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Tree Spirits Grass Spirits

Tree Spirits Grass Spirits collects twenty-one autobiographical stories about plants by the celebrated Japanese-American poet Hiromi Ito. As translator Jon L Pitt explains in the preface, these sto…

Contemporary Japanese Literature

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Dragon Palace

Dragon Palace collects eight surreal stories by award-winning and internationally celebrated author Hiromi Kawakami. These stories are contemporary fantasies about shapeshifters, talking animals, a…

Contemporary Japanese Literature

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Diary of a Void

Diary of a Void is about a woman in her mid-thirties who lies about being pregnant and decides to run with it. Emi Yagi’s short novel isn’t quite…

Contemporary Japanese Literature

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Life Ceremony

Japanese Title: 生命式 (Seimeishiki)Author: Sayaka Murata (村田 沙耶香)Translator: Ginny Tapley TakemoriPublication Year: 2019 (Japan); 2022 (United States)Press: Grove PressPages: 244 Life Ceremony collec…

Contemporary Japanese Literature

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Dead-End Memories

Japanese Title: デッドエンドの思い出 (Deddo endo no omoide)Author: Banana Yoshimoto (吉本 ばなな)Translator: Asa YonedaPublication Year: 2003 (Japan); 2022 (United States)Press: CounterpointPages: 221 Dead-End Me…

Contemporary Japanese Literature

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Books on Japanese Culture and Society

This past semester I taught a class on Japanese science fiction and fantasy, and I was surprised by how interested my students were in learning more about the…

Contemporary Japanese Literature

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Japanese Suspense Novels by Female Authors

The Memory Police by Yoko OgawaNormal people quietly go about their lives on a sleepy island where memories collectively vanish a bit at a time. But what happens…

Contemporary Japanese Literature

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There’s No Such Thing As An Easy Job

Japanese Title: この世にたやすい仕事はない (Kono yo ni tayasui shigoto wa nai)Author: Kikuko Tsumura (津村 記久子)Translator: Polly BartonPublication Year: 2015 (Japan); 2020 (United Kingdom)Press: Bloomsbury Publis…

Contemporary Japanese Literature

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The End of the Line for the Shinra Corporation

One of the most iconic images of Final Fantasy VII is Cloud standing tall as he faces the dark tower of the Shinra corporate headquarters. Over the meandering…

Contemporary Japanese Literature

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The Easy Life in Kamusari

Japanese Title: 神去なあなあ日常 (Kamusari naa naa nichijō)Author: Shion Miura (三浦 しをん)Translator: Juliet Winters CarpenterPublication Year: 2012 (Japan); 2021 (United States)Press: Amazon CrossingPages: 1…

Contemporary Japanese Literature

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500 Years Later: An Oral History of Final Fantasy VII

Editor: Matt LeoneBook Design: Rachel DaltonPublication Year: 2018Press: Read-Only MemoryPages: 240 500 Years Later: An Oral History of Final Fantasy VII is a book-length collection of interviews w…

Contemporary Japanese Literature

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Earthlings

Japanese Title: 地球星人 (Chikyūseijin)Author: Sayaka Murata (村田 沙耶香)Translator: Ginny Tapley TakemoriPublication Year: 2018 (Japan); 2020 (United States)Press: Grove PressPages: 247 Content Warning: T…

Contemporary Japanese Literature

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The Life-Changing Magic of Embracing Your Inner Weirdo

Marie Kondo instructs readers of her bestselling home organization guide The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up to surround themselves only with things that spark joy. I don’t care…

Contemporary Japanese Literature

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The Cat Who Saved Books

Japanese Title: 本を守ろうとする猫の話 (Hon o mamorō to suru neko no hanashi)Author: Sosuke Natsukawa (夏川 草介)Translator: Louise Heal KawaiPublication Year: 2017 (Japan); 2021 (United States)Press: HarperColli…

Contemporary Japanese Literature

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The Beast Player

Japanese Title: 獣の奏者 I 闘蛇編 (Kemono no sōja ichi: Tōda hen) and 獣の奏者 II 王獣編 (Kemono no sōja ni: Ōjū hen)Author: Nahoko Uehashi (上橋 菜穂子)Translator: Cathy HiranoIllustrator: Yuta…

Contemporary Japanese Literature

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The Woman with the Flying Head

Author: Yumiko Kurahashi (倉橋由美子)Translator: Atsuko SakakiPublisher: M. E. SharpePublication Year: 1997Pages: 159 Yumiko Kurahashi was a member of the generation of female writers whose work began a…

