TALES OF MOONLIGHT AND RAIN Ueda Akinari Columbia University Press New York tales of moonlight and rain Translations from the Asian Classics Image has been suppressed tales of moonlight and rain Ueda Akinari Image has been suppressed A Study and Translation by anthony h. chambers COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY PRESS NEW YORK Columbia University Press Publishers Since 1893 New York Chichester, West Sussex Copyright © 2007 Columbia University Press All rights reserved Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Ueda, Akinari, 1734–1809. [Ugetsu monogatari. English] Tales of moonlight and rain : a study and translation by Anthony H. Chambers. p. cm. — (Translations from the Asian classics) Includes bibliographical references. ISBN 0-231-13912-8 (cloth : alk. paper) ISBN 0-231-51124-8 (electronic) I. Chambers, Anthony H. (Anthony Hood) II. Title. III. Series. PL794.8.U3413 2006 895.6'33—dc22 2006015127 Columbia University Press books are printed on permanent and durable acid-free paper. Printed in the United States of America c 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Frontispiece: Tosa Hidenobu, portrait of Ueda Akinari (1786). (Tenri Central Library, Nara) contents Acknowledgments vii Introduction 1 The Early Modern Period in Japan 2 About the Author 3 Bunjin, National Learning, and Yomihon 8 About Tales of Moonlight and Rain 11 About the Translation 34 Tales of Moonlight and Rain 45 preface 47 Book One Shiramine 51 The Chrysanthemum Vow 75 Book two The Reed-Choked House 91 The Carp of My Dreams 110 vi contents Book three The Owl of the Three Jewels 121 The Kibitsu Cauldron 139 Book four A Serpent’s Lust 155 Book five The Blue Hood 186 On Poverty and Wealth 202 Bibliography 221 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Haruo Shirane provided the initial spark by asking me to translate three stories from Ueda Akinari’s Tales of Moon- light and Rain for his Early Modern Japanese Literature: An Anthology, 1600–1900, and then suggesting that I translate the whole collection. Deborah Losse, Lawrence E. Marceau, and Donald Richie deserve special thanks for their encour- agement and suggestions. The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences at Arizona State University provided time for the work by giving me a year’s sabbatical. Even with time, the study and translation would have been impossible without the pathbreaking work of earlier scholars and the compilers of the marvelous reference works we all depend on. Thanks go also to my incomparable circle of friends and colleagues, who sustain me emotionally and intellectually. Michael Ashby read the first draft and made countless perceptive comments. I am also indebted to Jennifer Crewe, Anne McCoy, Irene Pavitt, and the rest of the staff at Colum- bia University Press. The anonymous readers recruited by the press offered encouragement, pointed out errors, and provided valuable advice. Any problems that remain are, of course, my own responsibility. viii acknowledgments The translation is dedicated to all my teachers, especially, Ch’en Shou-yi, who introduced me to the study of East Asia; Makoto Ueda, who introduced me to Akinari; Robert H. Brower, who tutored me in Japanese court poetry; and Edward G. Seidensticker, my principal mentor over the years. tales of moonlight and rain