The book of William Elliot Griffis, an American orientalist, Congregational minister, lecturer, and prolific author, welcomes readers to a world of wonder-lore of Japanese stories. In the folklore of every nation the fairy tales appear to be the most amazing thing - the story teller expressed the wisdom of people, their dreams and desires. The Japanese fairy tales are quite miscellaneous, including those of animals, neighbours, werewolves, wonders, moralistic tales and entertaining ones. At the heart of these stories lies the feeling of unity with nature, descriptions of typical traditions and rites, festivals, and ethnographic actuals. Wonder here can be seen at every step, as well as poetry interwoven into the thread of the narration, as an instrument of Good and truth.