Contemporary Japanese Literature

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So We Look to the Sky

Japanese Title: ふがいない僕は空を見た (Fugainai boku wa sora o mita)Author: Misumi Kubo (窪 美澄)Translator: Polly BartonPublication Year: 2010 (Japan); 2021 (United States)Press: Arcade PublishingPages: 267 So…

Contemporary Japanese Literature

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Lonely Castle in the Mirror

Japanese Title: かがみの孤城 (Kagami no kojō)Author: Mizuki Tsujimura (辻村 深月)Translator: Philip GabrielPublication Year: 2017 (Japan); 2021 (United Kingdom)Press: DoubledayPages: 355 Thirteen-year-old Ko…

Contemporary Japanese Literature

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The Woman in the Purple Skirt

Japanese Title: むらさきのスカートの女 (Murasaki no sukāto no onna)Author: Natsuko Imamura (今村 夏子)Translator: Lucy NorthPublication Year: 2019 (Japan); 2021 (United States)Publisher: Penguin BooksPages: 216 T…

Contemporary Japanese Literature

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Colorful

Japanese Title: カラフル (Karafuru)Author: Eto Mori (森絵都)Translator: Jocelyne AllenPublication Year: 1998 (Japan); 2021 (United States)Publisher: CounterpointPages: 224 A fourteen-year-old boy named Ma…

Contemporary Japanese Literature

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The Cat in the Coffin

Japanese Title: 柩の中の猫 (Hitsugi no naka no neko)Author: Mariko Koike (小池 真理子)Translator: Deborah Boliver BoehmPublication Year: 1990 (Japan); 2009 (United States)Publisher: VerticalPages: 190 Accord…

Contemporary Japanese Literature

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Where the Wild Ladies Are

Author: Aoko Matsuda (松田 青子)Japanese Title: おばちゃんたちのいるところ (Obachan-tachi no iru tokoro)Translator: Polly BartonPublication Year: 2016 (Japan); 2020 (United States)Publisher: Soft Skull PressPages: …

Contemporary Japanese Literature

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People From My Neighborhood

People from My Neighborhood Japanese Title: このあたりの人たち (Kono atari no hitotachi) Author: Hiromi Kawakami (川上 弘美) Translator: Ted Goossen Publication Year: 2019 (Japan); 2020 (United Kingdom) Publish…

Contemporary Japanese Literature

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Strange Tale of Panorama Island

Strange Tale of Panorama Island Japanese Title: パノラマ島奇談 (Panorama-tō kitan) Author: Edogawa Ranpo (江戸川 乱歩) Translator: Elaine Kazu Gerbert Publication Year: 1927 (Japan); 2013 (United States) Publi…

Contemporary Japanese Literature

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Overlord: The Undead King

Overlord, Volume 1: The Undead King Japanese Title: オーバーロード 1 不死者の王 (Ōbārōdo 1: Fushisha no ō) Author: Kugane Maruyama (丸山くがね) Translator: Emily Balistrieri Illustrator: so-bin (@soubin) Publicatio…

Contemporary Japanese Literature

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Final Fantasy V

Final Fantasy V Author: Chris Kohler Publisher: Boss Fight Books Publication Year: 2017 Pages: 165 Final Fantasy V is a book about the experience of growing up in…

Contemporary Japanese Literature

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The Aosawa Murders

The Aosawa Murders Japanese Title: EUGENIA (ユージニア) Author: Riku Onda (恩田 陸) Translator: Alison Watts Publication Year: 2005 (Japan); 2020 (United Kingdom) Publisher: Bitter Lemon Press Pages: 315…

Contemporary Japanese Literature

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Parade

Parade Japanese Title: パレード (Parēdo) Author: Hiromi Kawakami (川上 弘美) Illustrator: Takako Yoshitomi (吉富 貴子) Translator: Allison Markin Powell Book Design: Wah-Ming Chan Publication Year: 2002 (Japan…

Contemporary Japanese Literature

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The God of Bears

The God of Bears Japanese Title: 神様 (Kamisama) Author: Hiromi Kawakami (川上弘美) Publisher: Chūōkōronsha (中央公論社) Publication Year: 1998 Pages: 205 At the age of 36, Hiromi Kawakami submitted…

Contemporary Japanese Literature

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The Little House

The Little House Japanese Title: 小さいおうち (Chiisai ouchi) Author: Kyoko Nakajima (中島 京子) Translator: Ginny Tapley Takemori Publication Year: 2010 (Japan); 2019 (United Kingdom) Publisher: Darf Publis…

Contemporary Japanese Literature