Big Book Energy
Hi 👋 My name is Jennifer and I love books! I love them so much I became a librarian, I write stories in my free time, and I have a podcast where I talk all things bookish: Big Book Energy. These conversations will address how books were, are, and will continue to be relevant to our every day lives. Keep reading ❤️
Big Book Energy
An Adventure in Japanese Folklore: Tales of Moonlight and Rain
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Jennifer Fain and Paige Downey
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Season 3
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Episode 3
This week we discuss a classic of Japanese Literature: Tales of Moonlight and Rain by Ueda Akinari. Tune in to hear some wild stories and to hear Jennifer's opinion on a classic.
Mythology & Folklore: Japan
Jennifer did her best to give a brief summary of Japanese religious history during this episode, and here are a few of the sources that she used:
- A bullet list of the main points of Japanese religious history: https://www.uwosh.edu/facstaff/barnhill/244-japan/bits-of-history
- Wikipedia article on Shinto
- Wikipedia article on Religion in Japan
- Wikipedia article on Japanese Mythology
- Very cool video that tells the Shinto creation myth with Japanese artwork: https://youtu.be/l3MKdJjQeOw
- An impressive 25-minute summary of Japanese history with adorable animations: https://youtu.be/8Zwi3XXLci8
And here are the sources for some of the specific folklore bits that Jennifer talked about:
- An interesting discussion between two Buddhist monks on the Asura Realm: https://youtu.be/SnauEqgUYnw
- Wikipedia article on the Asura Realm
- An amazing encyclopedia of Japanese yokai: http://yokai.com/
- A brief survey of some of the most notorious Yokai: https://youtu.be/Gd1D2gWhDXM
Paige Presents Fun with Comics: Lazarus, Image Comics
Tales of Moonlight and Rain, Ueda Akinari
- Wikipedia article on Ueda Akinari
- Wikipedia article on Tales of Moonlight and Rain
- Buy a copy for yourself: https://bookshop.org/a/9616/9780231139137
Creative’s Corner: a true crime YouTube channel, Brief Case.
Discussion Questions
- What was the last book you read that made you feel like you were not smart enough to be reading it?
- What books have you read that you felt suffered from being translated? i.e. something was missing, the word choice or style didn’t come across well, etc.
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