Ugetsu Monogatari
Ugetsu Monogatari (雨月物語, "Tales of Moonlight and Rain") is a collection of nine supernatural tales first published in 1776. It is the best known work of Japanese author Ueda Akinari. Largely adapted from traditional Japanese and Chinese ghost stories, the collection is among the most important works of Edo Period and kaidan literature and is considered a predecessor of the yomihon genre. Kenji Mizoguchi’s award-winning film Ugetsu (1953), credited with helping popularize Japanese cinema in the West, was adapted from two of the collection’s stories. Title. "Ugetsu" is a compound; "u (雨)" means "rain", while  getsu (月) translates to "moon". It derives from a passage in the book's preface describing "a night with a misty moon after the rains", and references a Noh play, also called "Ugetsu", which also employs the common contemporary symbols of rain and moon. These images evoked the supernatural and mysterious in East Asian literature; Qu You's "Mudan Deng Ji" (; a story from "Jiandeng Xinhua", one of Ueda's major sources), indicates that a rainy night or a morning moon may presage the coming of supernatural beings. Use of the term "monogatari" (物語) in the title, meaning story or  series, connects the book to other significant works of Japanese and Chinese literature by which it was strongly influenced, such as Genji Monogatari and "Inga Monogatari". The use of this naming convention is particularly notable because it had become less popular in Ueda’s time with the rise of ukiyo zoshi. "Tales of Moonlight and Rain" is the most common English translation; other translations include "Tales of a Clouded Moon" and "Tales of Rain and the Moon". Content and style. The nine stories are based on supernatural tales of the Ming dynasty, from the works "Jiandeng Xinhua" (剪灯新話, "New stories  told while trimming the wick") and "Sanyan" (三言). In his reinterpretation of these stories, Ueda recast them as historical tales set in Japan, weaving together elements of the source tales with a rich array of references to historical events, personages, and literary works, both Japanese and Chinese. In his use of Chinese compounds glossed with Japanese phonetic readings, Ueda frequently incorporates double meanings and word play into his text. Ueda's penchant for allusion is evident in the Chinese preface, which is also noteworthy for its presentation of the author's view of fiction as means of expressing truth. Although  each story revolves around a supernatural event, Ueda does not stray too far from the affairs of this world. Like other members of the "kokugaku" (nativist) movement Ueda relied on fiction as a tool to reinvigorate Japan's past, by bringing to life the aesthetics of antiquity in the present. At the same time, he presents in "Ugetsu Monogatari" some of the moral views of the "kokugaku" school. To do so, he employs supernatural elements, such as ghosts who revisit the living to make known the effects they have suffered from the unethical behavior of others. For example, in the  story “Asaji ga yado” (“The House in the Reeds”), upon which Kenji Mizoguchi’s 1953 film "Ugetsu" is partially based, a husband who has abandoned his faithful wife returns home only to unknowingly meet her ghost, an experience which leads him to a heartbreaking realization of the effects of his infidelity. However, as Dennis Washburn argues, through his highly literate style and developed narrative technique, Ueda avoids overly emphasizing the moral aspect, and the tales are first and foremost a literary exploration of human emotion. Publication. "Ugetsu Monogatari" was first published in a 1776 woodblock edition, although its preface is  dated 1768. The nine stories were published in five volumes: Volume 1: "Shiramine" and "Kikka no chigiri" Volume 2: "Asaji ga Yado" and "Muo no Rigyo" Volume 3: "Bupposo" and "Kibitsu no Kama" Volume 4: "Jasei no In" Volume 5: "Aozukin" and "Hinpiku-ron" Ueda published "Ugetsu Monogatari" under the pen name Senshi Kijin (剪枝畸人), Senshi (剪枝) meaning “cut finger” or “pruning” and Kijin (畸人) meaning “eccentric” or “cripple”. While he used the name Senshi Kijin just once, this wasn’t the only time Ueda used a pen name that referenced his disability, one finger on each of his hands  having been permanently deformed by a severe case of smallpox he had as a child. Despite being published under a pen name, Takizawa Bakin's later attribution of the work to Ueda is now undisputed. "Ugetsu Monogatari" is considered a predecessor of the yomihon genre of Edo Period literature. Its popularity has been enduring and it is still being adapted into new works in the 21st century. Stories. Shiramine (白峯; White Peak). In this retelling of the legend of Emperor