The first time most people outside Japan heard about the country's northern Tohoku region was when it was struck by a devastating earthquake and tsunami on March 11, 2011, leaving more than 15,000 dead and a million buildings damaged or destroyed. But to those familiar with Japan, Tohoku has long been cherished as a region where an older, simpler way of life endures — and as the cradle of Japanese folk literature.

Tales from a Mountain Cave; Hisashi Inoue, trans. Angus Turvill; THAMES RIVER PRESS

The tsunami devastated coastal towns such as Ofunato, Kesennuma and Kamaishi. Pictures of the wreckage of these communities were beamed around the world, becoming the shattered emblems of a nation's tragedy. Now — 21/2 years on — a book of tales that unfold in the small corner of Japan bounded by these three towns has appeared in a prize-winning new English-language version.