A sourced illustration has not yet been added. This gap is included in the coverage record.
Overview
In the final section of “Incense,” Hearn recounts a Chinese legend about the Han emperor Wu grieving for his favourite, Lady Li. Disregarding counsellors who warn that a vision would intensify his sorrow, he burns Spirit-Recalling-Incense while concentrating on her memory. A feminine outline takes shape in the smoke, acquires colour and luminosity, and becomes as distinct as a living person. The emperor whispers and then calls aloud, but the apparition gives no response. When he approaches and touches the smoke, the phantom trembles and disappears. This is a momentary visible likeness, not a resurrection or a speaking reunion. Hearn introduces it as a story found in old Chinese and Japanese books; the individual Chinese textual witness is not independently established by this profile. His separate description of unseen incense-eating hungry spirits does not classify Lady Li among them.
Origins & earliest records
Chinese imperial apparition legend in a Japanese-focused English essay
Records & interpretation
Complete Incense essayI–V and allsixnotes read; historical book attribution retained without direct Chinese collation.
Selected bibliography
Documented works and useful reading. This is not a list of every appearance.
- 01
In Ghostly Japan — Incense
Complete essayI–V and notes1–6; relevant narrative and hungry-spirit notice inV. Hosted transcriptionchapter3 lacks original pagination; NDL000006423509 confirmsBostonLittleBrown1899.
Family & connections
A source-supported family tree or inspiration record has not yet been compiled for this profile. Related reading below indicates a connection in subject matter, not a proven lineage or creative influence.
Primary records and illustrations
In Ghostly Japan
Lafcadio Hearn; Boston:Little,Brown and Co.,1899 (NDL edition record). Incense,V; fullI–V and notes1–6 read; HTMLchap03
Cachehearn-ghostly-incense.txt30254characters. Historical/symbolic/social incense sections, fullgame/table/recipes, ghost-summoning legend and finalhungryspirits allread. LadyLi silent, smoke-contactvanishes; nohumanresurrection. HearnseparateShang-hai-kingreferenceaboutincense notclaimspecificWuemperorstorylocatedthere. Comparativehistoricalprices/recipesnotmodernrecommendations.
References
Sources supporting this profile. Linked pages have their own scope and editorial standards.
- Historical English essay and comparative narrativesHearn, In Ghostly Japan, Incense, complete essay and notesResearch access: 2026-10-05
- National library edition and author recordNational Diet Library, In ghostly Japan (1899), bibliographic recordResearch access: 2026-10-05
Image credits
A sourced illustration has not yet been added. This gap is included in the coverage record.