Sutoku through a "kokugaku" lens, a monk meets the ghost of Emperor Sutoku at a shrine in Matsuyama. The emperor  vents his anger at the imperial family members that deposed him but fails to sway the monk to his side. Instead, the monk criticizes him for having allowed himself to be swayed by foreign doctrine. Enraged, the emperor transforms into a giant tengu bird and flies away. The end of the story summarizes the various historical events that were attributed to Sutoku’s vengeful spirit after his death. The story draws heavily from Noh theater. It was inspired by the play Matsuyama Tengu and closely fits the structure of “dream Noh” ("mugen no") plays, which feature protagonists who have died  but not yet been able to move on to the afterlife. It follows the jo-ha-kyu act arrangement made famous in Noh theatre. The story also shows influence from "Inga Monogatari" and "A Garland of Heroes". Prominent Japanese literary scholar Donald Keene argued that the value of "Shiramine" lies in its “overpowering beauty of style”, so the story may seem uninteresting when read in translation or without the necessary historical context. "Shiramine" is the name of a mountain on Shikoku, the island where the city of Matsuyama is located. Kikka no Chigiri (菊花の約; The Chrysanthemum Pledge):. A warrior falls  ill while trying to return from a mission on behalf of his lord and becomes dear friends with the man who nurses him back to health. He recovers and leaves for home, promising his friend to return on the day of the Chrysanthemum Festival. Upon arriving home, he discovers that his lord has been killed and his throne overtaken by a rival, to whom everyone, including his own cousin, has now switched their allegiance. Not wanting to serve the new lord, the warrior tries to leave to return to his friend but his cousin holds him prisoner. Rather than break  his promise, he kills himself and returns to his friend on the day of the Chrysanthemum Festival as a ghost. Afterward, his friend travels to the warrior’s home and lectures the cousin on loyalty before abruptly killing him in revenge for the death of his friend. It was adapted from the Chinese story "Fan Chu-ch’ing Chi-shu Ssu-sheng-chiao" ("Fan Chu-ch’ing: A Meal of Chicken and Millet, A Friendship of Life and Death") from the anthology "Yu-shih Ming-yen" ("Clear Words to Illuminate the World"). In adapting the story, Ueda changed the protagonist from a  merchant to a warrior and changed the protagonist's reason for not keeping his promise from forgetting to being held prisoner. Asaji ga Yado (浅茅が宿; The House in the Reeds). In the year 1452, an irresponsible man leaves his devoted wife behind to try to rebuild his fortune selling silk in the Capital. That summer a war breaks out and the residents of his home village flee. The wife stays at home to wait for her husband despite the danger and is devastated when he doesn’t return in Autumn as he had promised. She stays alone in the abandoned  village, desperately trying to fend off bandits, rapists, and starvation. Meanwhile, her husband is robbed on his way back to her and then falls seriously ill, preventing him from returning. He is treated well in the village where he is cared for during his illness and ends up staying there. Seven years later, the man decides to return to his home village to see what became of his wife. His village is mostly abandoned and unrecognizable, except for his home, which is in good repair and where he finds his wife, worn by the years but alive and waiting for  him. After a joyful and tearful reunion, the two fall asleep together. When the man awakes the next morning, he discovers that the house is in ruins and all that’s left of their marital bedroom is the grave of his long-dead wife, whose ghost he had seen the night before. He finds an old man, the sole resident who had been there since before the war, who tells him the story of his wife’s death and compares it to the legend of "Mama no Tekona". It is an adaptation of "The Tale of Ai-Ching" from the  14th century Chinese story collection "Chien Teng Hsin Hua" ("New Stories After Snuffing the Lamp"), which had previously been adapted by Ueda’s predecessor Asai Ryoi in Otogi Boko. It was also inspired by a similar story from "Konjaku Monogatari". It includes a reference to a poem from "Ise Monogatari." Ueda added more definitive personality traits to the protagonist, made him more personally responsible for the tragedy, and removed the reincarnation aspect, among other changes from the original story. It is the first of the two stories on which the film "Ugetsu" is based. Muo no Rigyo (夢応の鯉魚; A Carp  That Appeared in My Dream). A monk who loves painting fish can’t stand to see them