内容説明
This book, known as Mimibukuro, is a collection of stories heard by Edo period magistrate Negishi Yasumori (1737-1815). The author, who was a magistrate at the time, served as the Sado magistrate from March 1784 to July 1787. This collection of nearly 1,000 stories, spanning 10 volumes, is a highly confidential collection of stories. The author, who held the important position of magistrate at the time, collected the facts, even though they were heard from the public, and recorded them as accurately as possible, along with proper names of places and people, without any forced interpretations. This book compiles carefully selected original texts, presents them in easy-to-understand modern Japanese, and includes commentary. Part 1 focuses on useful stories and mysterious tales, while Part 2 features stories about spirits and fox spirits. This book conveys the joy of the alternate culture of the Edo period, with each story enjoyed like a short story. The original is in Japanese. The English translation features a selection of over dozens of famous and rare ukiyo-e prints (public domain) centered around the mysterious themes of Japans Edo period, which are featured as visuals at the beginning of the book.
本書は、江戸時代の奉行・根岸鎮衛（ねぎしやすもり：1737-1815）が「身近で聞いた話」を書き綴ったもので、『耳袋』として知られてきたもの。当時奉行であった著者が、佐渡奉行を務めていた天明4年3月から同7年7月の間に、当時の江戸時代に伝聞されていた「奇談」や「人のためになる話」の聞き書きは10巻、全部で1000に近い話が集録された門外不出の秘録。その記録の特徴は、当時、奉行という重い役職にあった著者が、聞き書きとはいえ「事実」を集め、地名や人物名の固有名詞とともに、できるだけ正確に、こじつけ的な解釈をすることなく、ただ淡々と記されているところ。その中から本書では、厳選した原文資料を編案して現代語文でわかりやすく表現し、解説を加えて構成。一部では「ためになる話」と「不思議な話」を中心にし、二部では「死霊」と「妖狐」にまつわる話を掲載。それぞれの話を、短編小説のような感覚で楽しめる大江戸の異聞文化の醍醐味を伝える書。元本は日本語。英訳版では、日本の江戸時代における怪奇なテーマを中心に、名作やレアな数十点以上の浮世絵（パブリックドメイン）を特選し、本書の巻頭に口絵としてビジュアルに掲載。
目次
Prologue: What Mimibukuro Is ― The Curious Chronicles of Magistrate Negishi
Part I: Tales of the Mysterious and the Auspicious
Chapter 1: Talismans, Deities, and Gifts of Fortune
Prologue
The Phallic Talisman That Brought Prosperity
A Statue Unearthed, a Mind Unmoored
The Talisman That Found Its Way Home
A Hidden Fortune Beneath the Floorboards: How an Antique Trunk Transformed a Family’s Fate
“Why Is This Man So Unusually Fortunate?”
A Prayer to the Goddess of Enoshima―and an Unlikely Rise to Power
A Prayer to Daikokuten: How a Destitute Couple Found Fortune Beneath Their Floorboards
Chapter 2: The Courtesan’s Marriage
Prologue
The Honest Courtesan Called Kekoro
A Courtesan on the River: How a Boat-Dwelling Woman Earned a Husband and a New Life
Chapter 3: Saving a Life, Changing One’s Fate
Prologue
The Fortune-Teller Who Predicted Death
A Sword, a Murder, and a Samurai’s Fatal Reckoning
“Why Would Someone Help Us?” ― A Brush with Invisible Kindness
The Bookseller and the Bride Rumored to Be a Rokurokubi
Chapter 4: Was It the Cat’s Doing?
