Reprint Confirmed & Finalist for International 'LLL Awards' 2026! 'Japanese Ghost Stories from Lafcadio Hearn'
NHK Publishing's English reader based on Lafcadio Hearn's ghost stories is being reprinted due to high demand. It has also been selected as a finalist for the Language Learner Literature Awards 2026, a first for the company.
📋 Article Processing Timeline
- 📰 Published: April 28, 2026 at 19:00
- 🔍 Collected: April 28, 2026 at 10:31
- 🤖 AI Analyzed: April 28, 2026 at 15:15 (4h 43m after Collected)
NHK Publishing's book 'Japanese Ghost Stories from Lafcadio Hearn' (part of the Enjoy Simple English Readers series, based on the popular NHK Radio English course) has been slated for a reprint following excellent sales. Furthermore, the company has achieved its first-ever selection as a finalist for the 'Language Learner Literature Awards 2026 (LLL Awards),' an international accolade for literature aimed at English language learners.
The book features 18 stories selected from 'Japanese Folktales Loved by Lafcadio Hearn,' broadcast in the 2025 radio program. The English text written by Lafcadio Hearn (also known as Koizumi Yakumo) has been rewritten into high school-level English. It includes Japanese translations, making it perfect for review. Famous tales like 'Hoichi the Earless,' 'The Snow Woman,' 'Rokurokubi,' and 'Mujina' are included, along with eerie stories like 'Ikiri' and 'Jikininki.'
'Enjoy Simple English Readers' is a series designed for extensive reading and listening, ideal for those who have studied some grammar and vocabulary in school. Each story is about 5 minutes long and contains approximately 500 words.
Message from the Supervisor: 'In this new volume, we present ghost stories collected by Lafcadio Hearn while he lived in Japan. Hearn, who first arrived in Japan in 1890, introduced Japanese culture to the world through his ghost stories. With the help of his wife, Koizumi Setsu, he gathered many tales that soon became popular worldwide. Just as Hearn wrote English versions to spread Japanese stories abroad, we created this version based on his work to be easy for learners to read, carefully editing the grammar and vocabulary level.'
The book features 18 stories selected from 'Japanese Folktales Loved by Lafcadio Hearn,' broadcast in the 2025 radio program. The English text written by Lafcadio Hearn (also known as Koizumi Yakumo) has been rewritten into high school-level English. It includes Japanese translations, making it perfect for review. Famous tales like 'Hoichi the Earless,' 'The Snow Woman,' 'Rokurokubi,' and 'Mujina' are included, along with eerie stories like 'Ikiri' and 'Jikininki.'
'Enjoy Simple English Readers' is a series designed for extensive reading and listening, ideal for those who have studied some grammar and vocabulary in school. Each story is about 5 minutes long and contains approximately 500 words.
Message from the Supervisor: 'In this new volume, we present ghost stories collected by Lafcadio Hearn while he lived in Japan. Hearn, who first arrived in Japan in 1890, introduced Japanese culture to the world through his ghost stories. With the help of his wife, Koizumi Setsu, he gathered many tales that soon became popular worldwide. Just as Hearn wrote English versions to spread Japanese stories abroad, we created this version based on his work to be easy for learners to read, carefully editing the grammar and vocabulary level.'