Read Japanese Literature

How does a book make it from the mind of a Japanese author into the hands of an English-language reader? In part 1 of this 2-part episode, we'll tackle the question, “Why do some Japanese books get translated into English?" How do publishers decide what gets translated? How do they decide what doesn’t get translated. And we'll take a look at Minae Mizumura's An I-Novel , transl...

In this episode, we’re talking about Japanese science fiction. The history of the genre. SF in Japan. Breakthrough feminist sci-fi writer Izumi Suzuki. Plus loads of SF stories, including Suzuki’s “Night Picnic”. CW: suicide Transcript, notes and sources at the podcast episode page .  Let RJL know what you think! (Contact us through the website if you want a response.) Get in touch at www.readjapa...

This episode is marked mature. In this episode, we're talking about writing from Okinawa. The history of the Ryukyu Islands, especially the Battle of Okinawa. The evolution of writing from Okinawa. And the life life and work of author and activist Shun Medoruma, especially his Akutagawa-winning story "Droplets". CW: war, forced suicide (historical), violence (historical and fictiona...

On March 11, 2011, at 2:46pm, one tectonic plate forced its way on top of another 45 miles (or 72 km) off the Eastern coast of Japan. It caused a 9.0 magnitude megathrust earthquake that lasted about six minutes. The Great East Japan Earthquake triggered a tsunami—a great wave—that may have reached heights up to 133 feet (more than 40 meters).  The earthquake and tsunami also disabled the reactor...

This episode is marked mature. Today we'll explore two trends in contemporary Japanese fiction: Protagonists who don’t want to have sex And women who want to have babies anyway. To take a closer look at these trends, we’re going to ask a couple of questions about contemporary Japan: What is “celibacy syndrome”? Does it even exist? What role does motherhood play in a shrinking society? And how...

The Akutagawa Prize is probably Japan’s most celebrated literary award. To better understand the Akutagawa Prize and its place in modern Japanese literature, we’ll start with an introduction to the history of “literary” fiction in Japan. Then we’ll move on to the history of the Akutagawa Prize itself, from its creation in 1935 through its most recent winners. And then we’ll finish with a look at t...

Magical realism is a literary genre famous for unexplained fantastical encounters that pop-up in the otherwise everyday world. Today, we’re going to take a look at magical realism in Japanese fiction. We’ll start with defining magical realism, including a look at why that term is difficult and why some people think of it as controversial. Then we’ll turn to the history of magical realism in Japan...

Today, we’re going to look at cats in Japanese literature. We’ll start with the history of cats in Japan. We’ll move on to cats in Japanese folklore and fiction, including the work of Haruki Murakami. And finally we’ll end with a discussion of our readers' choice, “The Town of Cats” by Sakutaro Hagiwara. Notes and sources at the podcast episode website. Become an RJL supporter for seven minut...

In this episode… Is she a man-eating crone? Is she a lonely wanderer? Or is she a sensual matriarch? However you define her, she’s the yama-uba— Japan’s legendary mountain witch. Notes and sources at the podcast episode website. Donate to RJL's Patreon. Let RJL know what you think! (Contact us through the website if you want a response.) Get in touch at www.readjapaneseliterature.com. Support...

In this episode… Post-bubble Japan. The history of socially-conscious Japanese literature. And Yu Miri’s Tokyo Ueno Station , a powerful examination of Tokyo by one of the most invisible people imaginable—the ghost of a homeless day laborer. Notes and sources at the podcast episode website. Donate to RJL's Patreon. Let RJL know what you think! (Contact us through the website if you want a res...

In all our episodes so far, we’ve talked almost exclusively about what Japanese literature looks like in Japan. But we’re English-speakers and English-readers on an English-language podcast about Japanese literature in English. In honor of Women in Translation Month , we’re talking about why there is such a wealth of contemporary books by Japanese women available in English. Notes and sources at t...

In this episode, we’re talking about Japan’s bubble economy of the 1980s and the work of Banana Yoshimoto. Runaway consumer spending. Everything kawaii. A Nobel laureate’s contempt. And a young author whose career challenged the publishings powers that be. Content warning: This episode addresses transphobia as well as hate crimes against Asian Americans and trans women. Notes and sources at the po...

