Abstract

The term ‘Gothic’ was first used in literature by the 18th century, referring to a movement that—against the triumphant rationality—emphasized the contingent and unaccountable nature of both the human and the natural world. Coincidentally, a collection of stories with supernatural theme was published in Japan by the same time: Ugetsu Monogatari by Ueda Akinari. This assay explores the interesting parallelisms between Akinaris work and that by authors like Horace Walpole, Ann Radcliffe, and Mathew Lewis. It is not our aim to show a direct relationship between European Gothic and the Japanese “Gothic” (such relationship is not possible, given the isolation prevailing in Japan by the time), but to highlight the transcultural character of the Gothic, not constrained by the narrow spatial and temporal definitions usually given to the genre.