(Am I posting this from my bunk? Yes, I am)
Japanese literature recommendations!
If you’ve been here for a while, you know that this account was actually super Japanese-lit centered, but now it’s time for actual recommendations haha
The Sea of Fertility tetralogy by Mishima Yukio
💌: My first ever Mishima work(s)! It holds a very special place in my heart. I was really invested in Honda’s search for his friend’s reincarnations and all the extremities he went to in order to confirm their legitimacy. Temple of Dawn might be triggering for some people, but other than that, I enjoyed this body of work! I was planning on adding The Sailor Who Fell from Grace with The Sea but I know people have divided opinions on that book, but I promise you, this set is amazing.
Kokoro (Heart) by Natsume Souseki
💌: Another one of my Japanese favorites! I loved the story (Sensei not so much) and the epistolary confession by the end of the book? Gorgeous, but heart-breaking. The plot follows the unnamed narrator and the older man he calls Sensei and their lives, until Sensei has to confess a dark secret he has kept for all these years. I think the one of the defining characteristics of Japanese literature is that most of the time, nothing is really happening in peripheral vision. There is no visible war or conflict, but instead it’s usually the character against themselves, with the backdrop being a bigger happening in retrospect (see The Makioka Sisters)
No Longer Human + The Setting Sun by Dazai Osamu
💌: No thoughts, only pain. In contrast to Kokoro, all the characters are miserable and have/had some sort of ongoing conflict in their lives. In No Longer Human, Yozo is a man who believes that he is shameful and disgusting (he really is though) and jumps around from woman to woman, commits substance abuse, and su*cide multiple times in the story. While relatable in some aspects, you can’t help but actually feel disdain for Yozo and his actions.
💌: In The Setting Sun, former aristocrat Kazuko is trying to piece her life back together after World War II with her elderly mother and narcotic-addicted brother, Naoji. She falls in love and only tragedy ensues after that. She finds herself falling deeper in a hole she cannot escape and in the end, she is alone. Dazai depicts post-war Japan and its people through Kazuko and Naoji in The Setting Sun.
The Makioka Sisters (Light Snow) by Tanizaki Jun’ichiro
💌: The reason I’m recommending this is not only because it is Tanizaki’s most popular work, but because of its writing style. I don’t know how I would explain it, but everything is written in precise detail, even up to the jaundice and former family status of one of Yukiko’s marriage prospects. The three Makioka sisters desperately try to preserve their family and fortune as their lives modernize right in front of their eyes. All the sisters are unique and the story feels like a teahouse gossip but in extreme detail. It’s similar to the Cherry Orchard by Chekhov, but Japanese in nature!
The standing books (left to right)
Hell Screen by Akutagawa Ryunnosuke
💌: I love Akutagawa, thank you. I was first introduced to Japanese literature by Rashoumon and In a Grove (which are also great short stories), but Hell Screen is on new levels of subtly disturbing. The book also includes, but is not limited to: Spinning Gears and The Life of a Stupid Man, my personal favorites of his. His stories are very short!!! And historical!! Great for people who short attention spans. Apart from his writing, Akutagawa is a very interesting person and I actually did my freshman year paper on him and his writing :)
Of Dogs and Walls by Yuko Tsushima
💌: A beautiful, tear-inducing book, with The Watery Realm and the titular story in it. Yuko Tsushima won the Akutagawa and Tanizaki prizes, two of Japan’s most prestigious literary awards, which should prove her ability as a writer, but I don recommend actually experiencing her work because it will change the way you see life and memory.
Three Japanese Short Stories
💌: A Penguin compilation with Akutagawa, Nagai, and Uno! Great for those who want to get into Japanese 19-20th century literature, but don’t know where to start. It’s also very small and short, so it’s great for Japanese lit babies and busy people
Is there anything else you’d add? Maybe something you put on your tbr? Perhaps your fave author is here? Let me know, let’s chat!
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