"Most of the following Kwaidan, or Weird Tales, have been taken from old Japanese books... Some of the stories may have had a Chinese origin ... But the Japanese story-teller, in every case, has so recolored and reshaped his borrowing as to naturalize it." Lafcadio Hearn was one of the original American expatriates to move to Japan; after living in New Orleans for some years, writing stories, he moved on to Tokyo, where he married a Japanese woman and changed his name. Hearn is best known for his supernatural tales.