Tales of Japan. The Mountain Witch, the Fox Wife, Kaguya-hime and the Boy Who Drew Cats

The fox demon Kurama from 'Naruto', the witch Yubaba, and the whimsical creatures in Ghibli cartoons — many anime and manga characters have folklore prototypes whose stories date back centuries. Tanuki, kitsune, tengu, and tree spirits… The source of modern plots and images — Japanese fairy tales — are original, poetic, magical, wise, and humorous.

Before you is a collection of selected Japanese fairy tales in the classic translation by Vera Markova, with a foreword by art historian and animation historian Anna Gold.