facebook pixel

Japanese Books You Need to Read

Sam Peet

Japanese literature has a long and illustrious history, with its most famous classic, The Tale of Genji , dating back to the 11th century. Often dark but full of humor, Japanese literature showcases the idiosyncrasies of such a culturally driven nation. We take a look at 10 Japanese books you need to read, from the words of Haruki Murakami to those of Yasunari Kawabata.

Almost transparent blue (1976) by ryu murakami.

Ryu Murakami wrote Almost Transparent Blue while still a student at Musashino Art University, and it’s a work that ended up winning him the prestigious Akutagawa Prize . The book follows a group of dissolute Japanese youths in the mid-1970s, and is infused with themes of sex, drugs, and rock’n’roll. Murakami takes the reader on an unnerving journey through the minds and bodies of a set of friends whose main concerns are where they are going to get their next drug fix from. Accused by some critics of being crass and overindulgent, Murakami certainly does not shy away from graphic descriptions of mescaline-induced hallucinations and sudden moments of brutality, which serve to make the lives of his protagonists seem even more hollow and mundane. Almost Transparent Blue unfolds in a haze of debauchery to the soundtrack of The Doors and the urban soundscape of 1970s Japan.

important japanese literature

Death in Midsummer and Other Stories (1953) by Yukio Mishima

important japanese literature

The Diving Pool (1990) by Yoko Ogawa

Composed of three novellas— The Diving Pool , Pregnancy Diary , and The Dormitory — this book aims to make the reader embody their central characters. The focus is on female protagonists observing from strange places of isolation. The Diving Pool follows Aya, a girl whose parents operate an orphanage, which means she is the only child in her immediate environment to be brought up by her real parents. Aya recounts her acts of love and cruelty in a detached, disinterested manner, as if viewing her life through a tunnel or a telescope. With brilliant writing and razor-sharp observations, Ogawa is famous for being able to turn a phrase like twisting a knife.

people cheering on a mountain

Become a Culture Tripper!

Sign up to our newsletter to save up to 500$ on our unique trips..

See privacy policy .

important japanese literature

Kafka on the Shore (2002) by Haruki Murakami

Kafka on the Shore is a perfect introduction to Haruki Murakami’s literary universe. An author who has captured the imagination of a vast international readership, Murakami was considered a strong contender for the 2014 Nobel Prize in Literature. The novel contains all that makes his stories instantly recognizable: cats that appear to know more than humans; classical music and pop culture references; lost, wandering protagonists; and ultimately a gradual scratching away at the surface of existence to reveal the unanswerable metaphysical mysteries beneath. Only Murakami could bring to life Johnnie Walker—the striding man found on the world’s most popular whisky, drawn by British illustrator Tom Browne—and make him so disturbing as to ensure you never look at another bottle of Johnnie Black in quite the same way again.

important japanese literature

Kokoro (1914) by Natsume Soseki

Natsume Soseki is counted among Japan’s greatest writers: active in the Meiji era, he was a scholar, a poet, and a novelist. Kokoro —meaning heart, in its various English forms—was serialized in a newspaper in 1914. The novel deals with a young man’s relationship to an elderly gentleman who he refers to as sensei , and is a study of isolation and search for identity. The author’s prose layers levels of significance through the characters’ words and actions, so that by the end of the novel one feels ready to read it backwards, to see if anything more can be learned from the accretion of his nuanced descriptions.

important japanese literature

Seven Japanese Tales (1963) by Jun’ichirō Tanizaki

Jun’ichirō Tanizaki is ranked among Japan’s most brilliant authors and Seven Japanese Tales is a comprehensive introduction to the writer of The Makioka Sisters and A Cat, a Man, and Two Women . The collection explores national and personal identity, sexual desire, cruelty, and relationships of dominance and submission. In one of the stories in the collection, “A Portrait of Shunkin,” a young boy binds himself for life to the musically gifted daughter of a family from a position of higher social standing. The story unfolds around the Shimasen, a traditional Japanese stringed instrument that produces drawn-out mournful cries. The Shimasen calls for players to demonstrate the same life-long devotion that our protagonist shows to his love, Shunkin.

important japanese literature

Snow Country (1937) by Yasunari Kawabata

Snow Country is Yasunari Kawabata’s seminal tale of isolation and indifference, set in a rural region of Japan where the snow falls the heaviest. The story is told from the perspective of Shimamura, an idle and detached middle-aged man on a visit to a resort village, replete with hot springs and a cohort of country geishas. Shimamura begins a half-hearted love affair with one of the geishas and is largely unrepentant about neglecting his wife and child back in Tokyo . The novel set Kawabata on his way to international recognition and his tight, poetic prose would later win him the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1968. The writing in Snow Country is lyrical and suggestive, with any emotional warmth hard-won against the backdrop of the perpetually falling snow.

important japanese literature

The Tale of Genji (ca. 1008) by Murasaki Shikibu

The Tale of Genji is perhaps the most famous work to come out of Japan, which is a credit to a novel written in the 11th century by a court noblewoman . It is a story of love set in a court of the Heian period, with the central character having to navigate her way through the social and political obstacles of the time. The book is considered a masterpiece and regarded by some as one of the first modern novels. Translations of the work vary in style, form and quality—variation resulting from idioms, grammatical idiosyncrasies and poetic structures needing to be wrested back from a form of the Japanese language used nearly 1,000 years ago.

The Waiting Years (1957) by Fumiko Enchi

The Waiting Years is a beautifully written tale of suffering set in Meiji Japan. Tomo, the novel’s female lead, struggles through her life and marriage to her unfaithful husband, with each new woman that enters the picture reaffirming the protagonist’s powerlessness to change her situation. Fumiko Enchi was one of Japan’s most respected novelists, and her books portray the plight of women in a patriarchal society. While the novel is set during the Meiji period, the characters and their torments remain relevant for a modern readership.

important japanese literature

Did you know – Culture Trip now does bookable, small-group trips? Pick from authentic, immersive Epic Trips , compact and action-packed Mini Trips and sparkling, expansive Sailing Trips .

landscape with balloons floating in the air

KEEN TO EXPLORE THE WORLD?

Connect with like-minded people on our premium trips curated by local insiders and with care for the world

Since you are here, we would like to share our vision for the future of travel - and the direction Culture Trip is moving in.

Culture Trip launched in 2011 with a simple yet passionate mission: to inspire people to go beyond their boundaries and experience what makes a place, its people and its culture special and meaningful — and this is still in our DNA today. We are proud that, for more than a decade, millions like you have trusted our award-winning recommendations by people who deeply understand what makes certain places and communities so special.

Increasingly we believe the world needs more meaningful, real-life connections between curious travellers keen to explore the world in a more responsible way. That is why we have intensively curated a collection of premium small-group trips as an invitation to meet and connect with new, like-minded people for once-in-a-lifetime experiences in three categories: Culture Trips, Rail Trips and Private Trips. Our Trips are suitable for both solo travelers, couples and friends who want to explore the world together.

Culture Trips are deeply immersive 5 to 16 days itineraries, that combine authentic local experiences, exciting activities and 4-5* accommodation to look forward to at the end of each day. Our Rail Trips are our most planet-friendly itineraries that invite you to take the scenic route, relax whilst getting under the skin of a destination. Our Private Trips are fully tailored itineraries, curated by our Travel Experts specifically for you, your friends or your family.

We know that many of you worry about the environmental impact of travel and are looking for ways of expanding horizons in ways that do minimal harm - and may even bring benefits. We are committed to go as far as possible in curating our trips with care for the planet. That is why all of our trips are flightless in destination, fully carbon offset - and we have ambitious plans to be net zero in the very near future.

important japanese literature

Guides & Tips

The ultimate guide to getting around japan.

important japanese literature

Film & TV

The best japanese movies to watch on the bullet train.

important japanese literature

Top Tips for Travelling in Japan

important japanese literature

How Much Does a Trip to Japan Cost?

important japanese literature

The Best Rail Trips to Book this Year

important japanese literature

See & Do

The best places to visit with culture trip this autumn.

important japanese literature

How modern art revitalised the city of Towada, Japan

important japanese literature

Tomamu: a secret skiing spot in the heart of Hokkaido

important japanese literature

How to Experience Off-the-Beaten-Track Japan by Bullet Train

important japanese literature

Rediscover Japan with its Borders Fully Open

important japanese literature

Introducing Culture Trip's Rail Trips

important japanese literature

The Best Solo Trips to Take in Your 30s

Winter sale offers on our trips, incredible savings.

important japanese literature

  • Post ID: 139784
  • Sponsored? No
  • View Payload

Japanese Literature

Writing was introduced to Japan from China in the 5th century via the Korean peninsula. The oldest surviving works are two historical records, the Kojiki and Nihon Shoki, which were completed in the early 8th century. In the 11th century, during the peak of the Heian Period , the world's first novel, The Tale of Genji , was written in Japan.

During the Meiji Period (1868-1912), an influx of foreign texts spurred the development of modern Japanese literature. Influential authors of the time include Higuchi Ichiyo, whose image is on the 5000 yen bill ; Natsume Soseki , who is best known for his Matsuyama -based novel "Botchan"; and Miyazawa Kenji, a poet and children's literature author from Iwate best known for his work "Night on the Galactic Railroad".

Since then, Japan has maintained a vibrant literary culture, and contemporary writers such as Kawabata Yasunari and Oe Kenzaburo have won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1968 and 1994 respectively.

Below are a few places in Japan where the country's literary heritage can be appreciated:

important japanese literature

Kawazu Nanadaru

See also our page about Japanese poetry .

Questions? Ask in our forum .

Links and Resources

The japanese literature home page, introduction to history of japan's literature, literary hot list, national institute of japanese literature.

important japanese literature

Kyuhoshi

Japan Travel Guide – Hokkaido | Tohoku | Tokyo | Kyoto

important japanese literature

10 Japanese Classic Books to Read

If reading is in your blood, and you highly admire Japanese culture , I welcome you to read one of the following great classics of Japanese literature .

The nation of Japan has a long and storied literary history going back more than thousand years, changing as the culture of Japan grew and flourished on the island nation.

A lot of modern readers do not know the depths of this artistic tradition.  It is the source of completely different stories and mythology , as well as a whole new look at a complex culture with its own unique take on the world.

important japanese literature

Many aspects of modern manga and anime draw upon this literary tradition. Some draw upon the themes, while others draw more directly from these books, using names, characters, and plots.

If you want to better understand where your favorite manage or anime is coming from, take a look at works of classical Japanese literature. They also offer a new source for inspiration for your own artistic works, whether that is writing or art.

Japanese history is divided into certain periods, marked by dynastic and/or cultural shifts. All works of art demonstrate notable differences depending on the period of their production.

As always with these sorts of classifications, there is a lot of scholarly debate on this topic, but it can serve as a good point of reference for a normal reader who might want to find other works from the same period of time.

Stumped for a place to start? Here are some of the best works of classical Japanese literature :

1) The Tale of Genji

important japanese literature

“ The Tale of Genji ” is sometimes referred to as the world’s first novel. It was written by the lady-in-waiting Murasaki Shibuki sometime in the early 11 th century A.D. during what is referred to as the Heian period. It is widely-read Japanese classic, studied by Japanese students much as English-speaking students study Beowulf .

The novel focuses on the political and personal drama surrounding the titular Genji, who is the son of an ancient Japanese Emperor and a low-ranking concubine.

It is notably a romance, and its focus is on Genji’s love life, complete with untimely deaths, forbidden love, inconveniently illegitimate children, and forbidden love affairs.

It is a rather oddly structured and winding tale, with a lot of relying on cultural context. It provides a lot of insight into the lives of ancient Japanese nobility. Interested readers should pick up a translation with copious notes. There are also multiple manga adaptations.

In addition, if you like the novel and become fan of it, don’t forget to visit The Tale of Genji Museum located in Uji, Kyoto Prefecture.

2) Takekurabe

important japanese literature

Takekurabe (translation: ‘Child’s Play’) is a coming-of-age novella written by Higuchi Ichiyō in 1896. The book has had multiple film adaptations that have been released in both Japanese and English.

We follow the main characters as they grow up from childhood days living in Yoshiwara, the only district in Tokyo (then called Edo) that allowed prostitution.

They end up following the profession of their parents, losing much of their youthful freedom and dreams. It is not a joyful tale, but rather a difficult story about difficult ways of life.

The novella is quite short and its English translation is only found in collections. The author was fairly prolific and influential, so these collections can be highly informative for readers curious about the history and culture of the period and area.

3) The Temple of the Golden Pavilion

important japanese literature

This is a more recent novel, written in 1956 by Yukio Mishima . The novel focuses on the historical burning of the Golden Pavilion on Kinkaku-ji (a Zen temple) in Kyoto by a Buddhist acolyte in 1950, six years before the novel’s publication. The Golden Pavilion was rebuilt in 1955 so the novel was particularly timely.

The novel is told from the point of view of the young man who committed the arson, who—in the novel—is obsessed with beauty and afflicted with an increasing desire to destroy it.

We join him from the time of his childhood, through a multitude of tragedies, and through the mental collapse that culminates in arson and attempted suicide. This book is an interesting look at wartime and post-war Japan, particularly from a native religious perspective.

