Chapter 16
Michael arrived at the Izumo Airport in western Japan, rented a car, and drove to the nearby town of Matsue.
Lafcadio Hearn had traveled to Matsue in 1890, soon after arriving in Japan, to work as an English teacher. He rented a house near the Matsue castle, a place he had called, “vast and sinister in shape … made up of magnificent monstrosities.”
There he began to write Glimpses of Unfamiliar Japan in which he described his first experiences in the little-known country. He also began recording Japanese ghost stories which eventually grew to several collections.
Matsue’s coastal location meant that in winter it took the brunt of cold winds off the sea and snow from the surrounding mountains. Hearn suffered terribly from bronchitis during his first winter, and dreading anoth