A Calico Cat’s Final Act of Devotion
A Woman Who Loved Cats Too Much―and Became One
How Regrettable: The Talking Cat That Spoke in a Samurai Household
Chapter 5: Even Plants May Possess Intent
Prologue
A Pine Tree Refuses to Move: A Story of Botanical Resistance and Modern Insight
Chapter 6: Passages to the Otherworld
Prologue
The Talking Box of Shugendo: A Curious Artifact of the Sacred Path
A Promise Kept Beyond Death: The Child Who Returned, Just as She Said She Would
The Grandson Who Moved to the Realm of the Tengu
The Mountain That Calls Lost Children Home
Chapter 7: Signs of Prophecy
Prologue
The Fire That Came as Foretold by a Humble Servant
The Girl Who Read Omens: “The Guardian Spirits Send Warnings Through Objects”
Prophecy in a Pulse: The Village Saved by a Doctor’s Warning
The Five-Needle Healer: A Quirky Acupuncturist’s Prediction Comes True
Chapter 8: Curious Tales Beyond Classification
Prologue
A Pickled Kappa and the Limits of What We Know
When a Woman Became a Man―and Other Transformations
The Stone That Rang Out in the Garden
The Stone That Drew Water―and Housed a Dragon
When a Dream Becomes a Wound: A Wifes Bruise Spans the Distance
Boiling Water and Unshaken Faith: A Magistrate Witnesses the Power of Shinto
A Leek, a Powder, and a Breath Restored: The Curious Case of a Man Revived from Drowning
Chapter 9: The Eccentric Art of Longevity
Prologue
Never Eat Until You’re Full
The Unusual Longevity of Eccentrics: When Long Life Favors the Odd
Part II: What the Dead Have to Say
Chapter 10: I Had to Thank You―A Posthumous Visit of Gratitude
Prologue
A Ghostly Gratitude: The Spirit Who Returned Simply to Say Thank You
“You’ve Grown So Much”: A Mother’s Spirit Returns for a Final Visit
“Please Tell Him I Was Grateful”: A Ghost’s Message from Beyond the Grave
Chapter 11: When the Dead Refuse to Move On―I Can’t Leave Yet
Prologue
Haunted by Her Own Love Letters
“Is My Two-Year-Old Being Cared For?”: A Mother’s Ghost Returns in Worry
A Ghost’s Last Request: The Woman Left Behind in a Runaway Love
Chapter 12: A Vengeful Spirit Appears ― “I Curse You”
“I Was Cast Into a Ravine”: A Murdered Wife Returns to Reveal the Truth
A Mistress’s Final Plea: Asking the Wife for Memorial Rites
Shattered by Jealousy: The Wife Who Destroyed Her Predecessor’s Spirit
Blood on Her Hands: A Vengeful Spirit Haunts a Faded Teahouse
Chapter 13: A Visit from the Dead ― Well, I Guess We Just Ran Into Each Other
“I Just Wanted to See You, Uncle”: A Boy’s Spirit Stops By to Say Goodbye
A Familiar Face on the Bridge: A Boy Servant Seen After Death
A Visit to the Lord of Death: A Final Glimpse of a Dying Man
Ghost or Delusion? A Widow’s Apparition and the Mind’s Unquiet
Chapter 14: The Dead Who Came Back to Life
“I’ll Send You Back”: A Monk in Red and a Return from the Dead
“I Didn’t Know Where to Go, So I Called Out to a Passing Monk…”
“I Woke Up Inside a Coffin―It Was Completely Dark…”
He Came Back to Life in the Coffin ― Thanks to a Child’s Plea
Born from the Dead: A Monks Prophecy and a Childs Miraculous Birth
A Man Who Couldn’t Die―No Matter How Hard He Tried
A Woman Awaits Death―Then Recovers, to Her Great Inconvenience
Chapter 15: Facing Down the Fox Spirit with Fierce Resolve
Prologue
The Best Way to Handle a Monster Is to Stand Your Ground
A Widow Returns, but Not as She Was: The Fox Spirit That Drained a Samurai’s Soul
A Ghost’s Sobering Request: When a Wife’s Spirit Enlisted a Fox Spirit to End Her Husband’s Drinking Habit
Afterword by the Editor and Translator