4) Taketori Monogatari (Tale of the Bamboo Cutter)

important japanese literature

This work is considered the oldest surviving Japanese narrative, though the oldest manuscript on record dates to 1592. It is chocked full of Japanese folklore and myth.

The story is mostly about the life of a girl who was found as a baby inside the stalk of a bamboo plant. This is a fairytale.

Many of the events in it are deeply embedded in Japan to this day, such as the name of Mount Fuji, which derives from this tale.

You often find this tale sold in a collection, or in illustrated version, as it is quite short and is a key part of Japanese folklore. Check out the book here .

5) Konjaku Monogatarishū

important japanese literature

“ Konjaku Monogatari Shu ” is a large collection of stories that was written during the late Heian period (794-1185 A.D.).

It originally consisted of 31 volumes, though only 28 remain today. The stories are divided by their region of origin, including India and China. Most are stories drawn from both Buddhist and secular folklore.

It has little to do with Japanese Shintoism, though there are supernatural elements in the form of oni and tengu. There is a fair amount of similarity to Aesop’s Fables, in that the stories are about morals and there is a lot of use of anthropomorphized animals.

6) I am a Cat

important japanese literature

This is satire novel, written in 1906 by NatusmeSoseki about life in Meiji period (1868-1912). The novel addresses the period’s strange, uneasy mix of Western and Japanese culture quite extensively.

The chapters can stand on their own, as they were originally released in a serialized form.

Everything is written from the point of view of a family’s arrogant pet cat. It has been adapted into several film versions, included an anime one.

It is a very comic look at a very strange period of Japanese history and normal human follies. Buy this book here .

7) The Woman in the Dunes

important japanese literature

“ The Woman in The Dunes ” is a strange tale, part psychological drama and part horror story, written by Kōbō Abe in 1962.

The story is about a neurotic amateur etymologist who becomes trapped in a hole in the dunes with a woman and they must labor constantly to keep the sand from filling in their hole.

It is a weirdly beautiful novel, possibly the only book you will ever read where the narrator waxes philosophical about sand. The senses of isolation and claustrophobia is intense. This is a very unusual book and definitely worth a patient read.

8) The Makioka Sisters

important japanese literature

This was originally written as a serialized work by Jun’ichirō Tanizaki from 1943 to 1948. It is a tale of a wealthy family and their attempts to find a husband for the family’s third daughter.

It offers an intriguing look at a swiftly changing Japan that is haunted by the coming war (World War II is about to start).

The novel is often tragic, with prominent themes of decline and decay. The distant past is heavily idealized and the family persistently tries to retain a connection to it.

This is an interesting novel about the period before what we know as modern Japan arose. If you want to collect this classic book, please visit this page .

9) Snow Country

important japanese literature

This novel by Yasunari Kawabata was published in 1948, though it was serialized from 1935-1937.

It chronicles the love affair between a well-to-do married Tokyo gentleman and a countryside geisha in a remote town. It is regarded as masterpiece and won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1968.

Strange and with its own sort of tragedy, pick it up for a great read. Once you start reading the book, it will be hard for you to put it down. Indeed, this is one of my favorite novels that I want to read over and over again.

important japanese literature

Written by Natsume Sōseki in 1914 in a serialized form, this novel chronicles the friendship between a young man and his teacher during the transition from the Meiji period to the modern era.

It is a novel of isolation and the difficulty of changing times. It is a complex tale with many interpretations. Read it for an interesting and deeply personal look at the way Japan shifted during the earlier part of the 20 th century. Buy it here .

These are the 10 great classics of Japanese literature that everyone needs to read in their lifetime, especially the ones who are interested in Japanese culture and old traditions. Thanks for reading.

Share this:

  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Telegram (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on WhatsApp (Opens in new window)
  • Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window)

Hot spring bath with great views of Mt. Fuji!!!!

important japanese literature

  • Japanese Culture

20 Japanese Writers: The Best Authors From Japan Over the Decades

important japanese literature

  • sakowako.yum

While Haruki Murakami is a household name across much of the world, Japan has long been a hub of homegrown literature, and there are dozens of novels from talented Japanese writers worth reading. Japanese literature is often slow-moving on the surface, but many stories contain deeper themes like depression, war, and isolation, while others will fill you with warmth, happiness, and excitement. For those looking to sink their teeth into a good read, here are our picks for the 20 best Japanese writers to start with!

Check out our writers’ top Japan travel ideas!

This post may contain affiliate links. If you buy through them, we may earn a commission at no additional cost to you.

1. Haruki Murakami (村上春樹)

important japanese literature

Do I need to say more? Haruki Murakami is probably the most famous Japanese novelist today. His works are translated into multiple languages and read throughout the globe. The world he creates with twins, sheep men, darkness and mysterious ladies, are described in simple yet effective words. His representative works are "A Wild Sheep Chase", "Dance Dance Dance", "1Q84", and so on. Official website in English here.

2. Banana Yoshimoto (吉本ばなな)

In Banana Yoshimoto's work, there are no explosions or kidnapping or any kind of immediate drama. Yet there is a complex tension between the characters and the atmosphere. Her words are simple and have a clear aftertaste. Her representative works are "Kitchen", "N.P.", "Goodbye Tsugumi", and so on. Official website in English here.

3. Kenji Miyazawa (宮沢賢治)

important japanese literature

Kenji Miyazawa was not only a novelist, but a poet and a story writer. His stories are aimed at children, but the way he uses his words are magical. It can make you feel a spectrum of emotions and make you see beautiful scenery in front of your eyes. His representative work is "Milky Way Road". 

4. Yasunari Kawabata (川端康成)

important japanese literature

Yasunari Kawabata is the first Japanese novelist to receive the Nobel Prize. His writing describes the Japanese sense of beauty, life and death, the silence between conversations, and so much more. A personal favorite of mine is "The Sound of the Mountain". It describes the everyday life of a family, yet the atmosphere is tense and almost tangible. His representative works are "The Sound of the Mountain", "The Izu Dancer", "House of the Sleeping Beauties", and so on. 

5. Souseki Natsume (夏目漱石)

important japanese literature

Also the face of the 1000 yen bill, Souseki Natsume is one of the authors Japanese children learn about in school. He was also an English teacher. His representative works are "Kokoro", "Botchan", "I Am a Cat", and so on. 

6. Yukio Mishima (三島由紀夫)

important japanese literature

Yukio Mishima was a man of drama. He ended his life in front of hundreds of students after giving a speech. He was also a poet and playwright. He was also gay. His writing is very hard to read, but has a beauty of its own. His representative works are "Kinkakuji", "Confessions of a Mask", "Thirst of Love", and so on. 

Our Top Tips

JR Pass for Whole Japan

Explore Japan in the most convenient and economical way with a Japan Rail Pass! It is valid for the majority of railways and local buses operated by JR. 

7. Kenzaburo Oe (大江健三郎)

Kenzaburo Oe is a Nobel Prize winner for his contributions to literature. He deals with subjects such as nuclear weapons, social non-conformism and existentialism with elegant writing. A personal favorite is "Lavish Are the Dead," about two students who are doing a part time job taking care of the dead bodies for the medical school. You can actually feel the coldness of the linoleum and the smell of formalin. It's not exactly cheery, but a great read. His representative works are "Sexual Humans", "A Personal Matter", "Lavish Are the Dead", and so on. 

8. Osamu Dazai (太宰治)

important japanese literature

Osamu Dazai is a famous novelist, but is also famous for his private life. With a string of love affairs, in the end, he attempted suicide and succeeded. He suffered from depression and alcoholism. However, he left great works with simple and eloquent writing about love, life and every day matters. A personal favorite is "The Setting Sun". The tempo of the writing is so beautiful, you want to read it out aloud. His representative works are "The Setting Sun", "Run, Melos!", "No Longer Human", and so on.

9. Tsutomu Minakami (水上勉)

Tsutomu Minakami is not exactly famous as the authors raised in the topics above. But I personally love him dearly because of one of his works, "Gobanchou Yuugirirou". It's a story about how the Kinakuji temple burned, and the people involved around it. The stage of the story is set in Kyoto , so all the characters speak in Kyoto- Kansai dialect. This creates a transparent and calm atmosphere, even though the ending is quite scandalous. Sadly, this work isn't translated into English. His representative works are "Ikkyu", "Ishi yo Nake", "Gobanchou Yuugirirou", and so on. 

10. Kobo Abe (安倍公房)

Kobo Abe is not a light read. His works tackle subjects of existentialism to the highest extent. His writing is hard to read, and downright depressing. But it leaves you with questions you have to resolve yourself. A personal favorite is "The Woman in the Dunes". A man becomes trapped inside a village which stands on sand. His only companion is a mysterious woman. The harsh atmosphere of the desert soon changes the man in ways he could never imagine. His representative works are "The Woman in the Dunes", "The Box Man", "The Face of Another", and so on. 

Japan Shinkansen, Narita Express (N'EX) & Express Train Tickets

Plan ahead by booking your shinkansen, airport train, and express train tickets online in English. Have the tickets sent to you by mail or collect them at the station once you're in Japan.

11. Kazuo Dan (壇一雄)

Kazuo Dan is a novelist and a lyricist. My personal favorite of his works, and possibly one of my favorite pieces of Japanese literature of all time, is "Ritsuko So no Ai" and "Ritsuko So no Shi". This work is non-fiction, and captures the every day moments with his wife and child during the chaotic moments of World War II. His wife, Ritsuko, is diagnosed with tuberculosis. The description of a dying person, and taking care of them is realistic and depressing. However, the moments where Kazuo Dan spends time in the lush environment with his child are written so beautifully you can almost see it in front of your eyes. His representative works are "Ritsuko So no Ai", "Ritsuko So no Shi", "Kuru Hi Saru Hi", and so on.

12. Mitsuyo Kakuta (角田光代)

Kakuta Mitsuyo is a novelist and a translator. A personal favorite is "Rebirth" (八日目の蝉). A newborn baby was kidnapped by the father's lover. The baby was then raised by her for years, until she was caught by the police. Time passed, and now the little girl has grown into young woman who is having an affair with a married man. She then goes on a journey to find out why the lover kidnapped her. This work was also made into film, where the lover's actress, Hiromi Nagasaku's, performance is outstanding. Her representative works are "Rebirth", "Woman on the Other Shore", "Kidnap Tour", and so on.

13. Natsuo Kirino (桐野夏生)

Natsuo Kirino is not for the faint of heart. She deals with actual incidents such as the Touden OL murder case, where a worker at the Touden company who was a sex worker at night, was murdered in an abandoned house. The killer has not been caught yet. In her work, "Grotesque", Natsuo Kirino writes what the vicitim must have thought in her own way. And indeed, it is grotesque and powerful. Her representative works are "Grotesque", "OUT", "Soft Cheeks", and so on. 

14. Mariko Koike (小池真理子)

Mariko Koike is said to be an aesthetic writer. She deals with stories about women and sexuality in very elegant writing. She is also very good at horror, as seen in "The House That Looks Down at The Grave" (墓地を見下ろす家). Her representative works are "A Cappella", "Beyond the Rainbow", "Ghost Stories", and so on.

15. Souji Shimada (島田荘司)

Souji Shimada is the king of mysteries in Japanese literature. His most famous series, "Kiyoshi Mitrai Series" (御手洗潔シリーズ), has many books and all of them are satisfying classic mysteries, where the detective solves the cases. The detective, Kiyoshi Mitrai, is a one of a kind, paranoid, slobbish, sociopath who is also incredibly intelligent. His representative works are "Kiyoshi Miratai Series", "Yoshi Takeshi Series", "The Man Who Went to Heaven", and so on. 

16. Randy Taguchi (田口ランディ)

I was hesitant to put her name on this list, since it became clear that she plagiarized parts of her work. However, the power of her writing still hasn't faded. She deals with the supernatural world, where the main characters deal with their internal struggles with the power of the supernatural. Her representative works are "Consent", "Antenna", "Mosaic", and so on. Official website in Japanese here.

17. Keigo Higashino (東野圭吾)

Keigo Higashino is a very popular mystery and thriller writer. He publishes several works every year which is an impressive fact in and of itself. He is particularly famous for his "Galileo Series" (ガリレオシリーズ). A physics professor and a cop double up to solve mysteries involving science. Two of the Galileo Series were made into films, with the singer Masaharu Fukuyama as the physics professor. His representative works are "Galileo Series", "Byakuyakou", "I Killed Him", and so on.

18. Miyuki Miyabe (宮部みゆき)

Miyabe Miyuki is a mystery and thriller writer. A personal favorite is "The Copy Cat". It's very long, about 5 books in Bunko size. It tells the story of how one writer captures a serial killer without any authority, but with only enthusiasm and justice. I almost screamed when she made the killer confess on TV that he was the killer. Her representative works are "The Copy Cat", "Level 7", "Higuruma", and so on.

19. Yoko Ogawa (小川洋子)

Yoko Ogawa is a strange writer. On the surface, her stories are laced with beauty and silence. But if you really dig deep down, what she writes is about horror with grotesque themes. A personal favorite is "The Sample of the Ring Finger". It features a scientist who keeps samples in formalin to help people move on with their memories. Her representative works are "The Sample of the Ring Finger", "Eyelid", "The Housekeeper and the Professor", and so on. 

