THE BUDDHIST WRITINGS OF 



LAFCADIO HEARN 



Edited by Kenneth Rexroth 



Lafcadio Hearn was an improbable interpreter of 

 East to West, yet one of the most successful and, in 

 his day, one of the most influential. Born in Greece in 

 1850, he went to Japan in 1890 after a career as a 

 journalist in the U.S.A. 



He never returned; instead he married a Japanese 

 woman and became Japanese. His writings reflect 

 his passionate love for the old Japan - the art, 

 traditions and myths; it was this side of Japan he 

 popularized and came to understand. 



In his introduction Kenneth Rexroth says of Hearn 

 that, whilst not strictly a believer, he did make *an 

 emotional identification with the Buddhist way of 

 life and with Buddhist cults . . . what he does in- 

 comparably is to give his reader a feeling for how 

 Buddhism is lived in Japan.* 



This selection is a marvellous introduction to the 

 essential Japan; and to the work of an inspiring 

 writer. 



ISBN 7045 0421 9 £3.95 



