In this lavishly illustrated volume, A.B. Mitford presents ancient Japanese tales filled with action, romance, and the supernatural. Proud lords and their loyal retainers, a brave samurai and his faithless wife, a vampire cat, and howling spirits are all featured in the engaging stories that follow, including:

* The Forty-Seven Ronin: In this account of fierce heroism, a band of ronin-masterless samurai who wander the country as somewhat disreputable knights errant-swear to lay down their lives to avenge their lord, who was condemned to hara kiri and his property and castle forfeited to the state.

* How Tajima Shume was Tormented by a Devil of his Own Creation: When a traveling ronin amasses great wealth with a dead priest's money, he finds himself confronted with a fearful vision of the man he murdered.

* The Badger's Money: An old priest takes pity on a helpless badger that asks to enter his warm cottage so that it may live through a bitterly cold night.

Appendices covering hara kiri and funeral rites conclude this collection of mesmerizing stories about Japanese life in days of yore.