Book Review List

Here is my list of Japanese literature reviews. From time to time I will add a new book title. This is only a personal selection of books I have read during my free time because I enjoyed them or found them otherwise interesting. I am an independent reader who reads books regardless of their publishing date, book hypes or literature trends. I would like sharing my thoughts about Japanese literature with you.

Japanese authors (A-Z)

Short story collections
March was made of Yarn. Writers Respond to Japan’s Earthquake, Tsunami and Nuclear Meltdown. Published by Elmar Luke and David Karashima in 2012.

Books about Japanese Art
Graham, Patricia J.: Japanese Design. Art, Aesthetics & Culture. Tuttle 2014.

Have you read one of these books? How do you like it? Do you have a suggestion for a Japanese book which is not on the list right now? Thank you very much.

26 thoughts on “Book Review List”

mbfitzmahan on June 14, 2013 at 12:36 pm said:

I am so impressed by your list. I have read a number of these books in English. But, I have to admit I think many of the Japanese modern classics are a bit weird. I can only attribute this to the fact that I need guidance.

I love Japan, the Japanese people and Japanese culture. I have for a long time. I come back here to be reborn. I have lived in Japan 3 times, returning over and over. Many years ago, I graduated from Jochi Daigaku in Tokyo and majored in Far East Area Studies. My field is history and law. But, I continue to have trouble understanding Japanese literature. I will be following your blog to learn from you and your followers. Do you read these books in Japanese?

I love Kawabata’s Snow Country, because the language and haiku-type language is beautiful. I like the unicorn-like creature chapters of Murakami’s Hard Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World. I recently read Ogawa Yoko’s The Housekeeper and the Professor. This was refreshingly charming. I loved it. Was it because it seemed to have a beginning and an end?

I am studying Japanese (again!). My lifetime goal is to finally be able to read the news and some literature in Japanese. I do a bit of that now with a great deal of help from my kanji dictionary. (I love my “Midori.”) Perhaps, there is some Japanese literature that translators are not interested in translating, that would be more to my taste.

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- Japan Kaleidoskop on June 14, 2013 at 4:35 pm said:
  
  Thank you very much for your comment on my reading list.
  I think I understand your point with Japanese literature. But the so-called weirdness is maybe the speciality of it. Consider that Japan was isolated from any other country for a very long time, it had been nearly 250 years. Influences from Western countries are to be seen since the 19th century.
  I agree, that many novels are very different in structure and composing compared to European or American literature. Often it has been stated, that novels by Murakami Haruki are well understood apart from the Japanese, because he adopted themes and storytelling techniques, which are more easy to understand outside Japan. I think the younger the Japanesese author the better we can understand the Japanese literature, because of the globalization effect.
  
  I read the books in Japanese and in English. Although I must admit, I am very much faster in English. By the way my native language is German. Sometimes I like to compare the Japanese text with the given translation. That is a good way to start reading Japanese books.
  
  I envy you for living in Japan, because I very much love the country. With studying Japanese it takes a very long time, but one day there is a breakthrough.
  
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  - mbfitzmahan on June 14, 2013 at 7:06 pm said:
    
    How kind of you to take the time to reply!
    
    I hope we can continue conversations about Japan and Japanese literature.
    
    I look forward to our next conversation.
  - Japan Kaleidoskop on June 14, 2013 at 8:11 pm said:
    
    Thank you very much. Of course we do. You are welcome.
Buri-chan on June 17, 2013 at 2:10 am said:

A very good looking list! Admittedly, I should have more of these on my list, too, though I would prefer to read them in English. Abe Kobo’s three part essay about snakes was probably the most dense and difficult to understand pieces of modern Japanese prose I’ve ever attempted, and it was exhausting and therefore hard to appreciate.
A couple works by Endo Shusaku might be good to add to your list. “Silence” is one of my favorite books I’ve ever read.
I look forward to following your progress and your thoughts!

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- Japan Kaleidoskop on June 17, 2013 at 3:44 pm said:
  
  Thank you for your recommendation. I read Shusaku Endôs “Silence” some years ago and remember, that it was a very good book. I will list it here. Thanks for following. I hope you will enjoy it in the future.
  
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me. on September 6, 2013 at 10:55 am said:

Perhaps another important novel is Takiji Kobayashi’s – Kanikosen, I’ve only read extracts from it, but am very much looking forward to reading the whole novel, – there are indeed so many great books to read!.

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- Japan Kaleidoskop on September 8, 2013 at 12:32 pm said:
  
  Thank you very much. I have not read this one and will try i t out!
  
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Don Royster on October 15, 2013 at 7:32 am said:

I must congratulate you on your English. Just want to thank you so much for your blog. Another addition to your reading list might be “In Praise of Shadows” by Tanizaki Juni’chiro. I am surprised not to find anything on your list by the haiku master Matsuo Basho. I recently read Shusaku Endo’s “Deep River”. It was very moving.

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- Japan Kaleidoskop on October 15, 2013 at 8:12 am said:
  
  Thank you very much for your compliments. At the moment I am reading Tanizaki Jun’ichirô and the upcoming book reviews will be about two of his works. In “Praise of Shadows” is still on a waiting position, but I will add it to the list! Shusaku Endo and Basho for sure are great Japanese authors!
  
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Touch2Touch on October 27, 2013 at 3:24 pm said:

I never had the breakthrough you write so hopefully about! So I gave up. But I learned a great deal about Japan and its culture through the study.
Right now I am planning a course for senior learning (older people) on Japan in the spring. I’m calling it, “Art and Nature Thus Allied: The Cultural Arts of Japan.” And one of the books I’m reading in my own preparation for it is Tanizaki Jun’ichiro’s In Praise of Shadows. I read it a long time ago and was much impressed, but need to be fresher on it now.

