Nowadays Japan is seen as a modern and technologically innovative place, but in 1913, when Myths and Legends of Japan was first published, its culture seemed strange and exotic to the average Westerner.

With this collection, F. Hadland Davis uses folklore to bring Japanese civilization to life and introduce this alien society to a Western audience. Davis arranges myths into 31 categories, including heroes and warriors, legends of Mount Fuji, animal legends, superstitions, and legends of the sea.

Each chapter contains numerous examples of the genre, making for a volume packed with stories that will entertain both the Japan enthusiast and the mythology buff.

FREDERICK HADLAND DAVIS is also the author of The Persian Mystics: Jalalu'd-Din Rumi (1907) and The Persian Mystics: Jami (1908), both available from Cosimo.