Japan and Celt The Other World In Japan, there are two different religions exist at the same time broadly, Buddhism and Shinto. Shinto is a kind of nature worship, various fairies and gods exist in all things, such as Water, Tree, Mountain, Rock…etc. Similar relationship is found in Ireland which has Catholic and Celtic faith at the same time. Japan and Ireland both have a notion of the Other World after death, both believe in invisible existence like a fairy. Especially, Noh always has a factor of the Other World. All plays must contain a dweller of the Other World such as a fairy, god, demon, ghost, goblin…. Noh’s modern and refined style which includes these things was what Yeats was looking for. Halloween and Obon Halloween was originally Celtic festival of the end of year. Celtic people believed that the border between this world and the other world was vanished at new year's eve and the spirits and monsters came from the other world. Such concept is very similar to that of Japanese Obon, which is the day ancestral spirits are coming back from the other world. Lafcadio Hearn (Yakumi Kozimumi) Lafcadio Hearn also is known as Irish author who discovered Japanese fairy tale “Kwaidan”. He was grown up in Ireland when he was a child hearing Irish fairy tale. So, he might realize a similarity as a connection to the other world between Japanese tales and Irish tales. He seemed to have felt sympathy with W.B. Yeats, and sent Yeats a biggest praise for Yeats' fairy poem. He also confessed his affection to Ireland to Yeats in the letter, that he never told even his family. “I had a Connaught nurse who told me fairy tales and ghost stories. So I ought to love Irish things, and do.” （From a Letter to W. B. Yeats, 24th September, 1901)