Read Japanese Literature

How does a book make it from the mind of a Japanese author into the hands of an English-language reader?

In part 1 of this 2-part episode, we'll tackle the question, “Why do some Japanese books get translated into English? How do publishers decide what gets translated? How do they decide what doesn’t get translated." And we'll take a look at Minae Mizumura's An I-Novel, translated into English by Juliet Winters Carpenter.

Transcript, notes and sources at the podcast episode page. 

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All content © 2023 Read Japanese Literature.

In this episode, we’re talking about Japanese science fiction.

The history of the genre. SF in Japan. Breakthrough feminist sci-fi writer Izumi Suzuki.

Plus loads of SF stories, including Suzuki’s “Night Picnic”.

CW: suicide

Transcript, notes and sources at the podcast episode page. 

Thanks for listening.
Get in touch at www.readjapaneseliterature.com.
Support RJL on Patreon.com.
Buy your books from Bookshop.org.
All content © 2023 Read Japanese Literature.

In this episode, we're talking about writing from Okinawa. The history of the Ryukyu Islands, especially the Battle of Okinawa. The evolution of writing from Okinawa. And the life life and work of author and activist Shun Medoruma, especially his Akutagawa-winning story "Droplets".

CW: forced suicide (historical), violence (historical and fictional), historical rape

Correction: This episode claims Hokkaido is Japan's largest island.  I know better and misspoke. My apologies.Honshu is Japan's largest island.

Transcript, notes and sources at the podcast episode page. 

Thanks for listening.
Get in touch at www.readjapaneseliterature.com.
Support RJL on Patreon.com.
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All content © 2023 Read Japanese Literature.

On March 11, 2011, at 2:46pm, one tectonic plate forced its way on top of another 45 miles (or 72 km) off the Eastern coast of Japan. It caused a 9.0 magnitude megathrust earthquake that lasted about six minutes.

The Great East Japan Earthquake triggered a tsunami—a great wave—that may have reached heights up to 133 feet (more than 40 meters). 

The earthquake and tsunami also disabled the reactor cooling systems at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant, causing several reactors to meltdown.

The government of Tokyo released official death numbers around the tenth anniversary of 3/11 in 2021. It reported 19,759 deaths. 6,242 injuries. And 2,553 missing. Most of the missing are presumed dead.

Hundreds of thousands of people who evacuated the area still haven’t returned home—many never will.

In this episode:

• Tohoku and its place in Japan's history and culture
• The response by Japanese writers to the 3/11 disaster
• Hiromi Kawakami's life and work—especially her stories "God Bless You" and "God Bless You, 2011"

Transcript, notes and sources at the podcast episode website. 

Donate to support Tohoku:

• Soso Volunteer (Japanese)
• Support Our Kids (Japanese)
• The Taylor Anderson Memorial Fund (English)

Become an RJL supporter for ten minutes of bonus content.

Thanks for listening.
Get in touch at www.readjapaneseliterature.com.
Support RJL on Patreon.com.
Buy your books from Bookshop.org.
All content © 2023 Read Japanese Literature.

This episode is marked mature.

Today we'll explore two trends in contemporary Japanese fiction:

• Protagonists who don’t want to have sex
• And women who want to have babies anyway.

To take a closer look at these trends, we’re going to ask a couple of questions about contemporary Japan:

• What is “celibacy syndrome”? Does it even exist?
• What role does motherhood play in a shrinking society?
• And how do sexlessness and motherhood play out in 21st-century Japanese fiction?

We’ll end with a closer look at Mieko Kawakami’s best-selling novel, Breasts and Eggs.

Transcript, notes and sources at the podcast episode website.

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The Akutagawa Prize is probably Japan’s most celebrated literary award.

To better understand the Akutagawa Prize and its place in modern Japanese literature, we’ll start with an introduction to the history of “literary” fiction in Japan.

Then we’ll move on to the history of the Akutagawa Prize itself, from its creation in 1935 through its most recent winners.

And then we’ll finish with a look at the life and career of Kobo Abe including his most famous book, The Woman in the Dunes.

(CW: suicide, attempted rape in a novel)

Notes and sources at the podcast episode website.

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Magical realism is a literary genre famous for unexplained fantastical encounters that pop-up in the otherwise everyday world.

Today, we’re going to take a look at magical realism in Japanese fiction.

We’ll start with defining magical realism, including a look at why that term is difficult and why some people think of it as controversial.

Then we’ll turn to the history of magical realism in Japan and take a closer look at the work of Tomihiko Morimi, especially The Night Is Short, Walk on Girl.

(CW: brief mention of fictional suicide attempt)

Notes and sources at the podcast episode website.

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A Reading List of Japanese Magical Realism

Today, we’re going to look at cats in Japanese literature.

We’ll start with the history of cats in Japan.

We’ll move on to cats in Japanese folklore and fiction, including the work of Haruki Murakami.

And finally we’ll end with a discussion of our readers' choice, “The Town of Cats” by Sakutaro Hagiwara.

Notes and sources at the podcast episode website.

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In this episode…

Is she a man-eating crone?

Is she a lonely wanderer?

Or is she a sensual matriarch?

However you define her, she’s the yama-uba—Japan’s legendary mountain witch.

Notes and sources at the podcast episode website.

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In this episode…

Post-bubble Japan.

The history of socially-conscious Japanese literature.

And Yu Miri’s Tokyo Ueno Station, a powerful examination of Tokyo by one of the most invisible people imaginable—the ghost of a homeless day laborer.

Notes and sources at the podcast episode website.

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