20. Tokurou Nukui (貫井徳郎)

Tokurou Nukui is a mystery writer. An eternal personal favorite is his debut work, "He Wailed" (慟哭). A serial killer that targets small girls is on the run, and the police have no clue who the killer is. Meanwhile, a man gets invested in a cult that deals with shady magic. The trick itself isn't new, but when you know why he did it, will break your heart. This is a theme in Tokurou Nukui's work. You know the trick, but you come to understand why they did it, and even empathize with them. His representative works are "He Wailed", "Prism", "The Corpses of the Angels", and so on. Official website in Japanese here.

The information in this article is accurate at the time of publication.

tsunagu Japan Newsletter

Subscribe to our free newsletter and we'll show you the best Japan has to offer!

About the author

sakowako.yum

Related Articles

Related interests.

  • Traditional culture
  • Japanese language
  • Origami & washi
  • Anime & Manga
  • School & Education System
  • Kimono & Yukata
  • Architecture
  • Modern culture

Restaurant Search

Tsunagu japan sns.

Subscribe to the tsunagu Japan Newsletter

Sign up to our free newsletter to discover the best Japan has to offer.

Connect with Japan through tsunagu Japan

Let us introduce you to the best of Japan through our free newsletter: sightseeing spots, delicious food, deep culture, best places to stay, and more!

important japanese literature

Coto Academy

  • Intensive Japanese Courses
  • Lite Intensive Japanese Courses
  • Part-time Japanese Classes
  • Private Lessons
  • JLPT Prep Courses
  • Japanese Culture Experience Course
  • Online Japanese Lessons
  • JLPT Online Instruction & Exercise – 6 Month Course
  • Self-Study Courses
  • About Coto Japanese Academy
  • Iidabashi Japanese Language School
  • Shibuya Japanese Language School
  • Yokohama Japanese Language School
  • Minato Japanese Language School
  • Our Teaching Philosophy
  • Student Visa Support
  • Corporate Solutions
  • Japanese Blog
  • All articles

Avatar photo

Exploring Japan’s Literary Landscape: A Guide to Book Genres in Japanese

important japanese literature

Japan’s literary landscape is as diverse and captivating as its culture. From the timeless classics of ancient Japan to the contemporary works of modern authors, Japanese literature offers a variety of genres to satisfy your literary cravings. Whether you’re into thrilling adventures, heart-touching romances, or thought-provoking dramas, Japanese literature has something for everyone.

A Quick Jump To…

Shōsetsu (小説), light novels (ライトノベル), non-fiction (ノンフィクション), mystery and detective fiction (推理小説), historical fiction (時代小説), science fiction and fantasy (sf/ファンタジー), romance (恋愛小説), exploring the major book genres in japan.

The term “shōsetsu” encompasses many novels, including historical fiction, mystery, romance, and literary fiction. Japanese novels are renowned for their intricate storytelling, vivid character development, and profound exploration of human emotions.

Books That We Love!

  • 吾輩は猫である I Am a Cat – 夏目漱石 Natsume Soseki : In Natsume Soseki’s satire, “I Am a Cat,” a nameless, witty stray cat narrates its observations on the pretentiousness and hypocrisy of human society, particularly in Meiji-era Tokyo. The cat’s sharp commentary exposes the gap between human self-perception and reality, making it a timeless satire that resonates with readers today.
  • 人間失格 No Longer Human – 太宰治 Dazai Osamu : “No Longer Human” is a semi-autobiographical novel that follows the life of Oba Yozo, who struggles to find his place in society and grapples with alienation and despair. Despite his academic success, Yozo’s true self is hidden behind a clowning persona. As he spirals into alcoholism, drug abuse, and failed relationships, Yozo feels increasingly disconnected from the world and believes himself to be “disqualified as a human being.” The novel is a poignant exploration of the human condition, delving into themes of conformity, alienation, and the search for meaning in a world that often feels indifferent.

Manga, the Japanese term for comics, has gained global popularity for its dynamic artwork, engaging narratives, and diverse genres. From action-packed adventures to heartwarming slice-of-life stories, manga offers a captivating blend of visual storytelling and literary expression.

  • 呪術廻戦 Jujutsu Kaisen – 芥見下々 Gege Akutami : In Jujutsu Kaisen, high school student Yuji Itadori becomes cursed when he swallows a cursed object and enrolls in Tokyo Metropolitan Jujutsu Technical High School to fight cursed spirits and protect the world. Aided by his friends, Yuji faces various challenges and explores themes of friendship, hope, and the nature of evil.
  • 鬼滅の刃 Demon Slayer – 吾峠呼世晴 Koyoharu Gotouge : In Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba, Tanjiro Kamado vows to become a Demon Slayer to avenge his family and cure his demon-turned-sister Nezuko. Joined by fellow Demon Slayers, they face powerful demons, exploring themes of family, friendship, and courage.

Light novels, often abbreviated as “LN,” are a popular genre among young adults. These novels are characterized by their shorter length, simpler language, and focus on escapist themes such as fantasy, science fiction, and romance.

  • 転生したらスライムだった件 That Time I Got Reincarnated As A Slime – 伏瀬 Fuse : An ordinary salaryman is reincarnated as a slime in a fantasy world. He acquires unique abilities and embarks on a journey of self-discovery, building a nation of monsters and promoting harmony between humans and monsters.
  • ソードアート・オンライン Sword Art Online – 川原礫 Reki Kawahara : In Sword Art Online, thousands of players are trapped in a virtual reality MMORPG called Sword Art Online. Unable to log out, they must clear all 100 floors of the game or die in the real world. Kirito, a skilled solo player, teams up with Asuna, a fellow player, to conquer the game and escape. The series explores themes of love, loss, and the nature of reality in the digital age.

Japanese non-fiction encompasses a wide range of topics, including history, philosophy, science, and self-help. These works offer valuable insights into Japanese culture, society, and thought.

  • 嫌いになれるまで好きでいたいし、自分のことも好きになりたい I Want To Love Someone Until I Hate Them, And I Want To Love Myself Too- ニャン Nyan : In this collection of essays, Nyan delves into the intricacies of love and self-love, challenging the notion of blind love and emphasizing the significance of accepting oneself and others fully. He shares personal anecdotes and observations, creating a relatable and insightful exploration of these complex emotions.
  • 凍 Frozen – 沢木耕太郎 Kotaro Sawaki : World-renowned climbers Taishi and Midori Yamanoi attempt to conquer Gasherbrum I but face a tragic avalanche. Taishi’s desperate rescue attempt is thwarted by Midori’s passing, leaving him to descend alone. He miraculously survives, while Midori’s body is later recovered. Frozen is a poignant tale of human resilience, love’s strength, and nature’s power.

Venturing into Specific Japanese Genres

Japanese mystery and detective fiction, known as suiri shōsetsu, has a long and distinguished tradition. Renowned authors like Edogawa Ranpo and Seishi Yokomizo have captivated readers with their intricate plots, clever deductions, and enigmatic characters.

  • あなたが誰かを殺した You Killed Someone – 東野圭吾 Higashino Keigo : Haunted by a mysterious email accusing him of a long-forgotten hit-and-run, Keisuke embarks on a journey to uncover the truth and confront his past, grappling with guilt, redemption, and the impact of his actions.
  • 777 トリプルセブン Triple Seven – 伊坂幸太郎 Isaka Kotaro : The story follows seven individuals with the number “7” embedded in their names or lives who find themselves connected by a series of strange events. The novel is a fast-paced and suspenseful thriller that explores themes of fate, coincidence, and the interconnectedness of human lives.

Historical fiction, known as jidai shōsetsu, transports readers to different eras of Japanese history. These novels offer vivid portrayals of samurai life, political intrigues, and social transformations throughout Japan’s rich past.

  • 燃えよ剣 Burn, O Sword – 司馬遼太郎 Shiba Ryotaro : The novel is a fictionalized account of the life of Hijikata Toshizo, a vice-commander of the Shinsengumi, a special police force that served the Tokugawa shogunate during the Bakumatsu period (1853-1868). The novel is a historical epic that tells the story of the Shinsengumi’s struggle to maintain order and uphold the old order in the face of increasing pressure from the forces of modernization and foreign influence.
  • 村上海賊の娘 Murakami Kaizoku No Musume – 和田竜 Ryō Wada : It depicts the life of Murakami Muneyoshi’s daughter, Kei, during the First Battle of Kizugawaguchi in 1576.

Japanese science fiction and fantasy, often abbreviated as “SF” or “fantasy,” has gained international acclaim for its innovative concepts, imaginative worlds, and exploration of technological and societal themes. Authors like Haruki Murakami and Ryunosuke Akutagawa have garnered widespread recognition for their groundbreaking works in these genres.

  • アルジャーノンに花束を Flowers For Algernon – ダニエル・キイス Daniel Keyes : In Daniel Keyes’s sci-fi novel “Flowers for Algernon,” Charlie Gordon, a man with intellectual disabilities, undergoes an experimental surgery that dramatically increases his intelligence. Charlie’s newfound intellect opens his eyes to the world’s complexity, but it also exposes the limitations of intelligence and the importance of love, compassion, and acceptance.
  • ハリー・ポッターと賢者の石 Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone – J.K.ローリング J. K. Rowling : Harry Potter, an orphaned boy living with his uncaring relatives, discovers his magical heritage and attends Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. He makes friends, learns about his parents’ past, and confronts the evil Lord Voldemort, who seeks immortality through the Philosopher’s Stone. With courage and friendship, Harry protects the stone and defeats Voldemort.

Japanese romance novels, known as ren’ai shōsetsu, cover a broad spectrum of subgenres, including pure romance, romantic comedy, and bittersweet love stories. These novels explore the complexities of human relationships, emotions, and the pursuit of love.

  • 世界の中心で、愛をさけぶ Crying Out Love, In the Center of the World – 片山恭一 Katayama Kyoichi : Sakutaro and Akihiro, childhood friends, fall in love despite Akihiro’s leukemia. As her illness progresses, Sakutaro dedicates himself to her care. After her death, he fulfills her wish to scatter her ashes at the “center of the world.” Through his journey, Sakutaro confronts grief and learns to move on.
  • ノルウェイの森 Norwegian Wood – 村上春樹 Haruki Murakami : In the turbulent 1960s Tokyo, Toru Watanabe grapples with loss, love, and identity amidst the backdrop of his best friend’s suicide. Toru’s relationships with two women, Naoko and Midori, represent contrasting paths for him: Naoko’s introspective nature mirrors his grief, while Midori’s vivacity offers a momentary escape. As Toru navigates love, loss, and alienation, he confronts the depths of human emotion and the search for meaning in a complex world.

Unveiling the Literary Treasures of Japan

Japanese literature is a fantastic place to uncover many stories, feelings, and cultural knowledge. Whether you’re into thrilling mysteries, epic tales of samurai, or imaginative science fiction and fantasy worlds, Japan’s literature has something for everyone.

So, let’s take a journey through Japanese literature and discover the different types of stories it has to offer. You’ll find engaging plots, interesting characters, and a chance to learn about Japanese culture while reading these literary gems.

You Might Be Wondering…

What is the most popular book genre in japan.

The most popular book genre in Japan is mystery and detective fiction, known as 推理小説 (suiri shōsetsu). This genre has a long and distinguished tradition in Japan, with renowned authors like Edogawa Ranpo and Seishi Yokomizo captivating readers with their intricate plots, clever deductions, and enigmatic characters.

What is the difference between light novels and regular novels?

Light novels, often abbreviated as “LN,” are a popular genre among young adults in Japan. These novels are characterized by their shorter length, simpler language, and focus on escapist themes such as fantasy, science fiction, and romance. Regular novels, on the other hand, encompass a wider range of genres and styles, including literary fiction, historical fiction, and non-fiction.

What is manga, and how is it different from comics?

漫画 (manga) is the Japanese term for comics. While manga shares some similarities with Western comics, there are also some key differences. Manga is typically read from right to left, and the artwork is often more stylized and expressive. Manga also covers various genres, from action-packed adventures to heartwarming slice-of-life stories.

What are some of the best Japanese books to read for beginners?

Here are a few suggestions for Japanese books that are suitable for beginners:

  • “Botchan” by Natsume Soseki: This humorous and satirical novel follows the misadventures of a young teacher in rural Japan.
  • “The Sailor Who Fell from Grace with the Sea” by Yukio Mishima: This dark and philosophical novel explores beauty, morality, and the individual’s place in society.
  • “Kokoro” by Natsume Soseki: This introspective novel tells the story of a man’s struggles with guilt, love, and the meaning of life.
  • “The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle” by Haruki Murakami: This surreal and dreamlike novel follows a man’s search for his missing cat and identity.

Where can I find Japanese books to read?

There are many places where you can find Japanese books to read. You can find them at Japanese bookstores, online retailers, and libraries. You can also find many Japanese books translated into English. In these bookstores, you can also find JLPT-related books if you are looking for some support!

Here are some bookstores in Japan:

  • 紀伊国屋書店 Kinokuniya
  • 蔦屋書店 Tsutaya

Test your Japanese level!

important japanese literature

Related Articles

important japanese literature

Kick-start your 2024 JLPT Exam Prep With Coto Academy! 

