A Strange Tale From East Of The River And Other Stories

I have seen several mentions of Tokyo author Kafu Nagai over the years and most recently in Stephen Mansfield's Tokyo: A Cultural History. However, A Strange Tale from East of the River and Other Stories  (1972) translated by Edward Seidensticker is currently out of print, but I was able to track down a used copy. There are a variety of stories from as early as 1909 ("The River Sumida") and late as 1948 ("Scavengers"). There are some recurring themes in the stories: nostalgia, geisha, the low city/shitamachi (east Tokyo), Yoshiwara and nightlife, poetry, and nature are the most prominent. My favorites were the later stories: "A Strange Tale from East of the River" (1936)-a story of unrequited love, "The Decoration" (1946)-a short but heartfelt story of the transitory nature of life, and "The Scavengers" (1948)-highlighting postwar misery and struggles in life.