Japanese Literature discussion

If you've recently purchased, been gifted or checked out of a library a translated book or really any book that pertains to Japan or Japanese culture, writ large, tell us about it.

I am grateful that my spouse gifted me several Christmas books e.g., the list worked, for the first time ever! The Forgotten Japanese: Encounters with Rural Life and Folklore by Tsuneichi Miyamoto (Stone Bridge Press), The Japanese Garden by Sophie Walker, Japanese Design Since 1945: A Complete Sourcebook by Naomi Pollock and A Quiet Place by Seichō Matsumoto (Bitter Lemon Press).

Wonderful idea! I just got several gifted to me today.

Novels:

Battle Royale
The Honjin Murders
The Miner
Newcomer
Train Man

Manga:
Uzumaki: Spiral into Horror, Hardback
Gyo

I was fortunate enough to receive these books for my Birthday and Christmas this year. :)

The Bluestockings Of Japan: New Women Essays And Fiction From Seito, 1911-16

A Japanese Touch for Your Home

A Japanese Touch for Your Garden

Chronicles of My Life: An American in the Heart of Japan

Anthology of Japanese Literature: From the Earliest Era to the Mid-Nineteenth Century

I've been browsing Waterstones boxing day sale and found the chapbook At the Edge of the Wood by Masatsugu Ono... For £3.59... So, I think I'll be getting that.

For the holidays, I received the KESHIKI chapbook collection from Strangers Press (Mikumari by Misumi Kubo, Transparent Labyrinth by Keiichiro Hirano, Time Differences by Yoko Tawada, Spring Sleepers by Kyoko Yoshida, The Girl Who Is Getting Married by Aoko Matsuda, Mariko / Mariquita by Natsuki Ikezawa, At the Edge of the Wood by Masatsugu Ono, and Friendship For Grown-Ups by Nao-Cola Yamazaki) and three back-issues of Monkey Business: New Writing from Japan (Monkey Business: New Writing from Japan - Volume 5, Monkey Business: New Writing from Japan Volume 6, and Monkey Business: New Writing From Japan - Volume 7). I'll probably end up picking up the first issue of MONKEY (the re-launch of Monkey Business) if I enjoy the three that I have.

Lots of short stories in my future!

i'm planning to read The Travelling Cat Chronicles and Tokyo Ueno Station soon!

by the way, do we have a thread for buddy reading in this group? :)

I just bought and read Echo on the Bay by Masatsugu Ono. Amazing!

I am reading Territory of Light by Yuko Tsushima now and also purchased Tokyo Ueno Station to be read sometime this month.

If anyone is reading those books feel free to message me and maybe we can share thoughts!

I also recently read a collection of Lafcadio Hearn tales and would love to talk to anyone who has read Setsu Koizumi's memoir (I've ordered it, but it hasn't arrived yet). I am trying to better understand how to think about what on the surface seems like a curious white guy who came to Japan and profited on telling Japanese stories to western audiences... :) (I love the stories!)

Although I’ve tried to impose a book-buying moratorium on myself, as I have plenty of unread books to dive into without getting caught up in new ones I suddenly get excited about, at the end of 2020 I couldn’t help myself and bought several that I can’t wait to read:

Fishing Villages In Tokugawa Japan, by Arne Kalland; Zen Flesh, Zen Bones: A Collection of Zen and Pre-Zen Writings, compiled by Paul Reps and Nyogen Senzaki; Village Japan: Everyday Life in a Rural Japanese Community, by Malcolm Ritchie; and The Book of the Dead, by Orikuchi Shinobu. I have others to read this year already stacked on my desk, but there are so many of them that I won’t bother listing them here. Lately I’ve read a lot of Japanese nonfiction, but I’m keen to get back to novel reading soon.

Some books mentioned here by others that I’ve recently read and can wholeheartedly recommend include The Forgotten Japanese (I absolutely loved this book, having read it last year, and immediately bought and read another excellent book translated into English by Jeffrey Irish called Doctor Stories from the Island Journals of the Legendary “Dr. Koto”), Chronicles of My Life: An American in the Heart of Japan (I recently read this, too, and thought it was great, but anything by or about Donald Keene I tend to like), Anthology of Japanese Literature: From the Earliest Era to the Mid-Nineteenth Century (I liked this a lot when I read it several years ago; it’s a great intro to so many authors and their works that one doesn’t hear of commonly), Tokyo Ueno Station (a short read, and somewhat depressing, but powerful), and Territory of Light (another excellent novel I read early last year).

I look forward to checking this discussion as the year progresses! I’m always looking for recommended reading about Japan. :)

Note to self: increase portion of budget allocated to Japanese books based on additions to my TBR from this thread...

