Patrick Lafcadio Hearn (27 June 1850 - 26 September 1904), known also by the Japanese name Koizumi Yakumo, was an international writer, known best for his books about Japan, especially his collections of Japanese legends and ghost stories. "Japan: An Attempt at Interpretation" was originally published in 1904, in it Hearn explores the difficulty of perceiving and comprehending what underlies the surface of Japanese life.