Today, we’re talking about the literature of change in the 1960s—how writers took on questions about what it meant to be Japanese in the post-war era and what was the continuing role of Japanese tradition. We’re looking especially at Yukio Mishima and Kenzaburo Oe. *This episode incorrectly states that Kenzaburo Oe was born in 1925. He was born in 1935. Content warning: This episode addresses fasc...

Today we’re talking about the 1930s and 40s in Japan—fascism, World War Two, and the American Occupation. In particular, how did 20 years of censorship shape Japanese literature? We're also taking a look at the life and work of Akiyuki Nosaka, whose novella, "Grave of the Fireflies" inspired the classic anime film. We'll discuss his short story, "The Cake Tree in the Ruins...

Today, we’re talking about the I-Novel—the highest form of literature in Japan in the 1910s and 20s. It’s a genre one American scholar describes as “perhaps the most striking feature of modern Japanese literature.” And it’s a genre Haruki Murakami claims to have an allergy to. We’ll also be looking at the life and work of Osamu Dazai and asking, “What does it take to get disqualified as a human be...

The father of the Japanese short story shares his dark vision about what it means to be an artist. We’re taking a look at Japan in the 1910s and 1920s, the era of the Taishō Democracy and the heyday of Japan’s literary magazines and serial novels. Content warning: This episode addresses addiction, suicide, and sexual assault. Notes and sources at the podcast episode website . Let RJL know what you...

Last episode, we talked about the coming of the West and the way it impacted Japanese literature. This time we’re talking about women as they take up a prominent position in the story of Japanese literature for the first time in almost 1000 years. Special focus on Ichiyō Higuchi and her best-beloved story "Takekurabe". Please note that this episode mistakenly attributes quotes from Higuc...

In this episode, we’re looking at the Meiji Era of Japanese history and its literature. The shogunate is replaced. Japan looks outward to the West and inward toward itself. And a man named Natsume Sōseki chronicles it all from the perspective of a stray cat. Notes and sources are available on the podcast episode webpage . Let RJL know what you think! (Contact us through the website if you want a r...

In this episode, we’ll be talking about Ueda Akinari and his Tales of Moonlight and Rain , some of the most influential Japanese ghost stories ever written. - A raging intellectual debate - A supernatural party game - And a friend just dying to keep his promises For notes, links to the suggested reading, and an illustration of Okiku, please visit the episode's webpage . Let RJL know what you...

How does “this fleeting world” transform from a Buddhist precept to a name for the red-light district? What did reading look like in early Modern Japan? And how many dildos does a man need to pack for a trip to the Island of Women? For notes, links to the suggested reading, and an illustration of sailing to the Island of Women, please visit the episode's webpage . Let RJL know what you think!...

Enjoy the story of a vengeful would-be lover who turns into a 40-foot snake, a sharp-witted woman with criticisms of her husband’s equipment, and a curmudgeonly Buddhist priest who learns to love poetry. In this episode, we’re talking about setsuwa—medieval Japanese anecdotes. Many of them originate as Buddhist preaching, so we’ll also take a look at “Kamakura Buddhisms”: Pure Land, Zen, and Nichi...

We're talking about two central genres of medieval Japanese literature—the warrior ballad and Noh drama. We’ll see two characters from The Tale of the Heike again, including the valiant female warrior Tomoe. This time, she's a mournful ghost. Transcript , notes and sources at the podcast episode website . Let RJL know what you think! (Contact us through the website if you want a response...

The great samurai epic and the rise of the samurai class. Buy your copy of The Tale of the Heike on Bookshop to support the podcast. Transcript , notes and sources at the podcast episode website . Let RJL know what you think! (Contact us through the website if you want a response.) Get in touch at www.readjapaneseliterature.com. Support RJL on Patreon.com. Buy your books from Bookshop.org. All con...

The world's oldest novel. A hero who is a paragon of beauty with an extreme Oedipus complex. (CW: sex, rape, incest, pedophilia.) Buy Royall Tyler's full translation of The Tale of Genji on Bookshop to support the podcast. Transcript , notes and sources at the podcast episode website . Let RJL know what you think! (Contact us through the website if you want a response.) Get in touch at w...

Gods having sex, founding of the imperial dynasty, and some of the origins of WWII. Plus thoughts on the role of women in early Japanese history. Purchase your copy of The Kojiki through RJL's Bookshop page to support the podcast. Transcript , notes and sources at the podcast episode website . Let RJL know what you think! (Contact us through the website if you want a response.) Get in touch a...