The true folk legend, as distinguished from the fairy tale or literary embellishment, is one of the sure keys to a people's beliefs, customs, and ways of thinking. Japan possesses more such legends than any Occidental country. And yet this great body of legendry, with its wealth of meaning, its significance and itssheer fascination, has until now been only rarely available in English translations usually in out-of-the-way publications. The present volume presents a representative collection of over one hundred Japanese folk legends. These have been selected by a distinguished American