Avatar photo

important japanese literature

  • Black Creators
  • Hear My Story

Audible Logo

10 Famous Japanese Authors You Have to Hear

May 8, 2020

Thanks to the work of translators and publishers, Japanese literature is now more accessible than ever to English-speaking audiences. If you'd like to learn more about Japanese culture and literature, you cannot go wrong with listening to audiobooks from Japan. We've compiled a list of the most famous Japanese authors who have helped define Japanese literature, and their notable works. Collectively, these Japanese authors have written across genres and time periods to create a diverse, fascinating body of work. 

1. Haruki Murakami

Arguably one of the most well-known Japanese authors to English speakers, Haruki Murakami has written more than 20 novels, short story collections, and nonfiction titles. Born in 1949 in Kyoto, Murakami published his first novel in 1979—one year he was hit with an epiphany, I think I can write a novel , while watching a baseball game at Jingu Stadium. He has gone on to have a dynamic career, winning awards in Japan and internationally, including the Jerusalem Prize. His work has been translated into more than 50 languages. Murakami is a fan of jazz music (he and his wife once ran a jazz bar), and owns more than 10,000 records that he listens to while writing. His most notable works include 1Q84 , Killing Commendatore , The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle , Kafka on the Shore , and What I Talk About When I Talk About Running .

2. Natsuo Kirino

Natsuo Kirino is a crime writer who is perhaps best known for forcing readers to reconsider women’s capabilities for violence. Born in 1951, she dabbled in many different professions before settling on writing, and it wasn't until the 1990s that she found success. Her most famous novel, Out , was a breakout hit in Japan, winning the Grand Prix for Crime Fiction, and was a finalist for the Edgar Award when it was translated into English. Although only a handful of her novels have been translated into English and published in the U.S., she has written more than 20 novels and short story collections, solidifying her position as one of the most celebrated Japanese writers today. Out is a favorite of thriller listeners, narrated by the talented Emily Woo Zeller.

3. Kōbō Abe

Kōbō Abe was a Japanese poet, essayist, playwright, and novelist. Born in 1924, he moved frequently between Tokyo and Manchuria in his early years. This rootlessness had a profound effect on Abe and later on his writing. He enrolled in medical school in 1943 because medical students were exempt from military work, and survived World War II without having to fight. But medicine wasn’t his passion, and after he graduated he went on to write poetry and plays, and married a stage director. He began publishing surrealist novels, many of which were influenced by his time in Manchuria, and became very politically active at the time. As a staunch pacifist, Abe was drawn to and joined the Communist Party; when he saw how the Party treated poor workers, he broke with them. His books and plays have been translated into English, including The Ruined Map, Secret Rendezvous, The Box Man , and The Face of Another . But it was The Woman in the Dunes , published in 1962, that proved to be Abe’s international breakout hit. He died in 1993 in Tokyo.

4. Banana Yoshimoto

Notoriously private, Banana Yoshimoto is a notable writer born in 1964 to a liberal family of artists and writers. She was only 23 when her first novel, Kitchen , was published. It was very well received, winning her the 6th Kaien Newcomers’ Literary Prize and gaining her national and international recognition. She went on to write 12 more novels and essay collections, and her work was produced into Japanese TV shows and movies. Yoshimoto’s work often deals with youth, existentialism, and how tragedy can shape our lives. She is also a big fan of food (as her chosen name, Banana, may reflect) and has been praised for writing without pretension. Her characters tend to be young, but her writing appeals to all ages, as evidenced by her enormous success. Among her most notable titles are Kitchen , NP , Asleep , Lizard , and Amrita , most of which are narrated by Emily Woo Zeller.

5. Yōko Ogawa

Born in 1962, Yōko Ogawa is the prolific author of more than 40 works of fiction and nonfiction. However, only a small fraction of her work is available in English including her 2003 novel The Professor and the Housekeeper , which was made into a movie called The Professor’s Beloved Equation , and Revenge , a collection of unsettling short stories. Although written in the 1990s, her most recent title to be translated into English is The Memory Police —a science-fiction novel about a novelist who lives on an island where an authoritarian government rules and objects are disappearing. Ogawa dark vision was inspired by The Diary of Anne Frank . It was a National Book Award finalist for translated literature in 2019, and is narrated by Traci Kato-Kiriyama. Ogawa’s books have also won every major award in Japan.

6. Sayaka Murata

Although she only has one book available in English, Sayaka Murata has written 10 books that are immensely popular in Japan. Born in 1979, she was an early and avid reader of science fiction and mysteries, and her mother supported her writing from a young age by buying her a word processor. She first published in 2003 and began to win awards immediately. Murata has received the Gunzo Prize for New Writers, the Mishima Yukio Prize, and the Akutagawa Prize. She’s written across genres, but her books tend to look at society, conformity, and human behavior that she has observed in her job as a part-time convenience store clerk. Her first novel translated into English is Convenience Store Woman , which is narrated by Nancy Wu. Her second novel to be translated in English is Earthlings , which will release in fall 2020.

7. Yukio Mishima

Often regarded as one of the most important Japanese writers of the 20th century, Yukio Mishima is also a controversial figure. Born in 1925, he had an unconventional upbringing. His early writing endeavors were not supported by his father, although his mother often encouraged him. He went on to write and publish 34 novels, 50 plays, and numerous short stories. He even wrote and directed a handful of films and worked as a model. He escaped serving as a soldier during World War II, due to illness, but his nationalism was often polarizing. In 1968 he founded the Tatenokai, a private military force meant to protect the emperor of Japan. In 1970, he and three members of the Tatenkokai attempted a coup d'etat to restore power to the emperor, and when it failed, he performed a ritual suicide. Mishima was very widely published in English and well-regarded in the Western world during his lifetime. His most famous books include The Sound of Waves , Spring Snow , The Temple of the Golden Pavilion , and The Sailor Who Fell From Grace With the Sea . Even 50 years after his death, his work continues to find new audiences— Life for Sale was just recently translated into English and is now available, narrated by Kotaro Watanabe.

8. Ryū Murakami

Haruki Murakami is not the only famous Japanese writer named Murakami. Born in 1952, Ryū Murakami has had an interesting career beyond writing books. He’s been in bands, has worked as an indie filmmaker, and founded an online magazine in 1999 that is still running today. He’s also been a talk show host and founded a video streaming service and an ebook service. He’s written more than 30 books, and many are widely translated and available in English. Perhaps his most well-known book here in the U.S. is Audition , about a lonely widower who hosts a fake casting call in order to find his next wife, but when the perfect candidate shows up, she may be hiding dark secrets. It was made into an influential Japanese horror film in 1999.

9. Kanae Minato

Kanae Minato is well known in Japan for her mystery and crime novels, and has even been crowned the queen of iyamisu novels, which roughly translates to “eww” novels—the term describes dark mysteries that make you say “Eww!” Born in 1979, Minato came to writing in her 30s, and her debut Confessions was a runaway hit. Since then, she’s written 14 novels, although only two are translated in English and available in the U.S.: Confessions and Penance . Confessions was an Alex Award winner, and was nominated for the Shirley Jackson Award. Penance was made into a Japanese movie, and is available in the United States.

10. Keigo Higashino

Keigo Higashino, born in 1958, is not only one of the most famous mystery writers in Japan, but in all of Asia. He went to school to study electrical engineering but started writing in high school and never stopped. Even after school, while working as an engineer, he would write on nights and weekends and submit his stories to the Edogawa Rampo Prize. He took the prize in 1984, and gave up engineering to become a full-time writer. Nearly every one of his novels has been made into a TV show or movie in Japan, and his book Naoko was made into a film starring David Duchovny, called The Secret . His English translations include The Devotion of Suspect X , Salvation of a Saint , Malice , Under the Midnight Sun , and most recently, Newcomer . The Devotion of Suspect X was made into a TV show that’s now available to stream on Amazon Prime.

There are so many great Japanese novels and nonfiction titles in translation to choose from—which one will be your next listen?

Tirzah Price is a writer and contributing editor at Book Riot. Find her on Twitter @TirzahPrice.

Standout Contemporary Irish Authors You Should Give a Listen

  • Environment
  • Globalization
  • Japanese Language
  • Social Issues

Japanese Literature and the Environment

  japanese literature and the environment: from the collection of ten thousand leaves to fukushima.

           Japanese literature has devoted considerable attention to the natural world ever since the Kojiki (Record of Ancient Matters, 712 CE), Japan’s oldest extant text, and the Man’yōshū (Collection of Ten Thousand Leaves, eighth century), Japan’s earliest surviving poetry anthology.  This deep engagement with nature in creative texts is often cited as confirmation of Japanese “love of nature.” So consistently have Japanese literature and other art forms discussed, celebrated, and demonstrated sensitivity toward the nonhuman world that this “love of nature” has been said to have “uniquely distinguished Japan since before the advent of agriculture.”[1]  Japanese literature, like Japanese culture, has conventionally been associated with celebrations of “nature” and with touching portraits of relatively harmonious human integration with the nonhuman, nature serving as a refuge from society for dreamers, travelers, and recluses. But in fact, when Japanese literature is read from an environmentally conscious perspective – concerned with the larger environmental implications of human/nonhuman interactions – numerous texts reveal much more complex dynamics among people and their environments than has usually been assumed.  This is not surprising considering the extent to which people have impacted the archipelago’s ecosystems across the millennia.

            To be sure, as Edwin Cranston has asserted, “the feeling for the divinity and beauty of the land is one of the most attractive aspects of Man’yō poetry.”[2]  But some verses in the Collection of Ten Thousand Leaves that praise Japan’s wondrous terrain also appear to be celebrating people’s notable reshaping of it. For instance, the anthology’s second poem reads: “There are crowds of mountains in Yamato [Japan], and among these is heavenly Mount Kagu.  When I [Emperor Jomei, 593-641 C.E.] climb Mount Kagu, and look out over the land, above the plains the smoke rises and rises [ kunihara wa keburi tachitatsu ]; above the seas, the gulls rise and rise [ unahara wa kamame tachitatsu ]. A beautiful land, Dragonfly Island, land of Yamato.”[3]  This verse describes a “land-looking” ( kunimi ) ritual, whereby a ruler would climb a mountain and look out over the land to affirm his power and the prosperity of his terrain.[4] The poem celebrates Emperor Jomei’s authority over both parts of his realm, land and sea; his power is such that he can see water not actually visible from the diminutive Mount Kagu, which stands only 152 meters high. 

            The smoke in this verse from the Collection of Ten Thousand Leaves often is interpreted as manifesting the spirit of the land and the gulls as manifesting the spirit of the sea. But what are the implications of smoke, presumably from human activity, embodying the spirit of the land?  Emperor Jomei’s reign (629-641 C.E.) coincides with the early decades of Japan’s “ancient predation” (600-850 C.E.), an era of construction and logging on a scale never before seen in that country.  At this time, Japan’s rulers, inspired by the introduction of large-scale architecture from the Asian continent, “dotted the Kinai basin with a plethora of great monasteries, shrines, palaces, and mansions” and eventually felled all the old-growth stands in the region.[5]  Read ecocritically and taking into consideration historical circumstances, the poem leaves open the possibility that although gulls and presumably other animals continue to flourish at sea, people have completely overtaken the land.  It is possible that gulls still visibly fly above the land yet are overlooked by an emperor interested only in increasing the human presence.  Just as likely is either that the gulls continue to fly over the land but are obscured by dense smoke, or that they have been driven from the land altogether, jeopardizing their survival.  More important, the emperor seems not the least disturbed by these changes.  In fact, he applauds them.  And his smoky land not only is declared “beautiful” but also is referred to as “Dragonfly Island” (Akizushima), a common appellation for Japan.  Flying animals give the land its name, but the fact that they no longer fly above the land – or at least are not mentioned as flying above the land – is taken as a sign of progress.

            Like most creative corpuses, Japanese literature over the centuries has explored a broad range of human interactions with the nonhuman.  For instance, Yoshida Kenkō’s (1283-1350) Tsurezuregusa (Essays in Idleness, 1332) – a collection of short essays on a number of themes and one of Japan’s best known examples of the zuihitsu (lit. follow the brush) genre – decries the abuse of most animals even while it condones that of horses and oxen:

Domestic animals include the horse and the ox. It’s a shame that we have to bind and hurt them, but there’s nothing else we can do, since they’re invaluable to us . . . When animals that run are confined to pens or fastened with chains, when birds that fly have their wings clipped or are caged, their longing for the clouds and their sadness at being away from the hills and fields knows no end. How can those capable of imagining how terrible they would feel under these conditions enjoy keeping such animals as pets? A person who enjoys hurting living beings is just like Emperor Jie [of Xia] and Emperor Zhou [of Shang].[6]

Kenkō strongly advocates the humane treatment, indeed freedom of nearly all animals, comparing those who harm other creatures to the tyrannical Emperor Jie (1728-1625 B.C.E.), who brought down China’s Xia dynasty, and Emperor Zhou (1075-1046 B.C.E.), the last emperor of China’s Shang dynasty, known for his decadence and corruption.  Yet instead of suggesting how people might better treat their horses and oxen, Kenkō declares the abuse of these animals unavoidable. 

