In 1889 Westerner Lafcadio Hearn arrived in Japan on a journalistic assignment, and he fell so in love with the nation and its people that he never left. In 1894, just as Japan was truly opening to the West and global interest in Japanese culture was burgeoning, Hearn published a delightful series of essays glorifying what he called the "rare charm of Japanese life."

Here, in the second of two volumes, Hearn's love letters to the land of the rising sun enchant with their sweetly lyrical descriptions of Japanese gardens, household shrines, "strange festivals," the allure of the Japanese coasts, the mysterious enchantment of dancing girls, and much more.

Beautifully written and a joy to read, this wonderful journal of immersion on a foreign land will bewitch Japanophiles and travelers to the East.