Dreams, Myths and Fairy Tales in Japan

The well-known Japanese author, university professor and Zürich-trained Jungian analyst, Hayao Kawai, presents here the long-awaited second of his works in English. Originally presented as lectures at the historic Eranos Conferences in Ascona, this book describes five Japanese fairy tales, insightfully examined from Eastern and Western vantage points by an author intimately familiar with both.

Dreams, Myths and Fairy Tales in Japan addresses Japanese culture insightfully, exploring the depths of the psyche from both Eastern and Western perspectives, an endeavor the author is uniquely suited to undertake. The present volume is based upon five lectures originally delivered at the prestigious round-table Eranos Conferences in Ascona, Switzerland. Readers interested in Japanese myth and religion, comparative cultural studies, depth psychology or clinical psychology will all find Professor Kawai’s offerings to be remarkably insightful while at the same time practical for their own daily work.

From the contents:
– Interpenetration: Dreams in Medieval Japan
– Bodies in the Dream Diary of Myôe
– Japanese Mythology: Balancing the Gods
– Japanese Fairy Tales: The Aesthetic Solution
– Torikaebaya: A Tale of Changing Sexual Roles