            Although never entirely absent from the corpus of Japanese literature, explicit concern with environmental degradation is most common in twentieth-century creative works. During the Meiji period (1868-1912), Japan’s rapid industrialization began damaging landscapes more widely, seriously, and quickly than ever before. Miyazawa Kenji’s (1896-1933) moving portraits of diverse ecologies and Shiga Naoya’s (1883-1971) descriptions of the Ashio copper mine incident (1880s) are among the most frequently cited examples of early twentieth-century environmentally conscious Japanese literature.[7]  Miyazawa’s poetry, short stories, and children’s literature celebrate flora, fauna, and intimate relationships between people and nature.  At the same time, they evoke nostalgia for a more innocent past, which suggests that these relationships are now threatened if not in some cases already destroyed.  Stories such as “Chūmon no ōi ryōriten” (The Restaurant of Many Orders, 1924) disparage people’s attitudes and behaviors toward environments, including arrogance and sport hunting.  “The Restaurant of Many Orders” features two hunters who enjoy shooting animals just to watch them suffer.  Wandering deep into a forest, they become disoriented, and their dogs suddenly perish.  They then have a horrifying hallucination: they enter a restaurant of “many orders” believing they will have their choice of dishes to select but instead discover that they are the ones being ordered and will soon be served to wild animals for dinner.  Awakening from their illusion just as they are about to be eaten, the men return safely home but with faces scarred beyond repair.

            Speaking of specific ecological tragedies in the early twentieth century were such texts as Shiga’s Aru otoko sono ane no shi (The Death of a Certain Man’s Sister, 1920), which centers on the contentious relationship between a boy and his father; near the conclusion the narrator notes that the most serious argument between the two arose when the boy (then a middle-school student) attended a rally protesting the damage to people and the environment caused by effluent from the Ashio copper mine and announced that he was going to tour the affected sites.  He was forbidden to do so by his father because his grandfather once had been titular owner of the mine; the grandfather overhears the argument between father and son but remains silent, the narrator speculating that he greatly regrets having instigated such suffering.  The Death of a Certain Man’s Sister does not speak at length about the poisoning of the Watarase River, but it does give a glimpse into the psychologies of those involved in its aftermath: youthful protestors, elderly accomplices, and a middle generation fearful of attempting to reconcile the two.[8]

            The 1940s yielded somewhat increased literary attention to ecological degradation.  In Tsugaru (Tsugaru, 1944) the literary leader Dazai Osamu (1909-1948) addressed environmental problems including deforestation.  Although it focuses primarily on human suffering, literature of the atomic bomb from its inception in 1945 has decried destruction of the nonhuman and called attention to many of the global paradoxes of the natural world, particularly how quickly it recovers from injury.  To give one example, the second half of Nakaoka Jun’ichi’s (1937–) twenty-first century “Midori ga shitatari” (Green Trickles), included in the anthology Genbakushi 181 ninshū , 1945-2007 (Atomic Bomb Poetry: Collection of 181 People, 1945-2007, 2007) discusses the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear power plant disaster. The poet then remarks: “The dripping green of ‘Beautiful Japan’/ Completely conceals this danger-filled scene.”[9] “Green Trickles” points not only to the global consequences of the explosions at Chernobyl but also to widely shared responsibility for these events and for ecological recovery. Just as significant is the poem’s evocation of “beautiful Japan” ( utsukushii Nihon ), appropriated from the novelist Kawabata Yasunari’s (1899-1972) Nobel Prize acceptance speech.  Inherently ambiguous, “beauty” – especially beauty in the wake of disaster – often can be a sign of rebirth.  But nature’s regeneration does not preclude future devastation.  In fact, it can give a false sense of security. And this often allows for the continued degradation of both people and the nonhuman.

            Japanese creative work from the 1950s such as Hayashi Fumiko’s (1903-1951) Ukigumo (Floating Clouds, 1951) exposes rampant and needless Japanese wartime deforestation in Southeast Asia. This novel depicts Tomioka, an employee of the Japanese Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry stationed in French Indochina, writing in his memoirs that he and his men “were forced by the army to fell trees recklessly and violently.”  Many of the trees they fell remain close to where they fall, the narrator noting: “The kacha pines must be fifty or sixty years old, but the Japanese were chopping them down randomly, without hesitation, reporting only numbers to the army.  The numbers were laughing . . . [The slain trees remained on the riverbanks.] Only the numbers moved, from desk to desk.”[10]  Hayashi’s Floating Clouds does not condemn this sportlike destruction, but it does question its appropriateness.  On the other hand, the chief of the Forestry Bureau tells Tomioka that the slash-and-burn agriculture of the local indigenous peoples has radically changed conditions in the primeval forest, suggesting that the Japanese are not the only ones to have altered this region’s ecosystems.[11] 

            Human manipulation of forests, and of the planet more generally, is also addressed in Kawabata Yasunari’s novel Koto (Ancient Capital, 1962), where the woman Naeko alerts her long-lost sister Chieko that the trees Chieko has been admiring in fact are “cryptomeria made by people.” She continues:

These are about forty years old.  They’ll be cut and made into pillars and similar things.  If left to themselves, they would likely grow for a thousand years, becoming thick and tall . . . I like primeval forests best.  In this village it’s like we’re making cut flowers . . . Were there no people in the world, there would be nothing like Kyoto either.  It would be natural forests and weeds. The land would belong to the deer and wild boars, would it not? Why are people in this world? It’s frightening, people.[12]

Readily apparent to postwar Japanese were the dangers of urbanization and industrialization to ecosystems of all kinds.

            The best known and most encompassing environmentally oriented creative works from the late 1960s and 1970s address contemporary events, most notably Ishimure Michiko’s (1927–) Kugai jōdo: Waga Minamatabyō (Sea of Suffering and the Pure Land: Our Minamata Disease, 1969) and Ariyoshi Sawako’s (1931-1984) Fukugō osen (Compound Pollution, 1975).  A creative writer, activist, and native of Minamata (Kyushu), Japan, Ishimure has worked for decades to educate people the world over about Minamata disease (mercury poisoning) and to compel Japanese authorities to compensate more adequately Minamata disease patients and their families. Sea of Suffering , her most famous literary work, is the first part of her trilogy on Minamata and one of her many writings on this tragedy.  Sea of Suffering  is a patchwork of the narrator’s own experiences, stories of Minamata sufferers told from multiple points of view, poetry, documents including medical, scientific, and journalistic reports, accounts of the region’s rich cultural history, and lyrical depictions of its nonhuman landscapes. The novel both openly defies narrow definitions of genre and, more important, underlines the interdependence of scientific, social scientific, and humanistic interpretations of the experienced world.  Chronologically, it loops backward and forward in time, denying suffering a beginning and an end.  It additionally denies suffering any clear spatial borders.  Not only does the narrator speak repeatedly of the Ashio copper mine incident and of Niigata Minamata disease; Sea of Suffering also moves outside Japan, exposing the Chisso Corporation’s controversial history in colonial Korea, including its damming of the Yalu River between China and Korea and the plight of Koreans under Japanese control more generally, including Korean deaths in the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.   

            Whereas Sea of Suffering focuses largely on the etiologies and realities of Minamata disease, Compound Pollution addresses more generally pollution brought about by drastic increases in Japanese consumerism. Serialized between October 1974 and June 1975, this collection of newspaper columns divided into fifteen sections interweaves fact and fiction in a variety of genres to highlight the dangers of air and water pollution, as well as food contaminated with additives and agricultural chemicals.  The book emphasizes that although pollution often is perceived as occurring in isolated bursts and affecting only small groups of people, it in fact threatens everyone; contaminated air, water, and soil jeopardize the health of rich and poor, urban and rural, young and old.  Presuming its audience, especially female consumers, knows little about pollutants, the text introduces a variety of chemical substances, explaining the politics behind their use, how they are employed in Japan and around the world, and the threats each poses to people and environments.  By revealing the connections between agriculture and pollution, as well as war and pollution, the narrator stresses the responsibilities of the consumer; she refuses to allow her readers to perceive themselves solely as victims and encourages them to make ethical choices. She likens herself to Rachel Carson, insisting that she is not promoting a ban on all chemicals but instead recommending more careful vetting before use.

            Not surprisingly, both Sea of Suffering and Compound Pollution attracted considerable attention, catalyzing Japanese environmental movements and reforms. The endurance of Ishimure’s work is particularly noteworthy: Sea of Suffering and the final two volumes of her Minamata trilogy are the only Japanese novels included in the Japanese publisher Kawade Shobō Shinsha’s Sekai bungaku zenshū (Complete Collection of World Literature, 2007–); the trilogy is advertised as “a masterpiece representing postwar Japanese literature” that “deeply questions what it means to be human.”

            Most of Japan’s early environmentally conscious literature concerns pollution, but in the 1970s Japanese published several significant creative texts focused on conservation.  These include Nitta Jirō’s (1912-80) Kiri no shisontachi (Descendants of the Mist, 1970).  Set in the 1960s, Descendants concerns the potential ecological and cultural consequences of extending the Venus Line toll road through the Kirigamine mountains (Nagano Prefecture, central Japan).  Written to assist the local opposition movement, Descendants describes the ecosystems of the region, exposes the aims of the developers, and urges people to work together to forestall this and similar projects.  This was only one of Nitta’s many works on conservation in/and Japan’s mountains.  For its part, Watanabe Jun’ichi’s (1933–) Mine no kioku (Memories of Mountain Peaks, 1976) discusses the planned construction of a road through Hokkaido’s Daisetsuzan National Park.  The novel’s protagonist is a civil engineer who must determine the route for the highway that will have the least potential effect on the park’s ecosystems.  His desire to preserve a primeval forest is thwarted when an overloaded helicopter carrying supplies crashes and catches fire, charring the woodland.  Unlike many of its contemporaries, Memories describes a potential rather than an actual incident.[13]  The novel warns its readers about the uncertain future of landscapes many believe invincible.

            Similarly focusing on imagined scenarios is Japan’s environmental science fiction. Abé Kōbō’s (1924-1993) Daiyon kanpyōki (Inter Ice Age 4, 1959), considered by many to be Japan’s first science fiction novel, depicts a world in which climate change and genetic engineering have radically transformed human society; rising sea levels have buried continents and people have been replaced by a new species created from aborted human fetuses.[14]  Also noteworthy are texts such as Tsutsui Yasutaka’s (1934–) “Tatazumu hito” (Standing Person, 1974).  This short story features a city that “greens” its streets and parks not by planting actual vegetation but instead by transforming into pillars and ultimately trees its cats, dogs, and people. The city vegetizes individuals who criticize the status quo; the more people complain, the “greener” the city becomes.  Ironically, the city’s “greenness” signals not its environmental health but instead the discontent of its residents and the authoritarianism of its leaders.  “Standing Person” most obviously parodies Japan’s official ideal of shakai kanri (lit. [benign] social management), or the bureaucratically managed society.  Such a culture retains order not by persecuting its people but instead by shaming them into conformity and in extreme cases figuratively vegetizing them.  But in featuring a society that attempts to establish ecological balance among people, animals, and plants through forced metamorphosis, “Standing Person” also satirizes the frequent superficiality and potential lethality of attempts to “green” urban spaces where the nonhuman population is for the most part confined to the animals people nurture (pets) and those they abandon (strays).

            Hoshi Shin’ichi (1926-1977), midcentury Japan’s short-short story writer par excellence, made even larger contributions to environmental science fiction, as did Komatsu Sakyō (1931-2011), who was haunted by the devastation of Hiroshima and Nagasaki; Komatsu’s bestselling Nippon chinbotsu (Japan Sinks, 1973) depicts Japan as physically collapsing.[15] Even more significant from an environmental perspective are two stories from Komatsu’s 1973 collection Adamu no sue (The Descendants of Adam): “Aozora” (Blue Sky) and “Seijaku no tsūro” (Silent Corridor).  “Blue Sky” highlights a couple who reject a pristine mountain environment in favor of a city so polluted that people must wear filters in their throats to prevent their bodies from being overwhelmed with sand and soot.  In contrast, “Silent Corridor” – which takes place in Tokyo in the 1990s – depicts a couple having difficulty conceiving; the text discusses a range of environmental problems likely responsible for their infertility.  “Silent Corridor” is advertised as a “fictionalization” of Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring ; the story is prefaced by a quotation from the Japanese translation of Carson, and several episodes echo passages in Carson’s book.[16]

            Literary attention to environmental problems across Japan continued during the 1980s and 1990s.  To give one example, Kayano Shigeru’s (1926-2006) Kamuiyukara to mukashibanashi (Yukar, The Ainu Epic and Folktales, 1988) depicts Ainu life in Hokkaido and stresses the importance of preserving that island’s ecosystems; Kayano, one of the last native speakers of the Ainu language, protested the damming of rivers in northern Hokkaido.   Published two years later, Amano Reiko’s (1953–) Mansa to Nagaragawa: “Saigo no kawa” ni ikita otoko (Mansa and the Nagara River: A Man Who Lived on the “Last River,” 1990) deplores dam construction on the Nagara River, highlighting the significance of protecting local landscapes and the lifestyles of the region’s fishers; Amano has published extensively on dams and rivers and is a leading opponent of dam construction on the Nagara River.[17] Many novels by the environmental activist Tatematsu Wahei (1947-2010) from these decades likewise address ecodegradation in Japan and beyond, including Enrai (Distant Thunder, 1980), Nettai urin (Tropical Rain Forest, 1983), and Umi no Kanata no eien (Eternity across the Sea, 1989).  And the horrors of Minamata disease continued to be revealed not only in new editions of Ishimure’s work but also in such contemporary texts as Ogata Masato and Ōiwa Keibō’s Tokoyo no fune o kogite: Minamatabyō shishi (Rowing the Boat of the Eternal World: An Unauthorized History of Minamata Disease, 1996) and its English-language adaptation Rowing the Eternal Sea (2001). 