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- Japan Kaleidoskop on October 27, 2013 at 3:39 pm said:
  
  Thank you very much. Your plan sounds really interesting. Tanizaki’s book on Japanese aesthetics for sure is a good source!
  
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MJRP on November 13, 2013 at 12:45 pm said:

Hi —- a nice reading list. I read in English translations so mostly titles published by Kodansha or Tuttle. Kawabata’s Snow Country got me hooked, but any of his are heights of reading pleasure (Thanks to translator Edward Siedensticker, I often think). In recent years I’ve enjoyed translations of books by Masako Togawa (I’m looking forward to her Lady Killer) and Shotaro Ikenami 1923-1990 Master Assassin books.

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- Japan Kaleidoskop on November 13, 2013 at 3:27 pm said:
  
  Thank you for comment. I have read two books of Masako Togawa recently, but not of Shotaro Ikenami. Sounds like a thriller. I will look after it.
  
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5eyedbookworm on January 12, 2014 at 9:55 am said:

I’ve read a few from the list! A Personal Matter, Real World, Kitchen and 1Q84. This year, I plan to read Yoko Ogawa’s The Diving Pool and The Housekeeper and the Professor. Have you read Banana Yoshimoto’s “The Lake”? I enjoyed that book very much.

I’ll be coming back to refer to this list so I can read more books from Japanese authors. Thanks for sharing it 🙂

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- Japan Kaleidoskop on January 12, 2014 at 11:26 am said:
  
  Thank you very much for your comment. You have read a lot of Japanese authors. Yoko Ogawa is a good choice, I adore her books. Speaking of Banana Yoshimoto I have not read ” The Lake” yet. I will go and find out. Thank you for your recommendation.
  
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Denise Rawling on April 29, 2014 at 9:54 am said:

Hi, thank you for the reading list and the art. I am enjoying both very much. I found your blog when I was doing some reading in preparation for a first trip to Japan. I have always loved the fabrics and the art, so now am excited to be exploring the literature. I have dipped into some contemporary (1Q84, Norwegian Wood, Artist of the Floating World..) and back a bit (Thousand Cranes). Black Rain by masjid Ibuse was a favourite of many years ago. Not only a powerful theme presented in an understated highly effective voice.
Your list looks diverse and will provide a great guide together with your thoughts and those of your readers. Sad to say, I will only ever read in translayption so value the opinions on who is good as a translator too. So lucky to have found your blog. Thank you again.

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- Japan Kaleidoskop on April 29, 2014 at 3:28 pm said:
  
  Hello Denise, thank you for your comment. Good to hear that you enjoy Japanese art and literature and like to read my blog. There are many excellent translations on the market, not easy to make a choice …
  
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themisanthropologist on August 6, 2014 at 6:08 am said:

Interesting blog and list of Japanese novels. Thanks for sharing! I am also interested in Japanese literature and will keep returning to your blog for recommendations!

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themisanthropologist on August 6, 2014 at 6:11 am said:

By the way, I’ve read Akutagawa, Murakami, and Revenge by Yoko Ogawa. I also have Natsume Soseki’s I am a Cat, but I’ve not finished it yet. I am interested in other writers like Kenzaburo..which of his novels would you recommend I read first?

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- Japan Kaleidoskop on August 6, 2014 at 8:42 am said:
  
  Hello, thank you for your comment. My latest review is about A Personal Matter by Kenzaburô Ôe, I recommend this book for a start. Also look for The Changeling.
  
  I am a Cat by Natsume Sôseki is a very enjoying read!
  
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  - themisanthropologist on August 6, 2014 at 8:44 am said:
    
    Ok, thanks! I’ve recently read Ugetsu Monogatari by Ueda Akinari, and I’m just now reading Snow Country by Yasunari Kawabata….
  - Japan Kaleidoskop on August 6, 2014 at 8:47 am said:
    
    I have just found your blog and liked your review of the Ugetsu Monogatari.
    
    Snow Country! One of my favorite. Many thanks!
  - themisanthropologist on August 6, 2014 at 8:48 am said:
    
    Thanks also, for liking and for visiting. I’m looking forward to reading more of your reviews!
rinaldoambrosia on June 12, 2015 at 2:34 pm said:

Ho letto, molti anni fa, qualcosa su Yukio Mishima, un articolo dal titolo “Mischima: Il corpo, la bellezza, la morte.”, comparso sulla rivista : L’illustrazione Italiana, del Dicembre- Gennaio 1982
(sempre sullo stesso numero della rivista, compare un saggio di Roland Barthes, sullo splendido giardino del monastero Zen di Daitokuji a Kyoto).
Poi il libro “La Via del Samurai” e il saggio su di lui della Marguerite Yourcenar ” Mischima o la visione del vuoto.
Della Banana Yoschimoto ho letto molte cose e mi piace come autrice.
Chiedo scusa per la lingua, ma non conosco l’inglese.
Cordiali saluti.
P.S. Amo le legature dei libri alla giapponese.

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- Japan Kaleidoskop on June 13, 2015 at 7:17 am said:
  
  Thank you very much. I understand you like Banana Yoshimoto and Mishima. Unfortunately, I cannot answer in Italian.
  
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Japan Kaleidoskop

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Book Review List

Japanese authors (A-Z)

26 thoughts on “Book Review List”

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Japanese authors (A-Z)

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