Snow Woman: A beautiful woman appears at Minokichi's door one night in a snowstorm. They marry and live happily, until one day her terrible secret is revealed.
• Kappa Taro: A legendary yokai terrifies villagers by luring them into a pond, where they drown. Can Suwa Yorito, famed for his strength, successfully challenge this terrifying demon?
• The Yamamba Witch's Daughter: Who would ever dream of marrying a mountain witch? Can the Yamamba's daughter find the love and happiness she seeks?

These stories have been passed down for generations from grandparents to their grandchildren, sitting around the hearth on cold and snowy winter nights. They are well-known throughout Japan and are believed by the inhabitants of Shinshu to have actually occurred in the distant past!