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Kyūsaku Yumeno: 20 works in the original Japanese, with translation

Yumeno Kyūsaku (4 January 1889 – 11 March 1936) was a Japanese author whose pen name roughly means "a person who always dreams"; his real name was Sugiyama Yasumichi. He wrote detective novels and also worked as a Zen priest, post office director and sub-lieutenant, and is known for his avant-gardism and surrealistic, wildly imaginative and bizarre narratives.

Works in the library

Cultural notes (selection)

金襴の着物 犬の王様

金襴 (kinran) is a brocade woven with gold thread. It was introduced to Japan through trade with China in the Muromachi period, and from the Edo period onward it was used mainly on formal occasions such as Noh theatre costumes, samurai ceremonial dress, and Buddhist temple decorations.

人間は何故だか私共がまだ傘を開かないうちを喜んで持って行ってしまいます きのこ会議

This reflects the actual conditions of mushroom gathering at the time: matsutake and the like were prized when the cap had not yet opened and the stem was thick with a round cap—such specimens were fragrant and fetched high prices. Once the cap opened and the spores scattered, the mushroom was considered old and of little value.

テルテル坊主 雨ふり坊主

A teru-teru bōzu, or 'sunshine doll.' A Japanese custom: when hoping for clear weather, it is hung under the eaves as a prayer for sunshine; when rain is wanted, it is hung upside down, called 'ame-furi bōzu,' which echoes this work's title. Children often make them before picnics and sports days.

黒ん坊 オシャベリ姫

An old colloquial term for a Black person; it is a discriminatory word frequently seen in modern-era Japanese texts. When reading such texts, one should understand the historical context of the period and not treat it as a neutral term.