Cultural Experience in Japanese Death Legends
The Japanese have ambivalent attitudes toward death, deeply rooted in pre-Buddhist traditions. In this scholarly but accessible work, authors Michiko Iwasaka and Barre Toelken show that everyday beliefs and customs—particularly death traditions—offer special insight into the living culture of Japan.
Barre Toelken was a longtime director of the Utah State University Folklore Program. He also held positions on the Folk Arts Panel for the National Endowment for the Arts, and in the American Folklore Society, Western Folklife Center, and American Folklife Center. He has edited Northwest Folklore, the Journal of American Folklore, and Western Folklore.
