Folktales of Okinawa
Type
Book
Authors
Category
Okinawa
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Publication Year
1995
Publisher
Pages
199
Description
"This book is a collection of Okinawan legends and folktales intended for readers above the twelfth grade.
The Japanese text was written by Professor Shoji Endo, who teaches Japanese literature at the Okinawa International University. Professor Endo has been collecting Okinawan folktales ever since he arrived in Okinawa as a college professor in 1973. To date, his collection amounts to 55,000 stories, a result of over 20 years of field work in the Ryukyu Islands. He is a well-known authority on Okinawan folktales and has written many books about them in Japanese.
The English text is a great cooperative work of East and West. That is, Terunobu Tamamori of our Foundation, and Jayne A. Hitchcock, an American writer living on Okinawa. They worked very hard to fulfill the idea of sharing Okinawan tales with one and all, and even added extra touches just for English readers. Even though the translation is not a literal one, all of the quaint Okinawan and Japanese expressions have been carefully preserved. The illustrations were drawn by Mr. Fumio Amuro, an Okinawan artist, and photos were added to enhance the images of the tales, and about Okinawa in general.
This book is just an introduction to the thousands of tales about Okinawa and its surrounding islands. If the readers' curiosity is aroused enough to go on a further adventure of seeking more Okinawan tales, our mission will be joyfully accomplished"--From Preface.
The Japanese text was written by Professor Shoji Endo, who teaches Japanese literature at the Okinawa International University. Professor Endo has been collecting Okinawan folktales ever since he arrived in Okinawa as a college professor in 1973. To date, his collection amounts to 55,000 stories, a result of over 20 years of field work in the Ryukyu Islands. He is a well-known authority on Okinawan folktales and has written many books about them in Japanese.
The English text is a great cooperative work of East and West. That is, Terunobu Tamamori of our Foundation, and Jayne A. Hitchcock, an American writer living on Okinawa. They worked very hard to fulfill the idea of sharing Okinawan tales with one and all, and even added extra touches just for English readers. Even though the translation is not a literal one, all of the quaint Okinawan and Japanese expressions have been carefully preserved. The illustrations were drawn by Mr. Fumio Amuro, an Okinawan artist, and photos were added to enhance the images of the tales, and about Okinawa in general.
This book is just an introduction to the thousands of tales about Okinawa and its surrounding islands. If the readers' curiosity is aroused enough to go on a further adventure of seeking more Okinawan tales, our mission will be joyfully accomplished"--From Preface.
Number of Copies
3
