A Passional Karma by Lafcadio Hearn

Botan Dōrō, also known as The Peony Lantern, is one of the most famous ghost stories (kaidan) in Japan. The story originally came to Japan in the 17th century by way of a translated collection of Chinese ghost stories, Jiandeng Xinhua (New Tales Under the Lamplight) by Qu You. This original version of the story featured a Buddhist moral lesson on karma in the conclusion. In 1666 (cool), the author Asai Ryoi, to capitalize on a trend for kaidan stories at the time, published a localized version of the story, and others from Jiandeng Xinhua, in his collection Otogi Boko (Hand Puppets) with the Buddhist moral lessons removed and Japanese settings. Otogi Boko was immensely popular and is credited as the forerunner of the literary kaidan movement.

Patrick Lafcadio Hearn has been previously featured on this blog and likely will be again given his foundational role in bringing, and translating, Japanese folktales and spooky stories to the English speaking world in the early 20th century. It doesn’t hurt that all of his work is in the public domain as well. Hearn’s translation of Botan Dōrō was originally published in his 1899 collection, In Ghostly Japan, and is based primarily off of a 1892 kabuki stage play adaptation.