            Twenty-first-century bestselling Japanese writers regularly express environmental concerns in their work, including the celebrated feminist poet Itō Hiromi (1955–) in Kawara arekusa (Wild Grass on the Riverbank, 2005) and popular novelist Taguchi Randy (1959–) in Konsento (Outlet, 2000), Hikari no ame furu shima Yakushima (Island Where Shining Rain Falls: Yakushima, 2001), Tensei (Transmigration, 2001), Kodama (Echo, 2003), and Fujisan (Mount Fuji, 2004).  While Outlet references global warming, Mount Fuji the garbage scarring this mountain, and Echo the deforestation of ancient groves, Yakushima addresses how or whether to write about breathtaking landscapes; so doing, the narrative argues, likely will increase both demands to preserve them and pressures for tourist travel.  Indeed, the Japanese Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport, and Tourism runs ecotours to Yakushima, which ultimately harm local ecosystems.  Also noteworthy in this context is the Okinawan writer Ikegami Eiichi’s (1970–) science fiction novel Shanguri-ra (Shangri-La, 2005) and its recent manga and television adaptations, which feature a tropical twenty-first century Tokyo, transformed by global warming.

           Also showing no signs of diminishing are the contributions of Japanese popular culture to discourse on the environment in Japan and around the world.  Japanese film has played a vital role, from documentaries such as Satō Makoto’s (1957-2007) Agano ni ikiru (Living on the Agano, 1992) and its sequel Agano no kioku (Memories of Agano, 2004), both of which dramatize the impact of Minamata disease on a mountain community in Niigata, to Katō Kunio’s (1977–) Oscar-winning twelve-minute “Tsumiki no ie” (The House of Small Cubes, 2008), which depicts an old man attempting to prevent rising water caused by global warming from flooding his house.[18] 

            Environmental degradation occupies an even larger position in Japanese manga and anime.  One example is the anime metaseries Gandamu (Gundam, 1979–), which depicts overpopulation and destruction of ecosystems as causing massive armed conflict and migration to outer space; Gundam began as a television series and now includes a plethora of films, manga, novels, and video games.  Just as noteworthy is celebrated director Miyazaki Hayao’s (1941–) postapocalyptic Kaze no tani no Naushika (Nausicaä of the Windy Valley, 1982-1994).  This anime depicts human societies as declining sharply after a millennium of plundering earth’s riches, polluting its air, and changing its life-forms; during the Seven Days of Fire they destroyed their cities and lost their advanced technology.  Nausicaä is set a millennium after the Seven Days of Fire, but the world remains covered by the “Sea of Corruption”; in this environment people are capable of eking out only the most meager of existences.  Even more popular has been Miyazaki’s Mononokehime (Princess Mononoke, 1997), Japan’s highest-grossing film of all time, animated or otherwise.  Set in the fourteenth century, Princess Mononoke opens with a wild boar felling a primeval forest; the boar has been maddened by an iron ball lodged in its body.  The remainder of the film features struggles between people and the beasts and spirits of a magical forest.  Decapitating the leader of the forest, people set off a chain of events that results in its destruction, but in the end harmony between humans and environments is restored.  Miyazaki’s supernaturalization of the “natural” reconfigures conventional Japanese views of the nonhuman, depicting landscapes such as the forest as abjected spaces that ultimately enact revenge.[19]  This animated film, in the words of Susan Napier, is “a wake-up call to human beings in a time of environmental and spiritual crisis that attempts to provoke its audience into realizing how much they have already lost and how much more they stand to lose.”[20]  With several notable exceptions, Japanese films have sounded more strident wake-up calls than have Japanese literary works, but for decades the latter have been actively negotiating the complexities of environmental degradation.

           The March 2011 Tōhoku catastrophe (3/11) – which has prompted renewed and often passionate discussions of the future of nuclear power in Japan and around the world – likewise has notably impacted Japanese literary production.  In the past few years Japan’s best-known contemporary authors including Ōe Kenzaburō (1935–), Murakami Haruki (1949–), and Yoshimoto Banana (1964–), as well as writers virtually unknown outside Japan, have published creative work that grapples with the triple tragedy of the earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear meltdowns that devastated large swaths of northeastern Japan. [21]   Much of this work places 3/11 in global context, speaking of the Tōhoku tragedy in relation to Chernobyl and even Auschwitz and 9/11.  Particularly noteworthy is the Kodansha anthology Sore de mo sangatsu wa, mata (Still, March, Again, 2012), featuring fiction, poetry, manga, and nonfiction by Japanese and several foreign writers and translated into English by Elmer Luke and David Karashima as March was Made of Yarn: Reflections on the Japanese Earthquake, Tsunami, and Nuclear Meltdown (2012).  March was Made of Yarn opens with a brief poem by Tanikawa Shuntarō (1931–) on words “resurrected with our pain” followed by Tawada Yōko’s “Fushi no shima” (Island of Eternal Life), a short story set in 2023, six years after the Great Pacific Earthquake of 2017. [22] Japan is so contaminated with radioactivity, the seas and soil polluted beyond repair, that the archipelago is completely cut off from the world; it is no longer possible to travel to or from Japan, and Japanese cannot even access the internet.  The narrator, a Japanese woman living abroad, notes that everyone who was at least 100-years old in 2011 is still alive, radiation poisoning having made it impossible for the very elderly to die.  But the young suffer tremendously; they are unable to walk or even stand, and they can barely see, swallow, or speak.  The narrator laments that Japanese did not learn their lesson after Fukushima.  But remarkably, the remainder of the world seems to continue on as before; there is little sign that ecosystems outside Japan have notably changed.  

            Just as important is Lisette Gebhardt and Yuki Masami’s edited volume Literature and Art after Fukushima: Four Approaches , which examines fissures within the Japanese literary world, writings that link 3/11 to other traumas in Japanese history, literary representations of Japanese relationships with food and eating post-3/11, and Japanese political theater.[23]  In addition, Lisette Gebhardt discusses how a diverse array of Japanese writers have addressed the global implications of Fukushima and laments that, “in the hothouse climate of the cultural scene, which leaves little space for the individual who is forced to make many allowances in order not to offend potential sponsors, criticism has so far been voiced mostly in moderate tones.”[24]  For her part, Lisa Mundt describes the evolving debates on Fukushima in theater, including recent discussions on nuclear power, the social responsibility of theater, methods of enabling civic participation, and the possibilities and limitations of political commitment in the performing arts.[25]        

            In addition to creative writers, manga artists also have engaged extensively with 3/11.  Shiriagari Kotobuki’s (born Toshiki Mochizuki, 1958–) Manga Ever Since: 2011.3.11 (Ano hi kara no manga: 2011.3.11, 2011), in the words of Mary Knighton, “depicts the daily shocks and absurdities following in the wake of 3.11, and links them to the working lives, domestic spaces, and collective psyche of his readers.”[26] Also of note are Shiriagari’s earlier manga, including Gerogero Puusuka: Kodomo Miraishi (Gerogero Puuska: Death of the Children’s Future, 2006-2007), developed in response to Chernobyl and wrapping up with a nuclear winter, as well as Hakobune (The Ark, 2000), which depicts an endless rain that drowns everything, and Jacaranda (2005), featuring a large tree destroying Tokyo, its roots and branches ripping apart the city’s infrastructure, lighting fires, and setting off explosions that decimate the city.[27]

            From earliest times, Japanese literature has illuminated multiple aspects of Japan’s natural legacies that are less readily accessible via documentary sources or even direct experience. Literature’s style and substance – and the space it gives readers to think about global crises – evoke the empathy required to understand the need for changing attitudes and behaviors vis-à-vis the nonhuman.  Like many of the world’s literatures, Japanese literature describes, reminisces, warns, celebrates, condones, and condemns aspects of human/nonhuman interactions in ways more nuanced than other discourses.  Creative texts, with their often demanding and at times unforgiving multivalent discourses, not only provide conflicting perspectives on the empirical world and on the actual and ideal behaviors of human societies vis-à-vis their environments. More important, they also help readers begin to understand better their myriad places within multiple ecosystems, from the local to the global.

[1] Julia Adeney Thomas, Reconfiguring Modernity: Concepts of Nature in Japanese Political Ideology (Berkeley: University of California Press, 2001), 8.

 [2] Edwin Cranston, A Waka Anthology , vol. 1: The Gem-Glistening Cup (Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1993), 194.

 [3] Man’yōshū , Nihon koten bungaku taikei 4 (Tokyo: Iwanami Shoten, 1957), 9-11.

 [4] Haruo Shirane, ed., Traditional Japanese Literature: An Anthology, Beginnings to 1600 (New York: Columbia University Press, 2007), 64.

 [5] Conrad Totman, The Green Archipelago: Forestry in Preindustrial Japan (Athens: Ohio University Press, 1998), 11.

 [6] Yoshida Kenkō, Tsurezuregusa , Nihon koten bungaku taikei 30 (Tokyo: Iwanami Shoten, 1957), 187.

 [7] Mining operations and pollution at Ashio date to the seventeenth century, but water pollution in the region grew increasingly severe in the decades after the Meiji Restoration (1868), and by the late 1880s nearly all marine life in local rivers had died. Massive deforestation to support the mine’s expansion led to flooding of the Watarase Valley and fields in Gunma, Tochigi, Saitama, and Ibaraki prefectures with poisoned water that devastated crops and harmed farmers.  By 1893 tens of thousands of acres had been deforested by the sulfurous acid gas from the refineries.  Pradyumna P. Karan, Japan in the 21 st Century: Environment, Economy, and Society (Lexington: University Press of Kentucky, 2005), 359.  

 [8] For more on environmentality in Miyazawa’s writing, see Gregory Golley, When Our Eyes No Longer See: Realism, Science, and Ecology in Japanese Literary Modernism (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Asia Center, 2008), 163-241.

 [9] Nakaoka Jun’ichi, “Midori ga shitatari,” in Nagatsu Kōzaburō et al., eds., Genbakushi 181 ninshū (1945-2007) (Tokyo: Kōrusakkusha, 2007), 227.

 [10] Hayashi Fumiko, Ukigumo , in Shōwa bungaku zenshū (Tokyo: Kadokawa Shoten, 1953), 195, 273.

 [11] Hayashi Fumiko, Ukigumo , 234.  Texts such as Floating Clouds provide important corollaries to European colonial fiction.

 [12] Kawabata Yasunari, Koto , in Kawabata Yasunari zenshū 18 (Tokyo: Shinchōsha, 1980), 358.

 [13] Karen Colligan-Taylor, The Emergence of Environmental Literature in Japan (New York: Garland, 1990), 211.

 [14] Christopher Bolton, Sublime Voices: The Fictional Science and Scientific Fiction of Abé Kōbō (Cambridge: Harvard University Asia Center, 2009), 2, 83.

[15] Charles Inouye, Evanescence and Form: An Introduction to Japanese Culture (New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2008), 194. Japan Sinks and its manga adaptation were published simultaneously, with a film version being released the following year.

 [16] Colligan-Taylor, The Emergence of Environmental Literature in Japan , 225-29.

 [17] In 1988 Amano spearheaded a movement of fishers, nature writers, and concerned individuals from outside the Nagara River area; this movement grew into a coalition of approximately 16,000 members.  Kada Yukiko et al., “From Kotai to Kankyō mondai: Nature, Development, and Social Conflict in Japan,” in Joanne Bauer, ed., Forging Environmentalism: Justice, Livelihood, and Contested Environments (Armonk, NY: M. E. Sharpe, 2006), 162.

 [18] The first film on Minamata disease – Tsuchimoto Noriaki’s (1928-2008) Minamatabyō – kanjasan to sono sekai (Minamata Disease – Patients and Their World, 1971) – was followed by many others on this illness.

 [19] Susan Napier, Anime: From Akira to Princess Mononoke (New York: Palgrave, 2001), 175-92. For more on anime and the environment see Ursula Heise, “Miyazaki Hayao to Takahata Isao anime ni okeru kankyō to kindaika,” in Ikuta Shōgo et al., “ Basho” no shigaku: Kankyō bungaku to wa nani ka (Tokyo: Fujiwara Shoten, 2008), 80-93. Trans. Tsukada Yukihiro.   

 [20] Susan Napier, Anime , 180.  Another intriguing example of anime addressing human encroachment on environments is Takahata Isao’s (1935–) Heisei tanuki gassen ponpoko (Heisei Badger Wars, 1994). Threatened with extinction as Tokyo’s Tama New Town continues expanding, badgers transform themselves into a variety of creatures, some of which can survive in the new built environment.

