The most well-known work of the Japanese classical author Ueda Akinari is this collection of Stories of the Moon After the Rain. In these fantastical stories, as in the stories of Noh theater, we see all kinds of beings from the parallel world of spirits emerge, act, and disappear again. An enjoyable blend of magic, poetry, and reality that expresses the enchanted world of the Japanese of yore, but no less of today.

The nine mystery stories of Ugetsu Monogatari, first published in 1776, are the best and most famous example of occult literature in Japan. They discreetly unite the world of everyday life with the realm of the unfamiliar and serve as evidence of the charm that the strange and mysterious exerted on the Japanese soul then, as well as today. They also served as inspiration for Kenji Mizoguchi's exceptional film of the same title in 1953.

The title "Ugetsu Monogatari," which can be translated as "Stories of the Moon After the Rain," also reflects the idea that mysterious beings appear on cloudy, rainy nights and on mornings when the moon still hangs in the sky. Demons, apparitions, strange dreams, things beyond the realm of the logical fill all the stories.

The chilling beauty of this timeless masterpiece is complemented by the charm it possesses as a work of literature, which largely stems from the artistic combination of Chinese language with the language of classical Japanese literature, as crystallized in masterpieces like "Genji Monogatari."