in writing myths and legends of japan i have been much indebted to numerous authorities on japanese subjects, and most especially to lafcadio hearn, who first revealed to me the land of the gods. it is impossible to enumerate all the writers who have assisted me in preparing this volume. i have borrowed from their work as persistently as japan has borrowed from other countries, and i sincerely hope that, like japan herself, i have made good use of the material i have obtained from so many sources.

i am indebted to professor basil hall chamberlain for placing his work at my disposal, and i have found his encyclopædic volume, things japanese, his translation of the kojiki, his murray's hand-book for japan (in collaboration with w. b. mason), and his japanese poetry, of great value. i thank the executors of the late dr. w. g. aston for permission to quote from this learned authority's work. i have made use of his translation of the nihongi (transactions of the japan society, 1896) and have gathered much useful material from a history of japanese literature. i am indebted to mr. f. victor dickins for allowing me to make use of his translation of the taketori monogatari and the ho-jo-ki. my friend mrs. c. m. salwey has taken a sympathetic interest in my work, which has been invaluable to me. her book, fans of japan, has supplied me with an exquisite legend, and many of her articles have yielded a rich harvest. i warmly thank mr. yone noguchi for allowing me to quote from his poetry, and also miss clara a. walsh for so kindly putting at my disposal her fascinating volume, the master-singers of japan, published by mr. john murray in the "wisdom of the east" series. my thanks are[pg vi] due to messrs. houghton, mifflin company, for allowing me to quote from lafcadio hearn's glimpses of unfamiliar japan and the japanese letters of lafcadio hearn; to messrs. george allen & sons, for giving me permission to quote from sir f. t. piggott's garden of japan; to the editor of the academy, for permitting me to reprint my article on "japanese poetry," and to messrs. cassell and co. ltd., for allowing me to reproduce "the garden of japan," which i originally contributed to cassell's magazine. the works of dr. william anderson, sir ernest satow, lord redesdale, madame ozaki, mr. r. gordon smith, captain f. brinkley, the late rev. arthur lloyd, mr. henri l. joly, mr. k. okakura, the rev. w. e. griffis, and others, have been of immense value to me, and in addition i very warmly thank all those writers i have left unnamed, through want of space, whose works have assisted me in the preparation of this volume.