Tales from a Mountain Cave

Tales from a Mountain Cave

Stories from Japan’s Northeast

By Hisashi Inoue
Translated by Angus Turvill

Anthem Cosmopolis Writings

The sound of a trumpet across a Japanese mountain valley leads a young man to befriend a mysterious stranger. During repeated visits to the cave where the stranger has set up home, the young man learns about his life in the region. The stranger’s hilarious, bawdy and touching narratives captivate the young man, but he begins to doubt their veracity. Can they really be true? 'Tales from a Mountain Cave' is a translation of Hisashi Inoue’s highly popular 'Shinshaku Tono Monogatari' (新釈遠野物語), set in the Kamaishi area of Iwate Prefecture, Northeast Japan. Kamaishi was devastated by the tsunami of March 2011, and royalties on sales of this book will be donated to post-tsunami community support projects.

Paperback, 142 Pages

ISBN:9780857281302

November 2013

£9.99, $18.95

  • About This Book
  • Reviews
  • Author Information
  • Series
  • Table of Contents
  • Links
  • Podcasts

About This Book

The sound of a trumpet across a Japanese mountain valley leads a young man to befriend a mysterious stranger. During repeated visits to the cave where the stranger has set up home, the young man learns about his past – in the mines, villages and ports of the region. The stranger’s hilarious, bawdy and touching narratives captivate the young man, but he begins to doubt their veracity. Finally, as the young man decides his own fate, the full truth about the stranger is revealed.

‘Tales from a Mountain Cave’ is a translation of Hisashi Inoue’s highly popular ‘Shinshaku Tono Monogatari’ (新釈遠野物語), set in the Kamaishi area of Iwate Prefecture, Northeast Japan. Kamaishi was devastated by the tsunami of March 2011, and royalties on sales of this book will be donated to post-tsunami community support projects.

Reviews

No reviews for this title.

Author Information

Hisashi Inoue (1934–2010) was, in the words of Nobel Prize winner Kenzaburo Oe, one of the towering figures of contemporary Japan. A novelist, playwright, producer and scriptwriter, his awards include the Naoki Prize (1972), the Yomiuri Literary Prize (1979, 1981, 2010), the Japan SF Grand Prize (1981), the Seiun Award (1986), the Tanizaki Jun’ichiro Prize (1991), the Kikuchi Kan Literary Award (1999) and the Asahi Prize (2000).

Angus Turvill is an award-winning translator who currently teaches at Durham University, UK. His prize-winning translations include work by Kaori Ekuni and Natsuki Ikezawa (Shizuoka Grand Prize), Kuniko Mukoda (John Dryden), Osamu Dazai (J-Lit), and Nanami Kamon (Kurodahan). His other translations include work by Kiwao Nomura, Kiyoshi Shigematsu, Aoko Matsuda and Yasuhiro Yotsumoto.

Series

Anthem Cosmopolis Writings

Table of Contents

Translator’s Introduction; In the Pot; House up the River; Pheasant Girl; Horse; Fox; Story Seller; Lake; Eel; Fox Hole; Glossary and Notes

Links

No Podcasts for this title.
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