killed so he often pays fishermen to free the fish they’ve caught. One day he falls asleep while painting and has a vivid dream of playing with fish in the river. Upon waking, he makes a painting of the fish from his dream and names it A Carp That Appeared in My Dream. Later he gets sick and, while he is unconscious, the god of the sea grants his wish of being reincarnated as a carp, as a reward for having saved  so many fish during his lifetime. But, while he is a fish, one of his friends captures and eats him. The monk returns to his human body and confronts the friend who ate him. Bupposo (仏法僧; Bird of Paradise). A man and his son encounter the ghosts of Toyotomi Hidetsugu and his court while camping on Mount Koya at night. The man is delighted to find that the ghosts share his love of poetry and antiquity studies; they spend the night discussing these things. Like "Shiramine", the story’s main focus is on poetry and discussions of history and literature . Kibitsu no Kama (吉備津の釜; The Cauldron of Kibitsu). An irresponsible man abandons his dutiful wife for a prostitute. His wife kills the prostitute with her vengeful spirit. The wife then dies and continues to pursue her ill-fated husband as a ghost. The remainder of the story chronicles the man's attempts to combat his wife's ghost. "Kibitsu no Kama" is an adaptation of the story "Mu-tan Teng-chi" from the 14th century Chinese ghost story anthology "Chien-teng Hsin-hua". Ueda added the love triangle element and, as with "Asaji ga Yado", gave his version of the  protagonist more distinct personality traits and made him directly responsible for the story’s tragedy. Jasei no In (蛇性の婬; Lust of the White Serpent). A bildungsroman in which a dissolute second son, impoverished due to primogeniture, falls in love with a white snake disguised as a beautiful woman. She is an anima of the protagonist's desires and indiscipline, constantly making trouble for him. Intent on saving his family from suffering at her hands, he traps her in an urn and buries her under Leifeng Pagoda. A major element of the story is that both the protagonist and the reader  are repeatedly misled by the snake woman as she manipulates the protagonist’s perspective of reality. "Jasei no In" takes inspiration from the Chinese folktale Legend of the White Snake and the Noh play "Dojoji". It is the second of the two stories on which the film "Ugetsu" is based. It is also the basis for a 1960 film, also called "Jasei no In", by Japanese director Morihei Magatani. Aozukin (青頭巾; The Blue Hood). A traveling Buddhist priest visits a village where he learns that the local priest has become a cannibalistic demon, having gone insane after the death of  his young male lover and eaten the lover’s body. The demon is now terrorizing the village. The priest confronts the demon, placing a blue priest’s hood its head in order to save it through religious salvation. The story resembles a Buddhist setsuwa story. Hinpuku-ron (貧福論; Theory of Wealth and Poverty). A money-obsessed but good-humored samurai rewards a servant he discovers has been stashing money away. That night the spirit of his accumulated gold visits him. They discuss moral issues related to wealth. "Hinpuku-ron" is set around the year 1595 and was inspired by a  real samurai from that era, who was known for being obsessed with money despite the anti-wealth ideals of Bushido. The story is part of a wave of Edo Period literature about and for merchants and other townspeople, which reflected Japanese society’s changing attitude towards profit-making activities, away from the pre-Edo class structure that viewed the merchant class as parasitic. Notably, Ueda himself was of the merchant class. In the story, the spirit of gold argues that money is inherently neutral, its benefit or harm depending on the moral character of the person possessing it, with the  amount of money a person has not necessarily correlating to their morality. The latter point directly contradicted the Buddhist and Confucian teaching common in Ueda’s time that wealth is a reward for good behavior in a past life. Economist and literature researcher Waldemiro Francisco Sorte Junior argued that "Hinpuku-ron" is one of the many Edo Period stories that used a historical setting to veil criticisms of contemporary society and government that couldn’t be said directly because of the censorship laws of the time. Translations. The first English translation was published by Wilfred Whitehouse in "Monumenta Nipponica" in  1938 and 1941, under the title "Ugetsu Monogatari: Tales of a Clouded Moon". Subsequent English translations have been published by Dale Saunders (1966), Kenji Hamada (1972), Leon Zolbrod (1974) and Anthony H. Chambers (2006).