The Hour of Demons
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Summary
With his neatly parted hair, his clean, wholesome face, and his thin gold-rimmed round glasses, Izumi Kyōka looked every inch the literary youth—so what made possible his imagination, which roams so freely between the otherworld and reality? The book includes a profile column on his phobias, obsessions, and collecting habits—"The Incredible Izumi Kyōka"—which, just as readers lose themselves in his dazzling Kyōka world, adds another stroke of everyday charm from Kyōka's life.
Editor's review
The book's core appeal lies in its unique "Kyoka world," where reality and illusion intertwine ambiguously and human nature and the uncanny mirror each other. At the twilight hour when spirits are encountered, ordinary alleys become entrances to another realm, and everyday logic gives way to hidden passions and fate. In "The Saint of Mount Koya," for example, a monk encounters eerie eroticism deep in the mountains; in "The Surgery Room," a noblewoman and a doctor share a silent, agonizing love—both rendered with exquisitely fine sensory detail that sketches the trembling obsessions and sorrows at the depths of the human heart.
Reading Izumi Kyoka requires slowing down and savoring details and metaphors layered like ukiyo-e prints. He does not merely tell ghost stories but uses the uncanny to mirror human love and hate, solitude and desire. His prose combines classical concision with modern psychological depth, revealing deep compassion for human nature through a beauty of shadow. For readers who love literary supernatural fiction and are interested in the Japanese aesthetics of mono no aware and yugen, this book is a rare classic. It shows us that the deepest fear often arises from the most beautiful illusion, and that the most moving stories often dwell where light and shadow meet.
Who it's for
A good fit for
- Literary readers who love Japanese classical aesthetics and the mood of yugen
- Explorers with a strong interest in supernatural and kaidan literature
- Students and researchers hoping to understand the lineage of modern Japanese literature and Izumi Kyoka's influence
- Fiction lovers who appreciate delicate psychological description and symbolic language
Not a good fit for
- Readers seeking fast-paced, strongly plotted entertainment
- Readers alienated by the subtle and ambiguous style of Japanese classical literature
Reading tips
- Read in a quiet environment, preferably at dusk or at night, to immerse yourself more fully in the atmosphere
- Do not rush the plot; savor certain descriptive passages repeatedly and feel the implication and blank space between the words
- Learning about the folk culture of the Edo to Meiji periods can help you understand the roots of the supernatural elements
About the publisher
Beijing Times Chinese Press takes classic works and prose miscellanies as an important publishing direction, along with foreign literature, social novels, Eastern philosophy and art books. Its catalogue includes such Chinese classics as Lu Xun's Call to Arms and Wandering, Xiao Hong's The Field of Life and Death, Zhang Dai's Reminiscences of Tao'an, Yuan Mei's Recipes from the Sui Garden and Hong Yingming's Caigentan, as well as foreign classics such as Ryunosuke Akutagawa's Rashomon. Among its translator resources is Wen Jieruo, whose translations provide reliable support for bringing foreign literary works into the Chinese-speaking world. While organizing traditional texts and reissuing classics, the press pays attention to readability and accessibility of editions, enabling ancient prose, notes and philosophical works to reach contemporary readers. Public information is limited; the above is only a brief account of the publishing directions reflected in the books held in the database.
Contents
- 版权信息
- 妖艳奇幻的语言魔术师——话说泉镜花
- 总序 “雕心镂魂”的异色经典
- 行笔于梦境与现实之间的幻想奇才——泉镜花小传与重要著作年表
- 导读 欢迎来到泉镜花的奇幻世界
- 戏剧
- 天守物语
- 泉镜花不可思议 恐惧症之卷
- 小说
- 歌行灯
- 外科室
- 泉镜花不可思议 偏执狂之卷
- 小品
- 妖怪年代记
- 神乐坂七大不可思议事件
- 泉镜花不可思议 收集癖之卷
- 附：潜藏在寻常日子里令人目眩的异世界——泉镜花文学散步
FAQ
What are the characteristics of Izumi Kyoka's writing style?
Is this book suitable as an introduction to Japanese kaidan literature?
Do the stories in the book share a common thematic thread?
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About the author
Izumi Kyoka was a modern Japanese novelist. Reliable public information about his exact life and nationality is limited, yet the eight works held in the collection reveal the contours of his writing. Representative titles include The Grass Labyrinth, The Holy Man of Mount Koya, The Hour of Encounters with Demons, The Love of Yushima, New Tales of Yoshiwara, Righteous Blood and Heroic Blood, and The Silver Cauldron. These works are often classified as foreign literature and classics, and some carry the flavor of martial-arts fiction. Izumi Kyoka's writing frequently draws on the worlds of townspeople, geisha, and wanderers, blending romance with the grotesque and moving between reality and illusion to create a distinctive narrative atmosphere. His prose emphasizes mood and sensory detail, with stories revolving around emotional entanglements, twists of fate, and the spirit of chivalry, retaining the readability of popular narrative while revealing a refined literary sensibility. Because sources are limited, biographical details are hard to set out, but these works suffice to show his distinctive place and lasting influence in modern Japanese literature.
Xie Pu: public information is limited, and no clear record of this author's identity or career is available. Judging from the seven works held in the collection, the writing and editorial work span two quite different fields, foreign literature and industrial technology, which is a relatively uncommon combination. In literature, the representative titles include Elegant Villainess, Solitude Experiment, Hour of Encounters with Demons, Oh Love, Love, The Couple's Fine Day, and Melancholy Bomb. Their titles often carry a grotesque, shadowy, or emotionally charged tone, suggesting engagement with modern and contemporary Japanese fiction, with themes leaning toward human nature, urban uncanny tales, and emotional entanglements; stylistically, they may combine delicate psychological depiction with dramatic narrative. On the technical side, PADS VX.2.2 Circuit Design and Simulation from Beginner to Mastery is a practical tutorial on electronic design automation software aimed at engineering beginners. Placed side by side, the two kinds of works indicate that the author has been involved both in literary translation and editing and in the compilation of technical handbooks, showing diverse interests and abilities. Because biographical material is lacking, this note can only summarize the profile presented by the works; further information remains to be verified and supplemented.
Hou Yongxin is a full-time Chinese translator of Japanese literature. A graduate of the Department of Japanese Language and Literature at Fu Jen Catholic University, she has long worked as a professional translator and enjoys seeing different worlds through translation. Her translations focus mainly on modern Japanese literature, including Izumi Kyoka's The Hour of the Demon and Tanizaki Jun'ichiro's The Elegant Villainess, and she has contributed to several volumes in the "Japanese Heterodox Literary Classics" series published by Beijing Times Chinese Press. Seven of her works are listed here; besides foreign literature, they touch on art and essays, such as Mo Zi: The Calligraphy Way of Kitaoji Rosanjin, a Japanese All-round Artist, as well as Love Oh, Love, The Loneliness Experiment, The Happy Couple, and Holiday Hobbies. Her translations span fiction, essays, and art writing, striving to match the tone of the originals and helping Chinese readers approach the diversity of Japanese literature and art.
