PREFACE.This collection of Japanese fairy tales is the outcome of a
suggestion made to me indirectly through a friend by Mr. Andrew
Lang. They have been translated from the modern version written by
Sadanami Sanjin. These stories are not literal translations, and
though the Japanese story and all quaint Japanese expressions have
been faithfully preserved, they have been told more with the view
to interest young readers of the West than the technical student of
folk-lore.
Grateful acknowledgment is due to Mr. Y. Yasuoka, Miss Fusa
Okamoto, my brother Nobumori Ozaki, Dr. Yoshihiro Takaki, and Miss
Kameko Yamao, who have helped me with translations.
The story which I have named "The Story of the Man who did not
Wish to Die" is taken from a little book written a hundred years
ago
