‘Textured Stories’: The crêpe-paper books that brought Japanese culture to Western readers

‘Textured Stories’: The Crêpe-Paper Books That Introduced Japan to the West

The exhibition “Textured Stories” at the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library explores the legacy of Japanese chirimen books—crêpe-paper editions that opened a window into Japan’s literature and traditions for Western readers.

The Tale of “Chin Chin Kobakama”

Among the featured works is the folktale “Chin Chin Kobakama”. In this story, toothpicks scattered across a floor come alive as tiny, peg-legged samurai who mock a young woman for her untidy home.

“She tried to catch some of them, but they jumped about so quickly that she could not. Then she tried to drive them away, but they would not go, and they never stopped singing… or laughing at her. Then she knew they were little fairies and became so frightened that she could not even cry out.”

The folktale ends with a clear moral: a reminder of the virtue of keeping one’s home clean.

Lafcadio Hearn and the Chirimen Series

This 1903 English translation was produced by Lafcadio Hearn, a well-known Japanologist and translator who played a key role in presenting Japanese culture to Western readers in the early 20th century.

Hearn’s version was published as part of a chirimen book—a distinctive Japanese format printed on textured, fabric-like paper. These books, created between the 1880s and 1950s, became a favored medium for sharing Japanese stories abroad.

Exhibition Details

The collection, titled “Textured Stories: The Chirimen Books of Modern Japan”, remains on view at the Beinecke Library, part of the Yale Library system, through May 3.

Author’s Summary

Through delicate crêpe-paper pages, “Textured Stories” reveals how chirimen books bridged Japanese folklore and Western curiosity, merging tactile art with cultural storytelling.

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Yale News Yale News — 2025-11-06

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