The Serpent: Folklore and Legend

For 1917, the Year of the Serpent, Minakata Kumagusu wrote on the snake's place in the world's imagination: the fear and fascination it inspires, serpents that guard treasure, snakes that change shape, the legend of the snake's feet, and the folk charms and cures of Kii and many other lands. With an appendix on the evil eye.

This edition is a complete, unabridged New English Translation made directly from the Japanese, with endnotes identifying sources, persons and period terms.

AI-assisted translation.