Tales of Moonlight and Rain (雨月物語, Ugetsu Monogatari) is a collection of nine independent stories, written by Ueda Akinari, first published in 1776, adapted from chinese ghost stories. It is considered to be among the most important works of fiction of the eighteenth century, the middle of the Edo period. Edo literary achievements are normally associated with the fiction of Ihara Saikaku and drama of Chikamatsu Monzaemon in the Genroku period and the popular literature of Takizawa Bakin in the later Bunka Bunsei period. Tales of Moonlight and Rain, then, occupies an important yet often overlooked position between these two moments in Edo literary history.