I have been fortunate to find the majority of my Japanese reads through my local public library system. Note to all in the US (and likely other locations): Your tax money supports your local library and accordingly you are able to request that they purchase a specific book(s) for the collection. If they don't have something that you are looking for and can't get it through inter-library loan, don't feel strange asking if they can acquire it for you/the collection! I am a public Librarian in NY and this is the policy at my library, with some loose criteria of course (reasonable price etc.). Plus, you can feel good knowing others might then have access to that item(s) after you! :)

I do LOVE expanding my personal collection of course, but I try to only purchase the books that I really want to own or can't get otherwise. Just wanted to share this little tip...

From,
Your Japanese Lit loving,
Librarian friend. :)

Unfortunately I use the New York Public Library system and everything is always checked out or has 250 holds on it :-( Especially since the pandemic

Christie wrote: "I have been fortunate to find the majority of my Japanese reads through my local public library system. Note to all in the US (and likely other locations): Your tax money supports your local librar..."

Christie, I request many books each year to be purchased by my library system, but - alas - they have a budget, too, and seek to focus purchases in books likely to be checked out by more than me. I am rarely successful in persuading them to buy Japanese releases, unless there’s a relatively recent movie tie-in. But I like to think of my purchasing supporting authors and translators, and demonstrating that there is a market in the US for their products.

Salma wrote: "Unfortunately I use the New York Public Library system and everything is always checked out or has 250 holds on it :-( Especially since the pandemic"

Hi Salma! Yes, you are right, demand/availability/hold times have definitely been effected by the pandemic, for most (if not all) libraries I would guess. It is good that more people are reading these days but it stinks to have to wait for items lol. My previous tip definitely doesn't work for all circumstances, I just wanted to let folks know (who might not already) that they can at least make requests to their Librarian without feeling selfish or funny. Kudos to you for being a library user though and happy reading! :)

Carol wrote: "Christie, I request many books each year to be purchased by my library system, but - alas -..."

I wish I could wave a wand and grant all libraries an infinite budget for Japanese lit Carol! Truly! I commend you for at least making those requests and for your positive outlook on supporting authors and translators through your purchases, which I totally love/agree with. Every library has different acquisitions/collection development policies based on budgetary and demographic realities...I'm sorry your library isn't able to support your reading interests entirely. Hopefully they provide you with other benefits and services though. Thanks for sharing and happy reading! :)

Carol wrote: "Christie wrote: "I have been fortunate to find the majority of my Japanese reads through my local public library system. Note to all in the US (and likely other locations): Your tax money supports ..."

Yes- luckily for the past few holds- I've gotten them pretty fast. I am still waiting for "Sweet Bean Paste"....:-D

When in Paris. Visit Shakespeare & Company, nice little English language bookstore. I just picked up Weasels in the Attic by Hiroko Oyamada and Japan Story: In Search of a Nation, 1850 to the Present by Christopher Harding.

I have had great fortune with my rural library and getting copies of hard to find translations via inter library loan. Two recent gems were Tale of Flowering Fortunes, translated by William and Helen McCullough, and The Distant Isle: Studies and Translations of Japanese Literature in Honor of Robert H. Brower. Both have been interesting reads.

Jack wrote: "I have had great fortune with my rural library and getting copies of hard to find translations via inter library loan. Two recent gems were Tale of Flowering Fortunes, translated by William and Hel..."

Thanks for your recommendations Jack. Will definitely look into them.

I also have a small, hometown library that, thankfully, uses the “inter library loan” system. The books usually come from surrounding colleges.

As I am enjoying Murakami’s short stories in Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman, I thought I’d try a couple of his early novels, so I picked up Wind/Pinball: Two Novels and A Wild Sheep Chase.

Not literary but I visited this excellent exhibition at the British Museum yesterday on the works of Hiroshige and bought the catalogue to be able to revisit the stunning works later. More on the exhibition can be found here and if you are in London absolutely check it out!: https://www.britishmuseum.org/exhibit...

Henk wrote: "Not literary but I visited this excellent exhibition at the British Museum yesterday on the works of Hiroshige and bought the catalogue to be able to revisit the stunning works later. More on the e..."

Thank you for the head's up, Henk! I'll be visiting London later this month and was still looking for nice exhibitions to go and see :)

Carola wrote: "Henk wrote: "Not literary but I visited this excellent exhibition at the British Museum yesterday on the works of Hiroshige and bought the catalogue to be able to revisit the stunning works later. ..."

Amazing, I would really recommend it! Was nice how they provide an overview of the world where in he worked, which was rapidly industrialising and also had an advent of leisure, internal tourism and massive consumption of prints as Japan was pulled into modernity and the Edo period came to an end.

Henk wrote: "Carola wrote: "Henk wrote: "Not literary but I visited this excellent exhibition at the British Museum yesterday on the works of Hiroshige and bought the catalogue to be able to revisit the stunnin..."

Thanks again for the recommendation Henk! I just visited - it was crowded but the exhibition was lovely (I think I even saw one of the prints I own, not 100% sure and of course mine is in much shittier condition lol). I didn’t buy the catalog because it’s too large and heavy, but may go back for it. I got a metal bookmark though (am very weak for metal bookmarks).

So glad you enjoyed it Carola!