Japanese Fairy Tales - First Series

From the Preface.
TO retell any of the stories of the Orient to the children of the Occident and preserve all the original flavor and charm, would be impossible. Still there is much in the story, just as a story, to delight little readers of America, as well as to broaden their sympathies and stimulate new ideas. And our practical little Jonathans and Columbias need a touch of the imagination and poetry embodied in these tales, which have been treasured through hundreds of years by the little ones of Japan.
Every effort has been made to bring Japanese life as vividly as possible before the children by means of the illustrations. Mr. Ogawa, the illustrator, is a native of Japan and a graduate of the Imperial Art School of Tokio, and combines the Japanese artistic instinct and classic tradition with a knowledge of American ideas and methods.
To Mr. Katayama of Tokio I am indebted for great assistance in collecting these stories.
–T. P. W.
September, 1903