Wondrous Brutal Fictions: Eight Buddhist Tales from the Early Japanese Puppet Theater
Wondrous Brutal Fictionsis the first work of its kind in English. It provides insights into everyday life, folklore, and religion in early modern Japan and illuminates the origins of thejoruri(Bunraku) puppet theater. R. Keller Kimbrough possesses a superb command of classical Japanese, and his English renditions of these gripping, sometimes supernatural stories are lively and very well done.(Paul S. Atkins, author ofRevealed Identity: The Noh Plays of Komparu Zenchiku)