This was the second collection of Lafcadio Hearn's writings that I've read, and I have to say that it's not as successful as Kwaidan.

Of course, this is probably due to the fact that Kwaidan's generally more skewed towards the storytelling side of things. In Ghostly Japan is more interested in analysing parts of the Japanese culture rather than attempting to convey some feelings of spookiness.

Spookiness isn't really in this collection of stories - like Kwaidan, it focuses more on the mysterious side of life, in an everyday day - that is, when it's not discussing the completely everyday. Interestingly, it's these that provide more interest; the writing on Buddhist proverbs and on incense prove a little more interesting than the truly ectoplasmic tales.

It's still worth a read, however; Hearn's prose is subtle and sensitive.