Genre
A collection of ghost stories
Setting and Context
Japan, various times throughout different stories
Narrator and Point of View
observer narrator; point of view: third person
Tone and Mood
Tone: interested, humorous, questioning
Mood: anxious, nostalgic, nightmarish
Protagonist and Antagonist
Each story has its own protagonist and antagonist: In the story Mimi-Nashi-Hoichi protagonist is Hoichi, antagonists are malevolent ancient spirits
Major Conflict
In the story Mimi-Nashi-Hoichi major conflict is Hoichi being summoned by a spirit of samurai and going to their gathering to play the song.
Climax
In the story Mimi-Nashi-Hoichi climax is Hoichi being protected by holy letters all over his body except his ears. The spirit of the samurai cuts his ears off.
Foreshadowing
In The story of O-Tei the dying girl's promise that she and Nagao will be together again in this life foreshadows the events and losses that will happen to him later.
Understatement
In The story of O-Tei Nagao Chosei understated the power of the dying girl's promise, as it turns out her promise came true later in his life.
Allusions
All of the stories are allusions and retold stories of Japanese mythology.
Imagery
Nature imagery is the most prominent one in these stories, the most common being the trees.
Paradox
N/A
Parallelism
"and they change the sense
within him,-- reshaping his notions of Space and Time,-- so that he can see
only as they used to see, and feel only as they used to feel, and think
only as they used to think."
Metonymy and Synecdoche
Jikininki: eater of human flesh metonymy
Personification
The Story of Aoyagi-Aoyagi is a literal personification of a tree
