The holidays are here and reading for pleasure is in season, so as a fan of Japanese literature (even if I don’t study it), here are a few books I really think you should check out. (Yes, they are translated to English.) Some of them can be found at your local bookstore, while others will require perhaps a trip to Robarts or an e-mail to a Japanese literature professor who happens to have an obscure translation. Most books can probably be found at the Japan Foundation Library, where you can get a library card for free. (You’ll need to be a Toronto resident for at least 3 months and a piece of I.D. with your address.) The author’s names will be listed here with the last name last as in the North American custom since they will appear on the covers like this if you’re reading a translation.

The Wind Up Bird Chronicle by Haruki Murakami

Haruki Murakami is one of the most translated Japanese authors. His stories are an incredible mix of surrealism and pop culture at the same time. Although I enjoy a lot of his books, I feel that Wind Up Bird Chronicle is the best book to ease into Murakami since some of his other books are rather… insane. This particular novel describes the bizarre and incredible journey of Toru Okada, an apathetic middle-aged man, as he investigates his wife and cat’s mysterious disappearance. The ending is slightly mediocre but the book itself is a good read. If you’re willing to put up with a bit more insanity and confusion, I suggest (and prefer) his other book, Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World.

Underground by Haruki Murakami

I try not to repeat authors or artists when I do picks like these, but I feel that this book is extremely different from all the novels that Murakami has written, hence its inclusion here. Underground is a collection of personal stories based off of interviews of people involved in the 1995 sarin gas attack on the Tokyo subway system by the Aum Shinrikyo cult (which is by itself, an extremely interesting event, however horrific it was). It is also Murakami’s only non-fiction work; the stories are fascinating and offers various points of view on the entire catastrophe.

Kokoro by Natsume Soseki

Natsume Soseki, if you don’t know, is perhaps considered the most revered author in Japanese literature; so much so that he was on the 1000 yen bill at one point. Kokoro, which is also considered to be the central piece of Japanese literature, is a story that describes a mysterious relationship between an elderly man, known only as “Sensei” (meaning teacher, with reverent connotations) and a young man who has recently graduated from university. The ambiguity of the entire story and relationship between the two characters is what makes this book completely brilliant and an interesting topic of conversation.

A modern author also wrote a novel that is considered to be the pornographic and purposely irreverent version of Kokoro called Higan Sensei. It’s an interesting read if you enjoyed Soseki’s book, although I will warn you that there is a lot of sex in Higan Sensei… and I mean A LOT. Both translated novels can be conveniently found online, just click the links above.

Totto-chan by Tetsuko Kuroyanagi

Totto-chan is a beautiful collection of memories by TV personality Tetsuko Kuroyanagi of her experiences at her very unique primary school. Kuroyanagi, or Totto-chan was expelled from her first primary school and ended up going to another school run by an extraordinary man who loved and understood children. The school encouraged unorthodox learning methods, but the children all learned more than just their classroom lessons. This is a book that doesn’t take much brainpower to read, but it will make you laugh one moment and bawl your eyes out the next.

Kitchen by Banana Yoshimoto

Kitchen is the story of Mikage Sakurai, a girl who had just recently lost her grandmother and the only family she has. Suddenly, she finds herself living with one of her grandmother’s friends and her transsexual “mother”. All I can say is that this is an uplifting and feel-good book. Read it when you’re feeling horrible and down.

Beast in the Shadows by Edogawa Rampo

I believe in book format, this story is paired with another one of Rampo’s stories, “Black Lizard”. I, however, have only read Beast in the Shadows, hence I cannot recommend this other story just yet.

Edogawa Rampo is a Japanese author famous for his mystery stories. If you haven’t noticed, his name is also a transliteration of Edgar Allan Poe. Beast in the Shadows is a story on a strange incident involving the narrator (a mystery author and the detective), a married woman who he’s having an affair with and her husband. To say anymore would be to ruin the plot, but all I have to say is that this story will keep you guessing even after you’re done. It’s a brilliant story and I will be more than happy if you wish to discuss theories with me once you’ve finished reading it.

One more thing to note is that a French director made an unfortunate movie based on the story that was given horrendous reviews all around. Excuse me while I go scream at her for ruining such an awesome story.

The Twelve Kingdoms series by Fuyumi Ono

This addition is a bit of a guilty pleasure of mine. You can find the series under the young adults section of Chapters and Indigo, however just be warned that the publisher plans to release one book per year with seven books in total in the series.

The Twelve Kingdoms series deal with the world of, you guessed it, the Twelve Kingdoms, where kings are chosen by mystical creatures called Kirin. As a Chinese history lover and geek, I can’t help but think of things like the Mandate of Heaven or compare the characters to Chinese emperors. Personally, I would start with any book except for the first (Sea of Shadow) and ideally, I would tell you to start with the fourth book in the series (A Thousand Miles of Wind, the Sky at Dawn) but seeing that it’s coming out in March 2010 (I only know the plot because I watched the anime and read internet fan translations) that’s a bit of an impossibility at the moment.

The Gourmet Club: A Sextet by Junichiro Tanizaki

Just as a general warning, Tanizaki is a twisted guy who writes twisted stories and I mean it. This book of short stories is on this list because he is the first author who has thoroughly creeped me out with his writing. I’ve always been able to be level-headed about fiction (hence why I don’t find horror films scary) but this guy is really something else. Sado-masochism, stalkers and dreaming about shit… it’s all in this collection of short stories. Tanizaki definitely explores a side of fiction and humanity that few authors dare to venture.

Anyways, at the moment, this is all I can muster. I’m still a newbie at Japanese literature and so if you have your own suggestions, please share them with me! Also, since writing this article, I’ve started a blog on Japanese literature called Sugar, Snark and Japanese Lit. Please check it out!

Pictures by Jess or from here, here, here, here, here, here and here.

This entry was posted on Monday, December 21st, 2009 at 1:31 pm and is filed under Arts, Entertainment, General, Review. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.