 [21] Other Japanese writers who have published on the Tōhoku tragedy are Hayashi Kyōko (1930–), Ikezawa Natsuki (1945–), Murakami Ryū (1952–), Shigematsu Kiyoshi (1963–), Taguchi Randy, Tsushima Yūko (1947–), Yoko Ogawa (1962–), and Tawada Yōko (1960–).  Some of these writers – particularly Ōe, Ikezawa, and Taguchi – had been writing on nuclear issues long before 3/11. 

 [22] Tawada Yōko, “Fushi no shima,” in Tanikawa Shuntarō, et al., eds., Sore de mo sangatsu wa, mata (Tokyo: Kodansha, 2012), 11-21.

[23] See Elmer Luke and David Karashima, trans., March was Made of Yarn: Reflections on the Japanese Earthquake, Tsunami, and Nuclear Meltdown (New York: Vintage Books, 2012); Lisette Gebhardt and Yuki Masami, eds., Literature and Art after Fukushima: Four Approaches (Berlin: EB-Verlag, 2014).

 [24] Lisette Gebhardt, “Post-3/11 Literature: The Localisation of Pain – Internal Negotiations and Global Consciousness,” in Lisette Gebhardt and Yuki Masami, eds., Literature and Art after Fukushima , 11-35.

 [25] Lisa Mundt, “Back to Politics: Artistic Disobedience in the Wake of ‘Fukushima,’” in Lisette Gebhardt and Yuki Masami, eds., Literature and Art after Fukushima , 77-105.

 [26] Mary Knighton, “The Sloppy Realities in Shiriagari Kotobuki’s Manga,” Asia-Pacific Journal online (11:26, 1), June 30, 2014.

 [27] Ibid.

important japanese literature

Receive Website Updates

Please complete the following to receive notification when new materials are added to the website.

Jlit

  • Contact Information
  • Premodern Timeline
  • Modern Timeline
  • Modern Fiction - Prewar
  • Modern Fiction - Postwar
  • Premodern Authors
  • Modern Authors
  • The Japanese Calendar
  • Japanese Era Names
  • The Heijō Capital
  • The Heian Capital

Header

Literary history

The information contained in the pages on literary history is such as Japanese high school students are expected to know to be able to pass university entrance examinations. Subtlety may be lacking, but the kind of information found here -- together with the rote memorization of certain key passages -- can perhaps be said to constitute the core of the Japanese literary tradition as it is studied by a large proportion of Japan's population.

Premodern period

  • The literature of antiquity
  • The literature of middle antiquity
  • The literature of the middle ages
  • The literature of the recent past

Modern period

  • Meiji literature
  • Taishō literature
  • Shōwa, Heisei, and Reiwa literature
Classical literature ( koten bungaku ), meaning literature from the earliest times up to the Meiji Restoration of 1868, is customarily divided by literary scholars into four major periods: jōdai (antiquity) , chūko (middle antiquity) , chūsei (the middle ages) , and kinsei (the recent past) . This method of periodization largely reflects the traditional terminology employed by Japanese historians. Jōdai covers Japanese literary history through the Nara period (710-794); chūko is used more or less synonymously with "literature of the Heian period," from 794 up to the establishment of the Kamakura shogunate in 1192; chūsei takes in the Kamakura (1185-1333), Muromachi (1336-1573), and Azuchi-Momoyama (1573-1600) periods, continuing up to the establishment of the Tokugawa shogunate in 1603; and kinsei is most often used to refer to the Edo period (1603-1867). Two caveats are in order. One is that several of these boundaries are "fuzzy": different events are taken by different scholars to mark the end of one period and the beginning of the next (to take one example, the start of the Kamakura period is now taught in schools to be 1185, but 1192 is still firmly established in the popular imagination). The second is that in practice it is quite acceptable to speak of "Heian literature" or "Edo literature," for instance, instead of using the terms given here.
The literature of antiquity (to 794) Written literature in Japan dates from the Nara period, although an oral tradition existed well before that time. The work that is usually taken to reveal the process of change from an oral to a written tradition and from communal to personal concerns is the collection of poems known as the Man'yōshū (The Collection of Ten Thousand Leaves). The literature of middle antiquity (794-1185) Literature in the early Heian period flourished under Chinese (Tang) influence, but became more expressive of native sentiments as Japan withdrew into itself and political institutions based on Chinese models either collapsed or were molded into more congenial forms. Chinese poetry was supplanted by the waka (literally, "Japanese poem") as the preeminent literary form. Imperial collections of poetry were compiled, and prose works, most by women, were written in the newly developed phonetic kana script. The decline of the aristocracy toward the end of the period was paralleled by a loss of creative energy and a growing sense of pessimism, although collections of folktales and popular songs signaled the involvement of a new social class in the production of works of recognized literary value. The literature of the middle ages (1185-1603) The political turbulence associated with the Genpei Wars of 1180 to 1185 and the establishment of the Kamakura bakufu (1192) gave rise to a literature that both centered on military exploits and often expressed disillusion with such exploits. Mujō (impermanence, transience) became a key concept underlying the literature of this period, although at the same time groups devoted to the composition of renga (linked verse) were turning to literature for the purpose of seeking pleasure there. The literature of the recent past (1603-1867) The Edo period was characterized by the growing cultural influence exercised by samurai and townspeople. The commercial class in particular benefited from various economic and technological developments, the result of which was a great flowering of culture in the Genroku period (1688-1704). The haikai master Matsuo Bashō, the novelist Ihara Saikaku, and the dramatist Chikamatsu Monzaemon are all associated with this enormous outburst of creative activity. The nation's cultural center shifted from the Kyoto-Osaka region to Edo in the second half of the eighteenth century, leading to the production of large quantities of gesaku (frivolous works) by the writers who constituted the last literary generation before the advent of Western influence.
The basis for the periodization of modern literature ( kindai bungaku ) is gradually becoming problematic as the "modern" period grows ever longer. The most common division is the one based on the reigns of the emperors who have ruled since 1868: Meiji (1868-1912) , Taishō (1912-1926) , Shōwa (1926-1989) , Heisei (1989-2019) , and Reiwa (from 2019) . The usefulness of these divisions is mitigated, however, both by the basic political continuity of the past 130 years and by the failure to take into account the single most traumatic disruption of that unity, World War II. Literary histories therefore tend to subdivide the modern era by choosing various historical or cultural events to mark the boundaries of important literary developments, perhaps attaching an explanatory note to identify the reason for the division, resulting in a descriptive heading like "The early-to-middle Meiji period (the creation and development of a modern literature)." The situation is further complicated by the recent questioning of "modernization" as a paradigm for constructing Japan's post-Meiji literary history. The effect all this will eventually have on literature as it is taught in the schools is by no means clear at this point. Meiji literature (1868-1912) The Meiji period was when Japan, under Western influence, took the first steps toward developing a modern literature. The major hallmarks up to the time of the Russo-Japanese War are considered to be Tsubouchi Shōyō's theoretical study Shōsetsu shinzui (The Essence of the Novel, 1885) because of its advocacy of psychological realism, and Futabatei Shimei's Ukigumo (Drifting Clouds, 1887), both for its realistic character portrayal and because the narrative medium is an approximation of everyday speech. Counterpoints are offered by the highly stylized prose of the Ken'yūsha (Friends of the Inkstone) group centering on Ozaki Kōyō, and the kind of romanticism evident in the early stories of Mori Ōgai and, especially, the poetry of Kitamura Tōkoku, Shimazaki Tōson, and Yosano Tekkan. The movement known as Japanese Naturalism gained prominence with the publication of Shimazaki Tōson's novel Hakai (The Broken Commandment, 1906) and Tayama Katai's short story Futon (The Quilt, 1907). Naturalism predominated on the literary scene until around 1910, although such authors as Natsume Sōseki, Mori Ōgai, and Nagai Kafū were not associated with it and might even be considered antagonistic to it. The humanistic idealism of the Shirakaba (White Birch) writers from the second decade of the century is taken to mark a turn away from Naturalism and toward a broader definition of literature. Taishō literature (1912-1926) The intellectual aestheticism of Akutagawa Ryūnosuke and decadence of Tanizaki Jun'ichirō characterize this short period, as do (toward its end) the introduction of elements of Western literary modernism in the early work of Yokomitsu Riichi and Kawabata Yasunari, along with the first stirrings of proletarian literature. The Great Kanto Earthquake of 1923 is sometimes taken as a major cultural divide in this process. Shōwa (1926-1989), Heisei (1989-2019), and Reiwa (2019- ) literature Proletarian literature was the chief literary movement of the 1920s, supplemented by the uniquely Japanese genre of autobiographical fiction known as the "I novel" ( watakushi shōsetsu or shishōsetsu ). Government suppression of proletarian literature in the 1930s was attended by the publication of "conversion" ( tenkō ) novels by writers compelled to renounce their communist ideals. The subsequent patriotic writings of the war years have largely been forgotten. The end of the war witnessed a resurgent cosmopolitanism that has resulted in a striking literary diversity and has led to a reassessment of  the way in which tradition and modernity can be said to contribute to the Japanese sense of identity. This process of reevaluation can be seen in the choice of the two postwar Japanese winners of the Nobel Prize for Literature: Kawabata Yasunari (1968), who titled his acceptance speech "Japan the Beautiful and Myself," and Ōe Kenzaburō (1994), who in deliberate contrast chose the title "Japan the Ambiguous and Myself." The situation since the 1980s has been characterized by an ever increasing diversity, with the "postmodernism" of Murakami Haruki often being one of the last topics mentioned in recent general surveys. This means, in other words, that "accepted" literary history has not really caught up with developments since the late Shōwa period. But any future account of Heisei -- and now Reiwa -- literature will surely have to take note not only of growing categorical fragmentation and diversity but also of the profusion of visually oriented and non-print media (manga, anime, streaming, gaming) that is currently working to reshape the very definition of "literature."

Copyright © Jlit.net. All rights reserved.

  • Subscribe Digital Print

The Japan Times

  • Noto earthquake
  • Middle East crisis
  • Latest News
  • Deep Dive Podcast

Today's print edition

Home Delivery

  • Crime & Legal
  • Science & Health
  • Social Issues
  • More sports
  • Food & Drink
  • Style & Design
  • TV & Streaming
  • Entertainment news

Take your first dive into Japanese literature from the comfort of your kitchen

Japanese author Banana Yoshimoto came onto the scene in 1987 with “Kitchin.” In it, her main character talks about the comfort she finds in her kitchen.

Banana Yoshimoto burst onto the Japanese literary scene in 1987 with her mega-hit novel, “キッチン” ( Kitchin , Kitchen). It was so explosively popular that literary critics actually started to think that Yoshimoto had launched Japan into a whole new era of literature. Megan Backus’ 1993 English translation was well-received, and a generation of English-language readers have gobbled up Yoshimoto’s novels in translation with the same voracious appetite of book lovers here in Japan.

Reading Japanese 小説 ( shōsetsu , novels) not only provides excellent vocabulary and grammar practice but it also throws a reader straight into the most poetic and profound depths of the country’s culture. So let’s take a look at how to read the opening sentences of “キッチン,” breaking down the more unusual and interesting aspects of the text along the way. (Note: The English provided after the text is not Backus’ translation. I used a literal translation to best follow Yoshimoto’s specific sentence structures as they appear in Japanese.)

Yoshimoto begins the tale: 私がこの世で一番好きな場所は台所だと思う ( Watashi ga konoyo de ichiban sukina basho wa daidokoro da to omou , The place that I like the most in this world is the kitchen). One interesting point right off the bat is that Mikage says 台所 ( daidokoro , kitchen) rather than the 和製英語 of the book title, キッチン. While the two terms are interchangeable, 台所 has a more traditional, stable association, while キッチン screams new, foreign and trendy. By using 台所, Mikage assures us she likes any old kitchen — not just the new and fancy ones.

The next passage reveals just how much she likes kitchens: どこのでも、どんなのでも、それが台所であれば食事を作る場所であれば私はつらくない ( Doko no demo, donna no demo, sore ga daidokoro de areba shokuji o tsukuru basho de areba watashi wa tsurakunai , No matter where, no matter what kind, if it’s a kitchen and you can make meals there, I don’t feel [emotionally] pained). つらい ( Tsurai ) means emotionally painful, difficult or cruel, and is used typically used when one is going through hard times. This line also begins to reveal the style Yoshimoto chooses for Mikage: With two symmetrical repetitions (of でも and であれば), Yoshimoto gives the sentence a lyrical, song-like ring to it.

The next line uses a 擬態語 ( gitaigo ), which is an onomatopoeic word that mimics an action, condition or manner. These words, like ぴかぴか ( pika-pika , sparkly and brand new) or しょんぼり ( shonbori , dejectedly/despondently) function similar to adverbs in English, except they lend a vivid sonic punch to the writing — ぴかぴか sounds like sparkles flashing on and off, and しょんぼり sounds like someone is slumping over.

