A Ghost Story (Hoichi the Earless)

Seishun Anime Zenshuu (translated as Animated Classics of Japanese Literature for its English release) is a 1986 anthology series that retold well-known stories from modern Japanese literature. It's very much in the mold of its contemporaries, the World Masterpiece Theater series. Most of the 34 episodes were standalone, although there were a few two- and three-parters. The show was licensed by Central Park Media, but the English version was left incomplete when CPM went bankrupt. Only twelve episodes were released on DVD:

• Episode 1: The Izu Dancer by Kawabata Yasunari. 
• Episodes 2,3: The Sound of Waves by Mishima Yukio.
• Episodes 7,8: Botchan by Souseki Natsume.
• Episode 10: The Dancing Girl by Ougai Mori.
• Episode 14: Growing Up by Higuchi Ichiyou.
• Episode 16: A Ghost Story by Lafcadio Hearn.
• Episode 20: Season of the Sun by Ishihara Shintarou.
• Episodes 25,26: The Harp of Burma by Takeyama Michio.
• Episode S1 (33): Student Days by Kume Masao.

Once again, going out of order for Reasons™ to present A Ghost Story: The Story of Hoichi. It's based on a story in the collection Kwaidan: Stories and Studies of Strange Things by Lafcadio Hearn. He's a fascinating character: a Greek-Irish orphan who emigrated first to the United States and then to Japan, where he settled down, married, and wrote the first widely-read English-language books on Japan. A Ghost Story is based on a well-known Japanese legend and has been included in two movies.

Hoichi is a blind biwa (Japanese lute) player at the Amidaji Temple. 

His specialty is The Tale of the Heike, an epic account of the Genpei War between the Minamoto (Genji) clan and  Taira (Heike) clans, which ended with a decisive Genji victory at the naval battle of Dan-no-Ura. One evening, a gruff samurai asks Hoichi to play for a noblewoman, who is supposedly visiting incognito.

His playing overwhelms his audience, and they are moved to tears. 

He is asked to play again the next night. On the third night, his friends, concerned about his deteriorating appearance, follow him and find him playing in the temple graveyard, where the Taira dead are buried. He has been playing for ghosts. 

The head priest tells Hoichi that he is in danger of being possessed and consumed by the spirits. The priest covers Hoichi in sutras to protect him. 

When the ghost samurai returns, he cannot see most of Hoichi because of the sutras; only the musician's ears are visible. 

The samurai rips off Hoichi's ears as proof that he had tried to bring the musician again, but the spell on Hoichi is broken. He survives, earless, and becomes a living legend.

A Ghost Story is quite good: atmospheric, moody, and foreboding. Unlike most animated ghost stories, it doesn't rely on jump cuts or copious bloodshed to build a sense of dread. Hoichi's biwa playing and singing, heavy on prolonged phrases and minor keys, provide an aural tapestry that matches the plot and the visuals. This is the strongest of the Animated Classics series so far.

The voice cast includes:

• Etou Jun (Hoichi) is an actor. He has only one other anime credit.
• Utsumi Kenji (Samurai Ghost) played Roah in Fist of the North Star, Kaioh in Fist of the North Star 2, Senbei Norimaki in Dr. Slump and Arale-chan, the village chief in Watt Poe, and Alex Louis Armstrong in both versions of Fullmetal Alchemist. He played Ishikawa in Mahjong Hishouden: Naki no Ryuu and appeared in Nora, Bavi Stock, Stop!! Hibari-kun!, Techno Police 21C, Don Dracula (title role), 15 Shounen Hyouruuki, and Sanada 10, all Orphan releases. appeared in Nora, Bavi Stock, Stop!! Hibari-kun!, Techno Police 21C, Don Dracula (title role), 15 Shounen Hyouruuki, and Sanada 10, all Orphan releases.
• Takizawa Kumiko (Lady Attendant) played Glinda the Good Witch in The Wizard of Oz (movie). She  played Madonna in Botchan (1986), Elena in Techno Police 21C, Kanako's mother in Boyfriend, Susan the gangster in The Green Cat, and appeared in Raiyantsuuri no Uta, Fumoon, Makoto-chan, and Scoopers, all Orphan releases.
• Kinomiya Ryouko (Taira no Tokiko - Nii no Ama) played Mozu in Fumoon, an Orphan release, Promethium in the Galaxy Express 999 franchise, the narrator in Queen Millennia, and Madame du Barry in The Rose of Versailles.
• Kitagawa Takurou (Yasuke) played Green Dragon in Dragon Knight and Private Baba in The Harp of Burma. He played Hosoki in Meisou-Ou Border and appeared in Utsu no Miko, both Orphan releases.
• Shioya Yoku (Young Priest) played the title roles in Kariage-kun and the Umi no Triton TV series and movies, Ryouta in Slam Dunk, Jinpei the Swallow in Gatchaman, and Cosmo Yuki in Space Runaway Ideon. He played Shotaro in Growing Up, Ritt in Samurai Gold, Tsuri in Tenjou Hen: Utsu no Miko, Yuzuru in Laughing Target, Mickey in Milky Passion: Dougenzaka - Ai no Shiro, Mizuki in Nayuta, and Zhuge Jun in the first Sangokushi movie, all Orphan releases.
• Fujimoto Yuzuru (Chief Priest) played Hiyoshi in both reasons of Moyashimon. He voiced the nameless Aoba gang boss in Kasei Yakyoku, the nameless police chief in Twinkle Nora Rock Me, Miyata Terukichi in The Sound of Waves, and Noah in Tezuka Osamu's Tales from the Old Testament, all Orphan releases.

The director, Kumada Isamu, also directed Growing Up. 

The original subtitles are from CPM's R1 release. Perevodildo translation checked. kokujin-kun filled in song lines omitted from the R1 subs. ninjacloud fixed the original timing. I edited and typeset. Paul Geromini and Nemesis QCed. The encoder for the series wishes to remain anonymous. CPM's mastering includes hardsubbed translations for some of the Japanese credits. They are incorrectly timed and don't line up with the Japanese credits, but as hardsubs, they can't be fixed.

A Ghost Story doesn't go for easy shocks and cheap effects. It builds slowly and steadily to an effective climax, and it makes the tragedy of the Taira clan's disastrous end manifest. You can get the show from the usual torrent site.