Japanese Literature

In this collection, discover insightful analyses of iconic Japanese literary texts, including The Tale of Genji, which is widely considered the world’s earliest surviving novel. Learn how the different authors portray a diverse set of topics, from interpersonal relationships and identity, to dystopias and the experience of Japanese internment camps during World War II.

Seventeen Syllables

by Hisaye Yamamoto

Publication year 1949

Genre Short Story, Fiction

Themes Family, Conflict, Immigration

Tags Education, Education, Japanese Literature

“Seventeen Syllables,” originally published in 1949 by the Partisan Review, is Hisaye Yamamoto’s most anthologized short story. Yamamoto was one of the first Japanese American authors to achieve critical and commercial success after World War II due to her celebrated short stories about life in Southern California and the experiences of Japanese Americans. Her stories were eventually published together in 1988, in a collection titled Seventeen Syllables and Other Stories released by Kitchen Table Press... Read Seventeen Syllables Summary

Shogun

by James Clavell

Publication year 1975

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Religion & Spirituality, Loyalty & Betrayal, Language, Shame & Pride, Power & Greed, Politics & Government, Wins & Losses

Tags Historical Fiction, Action & Adventure, Asian History, Politics & Government, Military & War, American Literature, World History, Fantasy, Japanese Literature, Classic Fiction

Shogun is a 1975 novel by American author James Clavell. It is one of six books in Clavell’s Asian Saga, which chronicles the ways Europeans interacted with countries in Asia from the 17th to the 20th centuries. The novel tells the story of English ship pilot John Blackthorne, loosely based on the real life navigator William Adams, who becomes intimately involved in the rise to power of Yoshi Toranaga, a fictionalized version of Tokugawa Ieyasu... Read Shogun Summary

Snow Country

by Yasunari Kawabata

Publication year 1937

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Grief, Love, Femininity, Environment

Tags Classic Fiction, Japanese Literature, Romance, Asian Literature, World History

Snow Country by Yasunari Kawabata was originally published episodically in Japanese literary journals between 1935 and 1937. It was finally published as a complete version in 1948. The novel takes place on the snowy northwestern coast of Japan and tells the story of the ill-fated romance between a geisha named Komako and her wealthy client, Shimamura. In the intimate setting of the onsen, Kawabata explores the Commodification of Female Talent and Affection, Landscapes as Metaphors... Read Snow Country Summary

Southland

by Nina Revoyr

Publication year 2003

Genre Novel, Fiction

Tags Japanese Literature, Asian Literature, Race & Racism, Horror & Suspense, Mystery & Crime Fiction, World History, Historical Fiction, LGBTQ+

Southland is a 2003 crime novel written by Nina Revoyr. The award-winning novel is her second; her first novel is The Necessary Hunger. Revoyr was born in Tokyo to a Japanese mother and a Polish American father and is known for her engaging prose about aspects of Los Angeles that often go unseen. In Southland, Revoyr addresses themes of racism, redemption, justice, and family while telling the story of a forgotten neighborhood. Revoyr weaves details... Read Southland Summary

Sputnik Sweetheart

by Haruki Murakami

Publication year 1999

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Love, Loneliness, Appearance & Reality, Self Discovery

Tags Magical Realism, Romance, Japanese Literature, LGBTQ+

Sputnik Sweetheart is a work of magical realism by Haruki Murakami, published in 1999 in Japan and then in English in April 2001. The novel follows the protagonist K, who loves his friend Sumire, though she does not feel the same way. When Sumire falls in love with a woman, Miu, and disappears on a trip to Greece with her, K goes to investigate, but reality blurs as he learns more about Miu and Sumire’s... Read Sputnik Sweetheart Summary

The Big Wave

by Pearl S. Buck

Publication year 1947

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Education, Perseverance, Death, Community

Tags Historical Fiction, Classic Fiction, Children`s Literature, Education, Education, Japanese Literature

... Read The Big Wave Summary

The Buddha in the Attic

by Julie Otsuka

Publication year 2011

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Fear, Race, Justice

Tags Historical Fiction, Immigration & Refugeeism, Social Class, US History, Race & Racism, American Literature, World War II, Asian Literature, World History, Japanese Literature

Julie Otsuka is a Japanese American writer who was born in 1962 in Palo Alto, California. Both The Buddha in the Attic (2011) and her 2002 novel, When the Emperor was Divine, portray the Japanese American experience of internment camps following Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor in December 1941. The subject is close to Otsuka’s heart; the FBI arrested her grandfather on suspicion of being an enemy spy, while her mother, uncle, and grandmother were... Read The Buddha in the Attic Summary

The Buried Giant

by Kazuo Ishiguro

Publication year 2015

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Memory

Tags Japanese Literature, Asian Literature, Fantasy, British Literature, World History, Historical Fiction, Magical Realism

Set in Arthurian Britain just after King Arthur’s death,The Buried Giant, Kazuo Ishiguro’s seventh novel, is told in four parts and focuses on an elderly couple, Axl and Beatrice, and their journey to find their son. Along the way, they must deal with issues of memory, aging, love, loss and death. While the voice of a narrator frames the novel, much of the story is told from the shifting perspectives of the major characters of... Read The Buried Giant Summary

The Cat Who Saved Books

by Sōsuke Natsukawa, Transl. Louise Heal Kawai

Publication year 2017

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Animals, Conflict, Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Perseverance, Fear, Hope, Joy, Loneliness, Love, Memory, Coming of Age, Death, Future, The Past, Appearance & Reality, Friendship, Grandparents, Teamwork, Self Discovery, Community, Economics, Education, Art, Beauty, Fate, Good & Evil, Justice, Literature, Loyalty & Betrayal, Order & Chaos, Power & Greed, Science & Technology, Truth & Lies

Tags Fantasy, Magical Realism, Japanese Literature, Contemporary Literature

... Read The Cat Who Saved Books Summary

The Ghost In The Tokaido Inn

by Dorothy Hoobler, Thomas Hoobler

Publication year 1999

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Revenge, Childhood & Youth, The Past, Appearance & Reality, Social Class, Justice, Loyalty & Betrayal, Emotions/Behavior: Courage

Tags Mystery & Crime Fiction, Historical Fiction, Children`s Literature, Education, Education, World History, Japanese Literature, Action & Adventure

The Ghost in the Tokaido Inn (1999), by Dorothy and Thomas Hoobler, is the first novel in the Samurai Detective young adult series, currently comprised of seven books. The novel follows Seikei, the son of a merchant who aspires to be a samurai, as he helps the judge investigate the theft of a ruby from a samurai lord. It explores the themes of Personal Ambition Versus Societal Expectations, The Deceptiveness of Appearances, and The Importance... Read The Ghost In The Tokaido Inn Summary

The Housekeeper and the Professor

by Yoko Ogawa

Publication year 2003

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Disability, Science & Technology, Family

Tags Psychological Fiction, Realistic Fiction, Disability, Education, Science & Nature, Relationships, Asian History, Modern Classic Fiction, Asian Literature, Japanese Literature

The Housekeeper and the Professor, written by Yōko Ogawa, is a work of literary fiction set in modern-day Japan and loosely based on the book The Man Who Loved Only Numbers, a biography of the mathematician Paul Erdös. The Housekeeper and the Professor was originally published in Japanese in 2003; it sold more than one million copies and received the Hon’ya Taisho award in 2004. In 2006, it was adapted into a film version, titled... Read The Housekeeper and the Professor Summary