The text goes: できれば機能的でよく使い込んであるといいと思う。乾いた清潔なふきんが何枚もあって白いタイルがぴかぴか輝く ( Dekireba kinō-teki de yoku tsukaikonde aru to ii to omou. Kawaita seiketsuna fukin ga nanmai mo atte shiroi tairu ga pikapika kagayaku , If possible, I think it’s good if it’s well worn-in. With plenty of dry, clean dish towels, and white tiles that sparkle). You can see that Yoshimoto adds more musicality with ぴかぴか輝く ( pika-pika kagayaku ), which has a punchy sort of beat to it with all of the “k” sounds.

Readers of Japanese will pick up on a few features of these first two paragraphs. Firstly and obviously, as seen by 私 ( watashi , I) and と思う ( to omou , I think), the text is written in a first-person voice, taking place inside of the protagonist’s mind. Secondly, Mikage is speaking casually to the reader, using sentence structures that you can easily imagine being said aloud. The lack of commas in the last sentence gives us all of Mikage’s thoughts about kitchens in an excited jumble, as if she can’t wait to tell us all about them.

important japanese literature

Skipping ahead a few paragraphs, Mikage reveals some darker thoughts in interesting Japanese: 本当に疲れ果てた時、私はよくうっとりと思う。「いつか死ぬ時がきたら、台所で息絶えたい。」 ( Hontō ni tsukarehateta toki, watashi wa yoku uttori to omou. Itsuka shinu toki ga kitara, daidokoro de ikitaetai , When I’m truly worn out, I often think vaguely. “When the time comes to die, I want to breath my last in a kitchen.”) Vocabulary-wise, うっとり ( uttori ) is another onomatopoeic word that means doing something in an absorbed or absent-minded manner. Then, 息絶える ( ikitaeru ) means to die or breath one’s last, as seen by the kanji 息 ( iki ) for breath and the verb 絶える ( taeru , to cease.)

What’s most important here, however, is the sentence structure. If you just look at the phrase, よくうっとりと思う, it doesn’t make sense on its own — “I often think vaguely” — think what? If Yoshimoto was to make a proper, grammatical sentence about it, she would arrange it like this: 本当に疲れ果てた時、台所で息絶えたい、とうっとり思う ( Hontō ni tsukarehateta toki, daidokoro de ikitaetai, to uttori omou , When I’m truly worn out, I think vaguely that I want to breathe my last in a kitchen). But instead, Yoshimoto splits up the thought into fragments, showing how Mikage is processing her feelings in real time.

This example shows just how important it is, when reading a novel, to not let confusing sentences or parts of a paragraph that you don’t understand slow you down. When there’s plenty of unknown vocabulary, even a slightly confusing sentence fragment like うっとりと思う can throw you off — but if you continue just a little further, the pieces come together. So Yoshimoto gives us a helpful lesson in patience here when reading 小説 in a foreign language.

“キッチン” has plenty of drama, poetry and a dash of romance and adventure, too — it’s well worth reading to the finish, in the original Japanese. Of course, Yoshimoto always brings the story back to the kitchen: 田辺家に拾われる前は、毎日台所で眠っていた... ( Tanabe-ke ni hirowareru mae wa, mainichi daidokoro de nemutte-ita... , Before the Tanabes picked me up, every day I was sleeping in the kitchen...).

Japanese author Banana Yoshimoto came onto the scene in 1987 with “Kitchin.” In it, her main character talks about the comfort she finds in her kitchen. | GETTY IMAGES

In a time of both misinformation and too much information, quality journalism is more crucial than ever. By subscribing, you can help us get the story right.

Misogyny and Yukio Mishima Read Japanese Literature

In part one of this two-part episode, we're talking about misogyny in Japanese literature.  400 years of attitudes about women in JapanWoman in modern Japanese literature, especially in the work of some of its most important writersCheck out part two (coming soon) for the life and work of Yukio Mishima, especially by way of his I-Novel, Confessions of a Mask.Notes and sources on the episode page. Transcript available. This episode is rated mature.  CW: misogyny, fictional rape, internalize homophobia, suicide Join Patreon to support the podcast and access 10 minutes of bonus content. Support Wajima and the urushi industry with the Matsuzawa Urushi Workshop. Support this podcast by buying from Bookshop.org. Get in touch at www.readjapaneseliterature.com. Support RJL on Patreon.com. Buy your books from Bookshop.org. All content © 2024 Read Japanese Literature.

  • More Episodes
  • © 2024 Read Japanese Literature

Top Podcasts In Fiction

IMAGES

  1. 54 Best Japanese Books (In 13 Genres)

    important japanese literature

  2. 34 Best Japanese Books (In 13 Genres)

    important japanese literature

  3. 16 Best Japanese Literature Books

    important japanese literature

  4. Anthology of Japanese Literature by Donald Keene · OverDrive: ebooks

    important japanese literature

  5. Female Authors Shine: Japanese Literature from 2000 to Today

    important japanese literature

  6. An Introduction to: Classical Japanese Literature

    important japanese literature

VIDEO

  1. N4 Kanji ( 青 )

  2. (06) Japanese words, PART2, 40 Most Important Japanese words (Easy Japanese Practice)

  3. 3 Japanese Phrases for Travelers

  4. (01) 40 Most Important Japanese Words for Beginners

  5. 22. N5 Kanji (本) #goi #japanese #minnano #minnanonihogo1

  6. PHILIPPINE LITERATURE: JAPANESE PERIOD (1941-1945)

COMMENTS

  1. 65 Best Japanese Books of All Time

    1. The Tale of Genji by Murasaki Shikibu Translated by Edward Seidensticker Why Should I Read This Book? This is where Japanese literature began. Murasaki Shikibu was an educated noblewoman of Heian period Japan, and author of what most consider to be the world's first novel.

  2. Japanese literature

    waka haiku renga monogatari I novel See all related content → Japanese literature, the body of written works produced by Japanese authors in Japanese or, in its earliest beginnings, at a time when Japan had no written language, in the Chinese classical language.

  3. Five must-read books from Japanese literature

    The Penguin Book of Japanese Short Stories is an eclectic collection by various authors such as Haruki Murakami, Yasunari Kawabata, Banana Yoshimoto. In a whimsical forward, Murakami explains how...

  4. Japanese literature

    Japanese literature throughout most of its history has been influenced by cultural contact with neighboring Asian literatures, most notably China and its literature. ... As the importance of the imperial court continued to decline, a major feature of Muromachi literature (1333-1603) was the spread of cultural activity through all levels of ...

  5. 5 Things You Should Know About Japanese Literature

    1. The Unique Narratives of Japanese Literature Sayaka Murata The immediate draw of Japanese literature in the west is the same as that of Japanese art and cinema.

  6. Japanese literature

    1History 1.1Ancient Literature (until 894) 1.2Classical Literature (894 - 1194; the Heian period) 1.3Medieval Literature (1195 - 1600) 1.4Early-Modern Literature (1600-1868) 1.5Meiji, Taisho, and Early Showa literature (1868-1945) 1.6Post-War Literature 2Modern Themes 2.1Contemporary Literature 3Characteristics of Japanese Literature

  7. The Tale of Genji

    The Tale of Genji, masterpiece of Japanese literature by Murasaki Shikibu. Written at the start of the 11th century, it is generally considered the world's first novel. Murasaki Shikibu composed The Tale of Genji while a lady in attendance at the Japanese court, likely completing it about 1010.

  8. Japanese Books You Need to Read

    Sasha Frost 13 December 2022 Japanese literature has a long and illustrious history, with its most famous classic, The Tale of Genji, dating back to the 11th century. Often dark but full of humor, Japanese literature showcases the idiosyncrasies of such a culturally driven nation.

  9. Japanese literature

    The outstanding novelists of the 1890s— Ozaki Kōyō, Kōda Rohan, Higuchi Ichiyō, and Izumi Kyōka —all read Saikaku and were noticeably influenced by him.

  10. Japanese Literature

    Japanese Literature. Writing was introduced to Japan from China in the 5th century via the Korean peninsula. The oldest surviving works are two historical records, the Kojiki and Nihon Shoki, which were completed in the early 8th century. In the 11th century, during the peak of the Heian Period, the world's first novel, The Tale of Genji, was ...

  11. 10 Japanese Classic Books to Read

    6) I am a Cat. This is satire novel, written in 1906 by NatusmeSoseki about life in Meiji period (1868-1912). The novel addresses the period's strange, uneasy mix of Western and Japanese culture quite extensively. The chapters can stand on their own, as they were originally released in a serialized form.

  12. 20 Japanese Writers: The Best Authors From Japan Over the Decades

    While Haruki Murakami is a household name across much of the world, Japan has long been a hub of homegrown literature, and there are dozens of novels from talented Japanese writers worth reading. Japanese literature is often slow-moving on the surface, but many stories contain deeper themes like depression, war, and isolation, while others will fill you with warmth, happiness, and excitement ...

  13. 11 Books To Introduce You To Modern Japanese Fiction

    11 Books To Introduce You To Modern Japanese Fiction Take a trip from the streets of Tokyo to the seaside villages of Japan. By Jenni Reid | Published Apr 14, 2021 Photo Credit: Robby McCullough / Unsplash

  14. The Tale of Genji

    The Tale of Genji (源氏物語, Genji monogatari, pronounced [ɡeɲdʑi monoɡaꜜtaɾi]), also known as Genji Monogatari is a classic work of Japanese literature written in the early 11th century by the noblewoman, poet, and lady-in-waiting Murasaki Shikibu.The original manuscript, created around the peak of the Heian period, no longer exists.It was made in "concertina" or orihon style ...

  15. 75 Best Japanese Authors of All Time

    Junichiro Tanizaki One of pre- and post-war Japan's most adored authors, Tanizaki sits comfortably in the literary pantheon alongside Natsume Soseki, Yasunari Kawabata, Kenzaburo Oe, and Yukio Mishima. He began writing long before the Second World War erupted and produced his most famous work - The Makioka Sisters - during the early 1940s.

  16. Exploring Japan's Literary Landscape: A Guide to Book Genres in Japanese

    Light novels, often abbreviated as "LN," are a popular genre among young adults in Japan. These novels are characterized by their shorter length, simpler language, and focus on escapist themes such as fantasy, science fiction, and romance. Regular novels, on the other hand, encompass a wider range of genres and styles, including literary ...

  17. 10 Famous Japanese Authors You Have to Hear

    1. Haruki Murakami Arguably one of the most well-known Japanese authors to English speakers, Haruki Murakami has written more than 20 novels, short story collections, and nonfiction titles. Born in 1949 in Kyoto, Murakami published his first novel in 1979—one year he

  18. Japanese literature

    Japanese literature - Tanka, Haiku, Revitalization: Even the traditional forms, tanka and haiku, though moribund in 1868, took on new life, thanks largely to the efforts of Masaoka Shiki, a distinguished late 19th-century poet in both forms but of even greater importance as a critic. Yosano Akiko, Ishikawa Takuboku, and Saitō Mokichi were probably the most successful practitioners of the new ...

  19. Medieval Japanese literature

    Writing in classical Chinese, with varying degrees of literary merit and varying degrees of direct influence from literature composed on the continent, continued to be a facet of Japanese literature as it had been since Japanese literature's beginnings [ ja] . The late middle ages saw further shifts in literary trends.

  20. Japanese Literature and the Environment

    Japanese Literature and the Environment: From the Collection of Ten Thousand Leaves to Fukushima. ... Just as important is Lisette Gebhardt and Yuki Masami's edited volume Literature and Art after Fukushima: Four Approaches, which examines fissures within the Japanese literary world, writings that link 3/11 to other traumas in Japanese ...

  21. Japanese Literary History

    Premodern period Classical literature ( koten bungaku ), meaning literature from the earliest times up to the Meiji Restoration of 1868, is customarily divided by literary scholars into four major periods: jōdai (antiquity), chūko (middle antiquity), chūsei (the middle ages), and kinsei (the recent past).

  22. Take your first dive into Japanese literature from the comfort of your

    0:00 / 6:37. Banana Yoshimoto burst onto the Japanese literary scene in 1987 with her mega-hit novel, "キッチン" ( Kitchin, Kitchen). It was so explosively popular that literary critics ...

  23. Japanese literature

    Classical literature: Heian period. (794-1185) The foundation of the city of Heian-kyō (later known as Kyōto) as the capital of Japan marked the beginning of a period of great literary brilliance. The earliest writings of the period, however, were almost all in Chinese because of the continued desire to emulate the culture of the continent.

  24. ‎Read Japanese Literature: Misogyny and Yukio Mishima on Apple Podcasts

    In part one of this two-part episode, we're talking about misogyny in Japanese literature. 400 years of attitudes about women in JapanWoman in modern Japanese literature, especially in the work of some of its most important writersCheck out part two (coming soon) for the life and work of Yukio Mish…

  25. Japanese literature

    A magnificent anthology of poetry, the Man'yōshū (compiled after 759; Ten Thousand Leaves ), is the single great literary monument of the Nara period (710-784), although it includes poetry written in the preceding century, if not earlier.

  26. bungu on Instagram: "Kenji Miyazawa (1896-1933) was a Japanese poet and

    950 likes, 2 comments - bungu.store on February 20, 2024: "Kenji Miyazawa (1896-1933) was a Japanese poet and author of children's literature, known for h..." bungu on Instagram: "Kenji Miyazawa (1896-1933) was a Japanese poet and author of children's literature, known for his prolific output of fairy tales, poems, and short stories.