Kokoro: Hints and Echoes of Japanese Inner Life

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Hearn, Lafcadio, 1850-1904

Language:

English

Physical Description:

1 online resource : multiple file formats

Place of Publication:

Salt Lake City, UT : Project Gutenberg,

Summary:

"Kokoro: Hints and Echoes of Japanese Inner Life" by Lafcadio Hearn is a collection of essays reflecting on the complexities of Japanese culture and philosophy, written during the late 19th century. The work delves into themes of justice, morality, and the nuanced emotional landscape of the Japanese people, revealing the profound inner life that shapes their society. The opening portion of the book introduces readers to a poignant scene at a railway station where a captured criminal, Kusabe, faces the widow of his victim and a boy who has never known his father. This intense moment of confrontation highlights themes of remorse, compassion, and justice, as the boy is urged to confront the man responsible for his father's death. The quiet yet powerful reactions of the crowd underscore a complex societal understanding of crime and punishment, revealing the interplay between emotion and obligation within Japanese culture. Hearn's narrative captures the essence of these interactions, suggesting a rich inner life shaped by tradition, morality, and the whispers of shared human experience. (This is an automatically generated summary.)

Contents:

At a railway station

The genius of Japanese civilization

A street singer

From a traveling diary

The nun of the temple of Amida

After the war

Haru

A glimpse of tendencies

By force of Karma

A conservative

In the twilight of the gods

The idea of pre-existence

In cholera-time

Some thoughts about ancestor-worship

Kimiko

Appendix: Three popular ballads.

Credits:

Produced by Liz Warren

Notes:

Reading ease score: 65.5 (8th & 9th grade). Neither easy nor difficult to read.

Release date is 2005-09-01