I've seen references in non-fiction books to some of these stories, so I *can* say they are indeed Japanese in origin. The publisher, however, should've gotten a better translator.
Mathers translated these tales, not from Japanese, but from the French translation of Mardrus, and they appeared originally in a three-volume collection called Eastern Love (1930). Hency this is more correctly called the Mardrus-Mathers translation.
I was a bit disappointed at the selection of stories... but I can't blame the publishers.
A very interesting short read.
A short book, with some of the stories being more interesting than others. I wouldn't mind reading a novel inspired by one of the more interesting ones.
