Thursday, March 06, 2025

Sansom, Japan: A Short Cultural History (1978)

G. B. Sansom.
Japan: A Short Cultural History.
Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1978.

(Publication history: First edition 1931; Second edition 1943; Second edition revised 1952.
The 1978 Stanford reprint is of the 1952 revised second edition.)

Book Information : Publisher; Amazon.com; Archive.org.

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Author Information :
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Wikipedia Articles :
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Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy :
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More Recently Published Books :
    Some recently published books that cover the same topics as Sansom's Japan: A Short Cultural History.
  • Mikiso Hane and Louis G. Perez. Premodern Japan: A Historical Survey, second edition. Westview Press, 2015; New York: Routledge, 2018.
    [Publisher; Google Books; Amazon.com.]
  • Nancy K. Stalker. Japan: History and Culture from Classical to Cool. Oakland: University of California Press, 2018.
    [Publisher; Google Books; Amazon.com.]

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Saturday, March 01, 2025

Kaga, Marshland (2024)

Otohiko Kaga.
Marshland.
Translated by Albert Novick.
Dallas, Texas: Dalkey Archive Press / Deep Vellum Publishing, 2024.
Originally published: 湿原, Shitsugen, Asahi Shimbun, 1985.

Book Information : Publisher; Google Books; Amazon.com; GoodReads.com.

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Author Information :
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Wikipedia Articles :
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Saturday, February 15, 2025

Inoue, The Counterfeiter and Other Stories (2000)

Yasushi Inoue.
The Counterfeiter and Other Stories.
Translated by Leon Picon.
Boston, Rutland Vermont, Tokyo: Tuttle Publishing (Periplus Editions), 1965, 2000.

Book Information : Google Books; Amazon.com; Internet Archive.

Note: "The Counterfeiter" was recently published in a new English translation:
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Author Information :
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Translator Information :
  • Leon Picon Obituary (1917-1994), The Washington Post, 23 August 1994.
  • Lew Schmidt, "Interview with Leon Picon" (transcript), The Association for Diplomatic Studies and Training: Foreign Affairs Oral History Project, Information Series; Library of Congress, 30 October 1989.
    Another, better formatted, version of the transcript, The Association for Diplomatic Studies and Training.
    • Unfortunately, Picon did not discuss his Japanese literary translation work in this interview; the interviewer mainly asked about his work as a U.S. Foreign Service Officer. It's not only about the details of State Department bureaucracy: the interview contains interesting biographical information about Picon, amusing anecdotes about William Faulkner's visit to Japan, and a few, too few, other accounts about his time in Japan. Picon was in Japan from 1955 to 1965.
    • United States Information Agency (USIA), Wikipedia.
    • "Impressions of Japan," U.S.I.S., 1955.
      (A film about William Faulkner's visit to Japan, discussed on pages 16-24 of the LoC interview transcript, pages 12-18 in the ADST version.)
    • Charles Frankel. The Neglected Aspect of Foreign Affairs: American Educational and Cultural Policy Abroad. Washington, D.C.: The Brookings Institution, 1966.
      [Google Books; Amazon.com.]
    • Charles Frankel. High on Foggy Bottom: An Outsider's Inside View of the Government. New York: Harper & Row, 1969.
      [Google Books; Amazon.com.]
    • Charles Frankel. "paper title unknown." In: Prologue to the Future: the United States and Japan in the Post-industrial Age. Edited by James William Morley. Published for The Japan Society by Lexington Books, 1974.
      [Google Books; Amazon.com.]

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Contents of The Counterfeiter and Other Stories :
  1. "The Counterfeiter" [1951].
  2. "Obasute" [1956].
    • Ubasute, Wikipedia English.
      This article has an image of the ukiyo-e woodblock print "Ubasute no tsuki" (The Moon of Ubasute) from the series One Hundred Aspects of the Moon (number 97), 1885-1892, by Tsukioka Yoshitoshi.
      Seeing this image after reading the story, I wonder if it was one of Inoue's inspirations for his story (or perhaps an inspiration for the cover art on the book of stories mentioned by the narrator in the story).
    • うばすてやま [Ubasuteyama], Wikipedia Japan.
  3. "The Full Moon" [1958].
    • The president of a corporation initiates a series of annual company retreats scheduled to coincide with the harvest moon.

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Thursday, February 13, 2025

Natsukawa, The Cat Who Saved Books (2023)

Sosuke Natsukawa.
The Cat Who Saved Books.
Translated by Louise Heal Kawai.
London: Picador (Pan Macmillan), 2021.
New York: HarperCollins Publishers, 2023.
(Originally published in Japan by Shogakukan, 2017.)

Book Information : Publisher; Google Books; Amazon.com; Goodreads.

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Author Information :
  • 夏川草介 [Sosuke Natsukawa, a pen name / psuedonym] (b. 1978), Wikipedia Japan.
  • Sosuke Natsukawa, The Cat Who Saved Books, 2017, English translation 2021; Wikipedia English.

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Translator Information :
  • Louise Heal Kawai, @quietmoonwave17, Twitter / X.
  • Louise Heal Kawai, Words Without Borders [has a translation by Louise Heal Kawai].
  • Louise Heal Kawai, Granta [has a couple translations by Louise Heal Kawai].
  • Some other books translated by Louise Heal Kawai :
    • Masateru Konishi, 小西マサテル (b. 1965), My Grandfather, the Master Detective [20##], English translation 2025.
    • Sosuke Natsukawa, 夏川草介 (b. 1978), The Cat Who Saved the Library [20##], English translation 2025.
    • Seicho Matsumoto (1909–1992), Point Zero [1959], English translation 2024.
    • Rio Shimamoto (b. 1983), First Love [2018], English translation 2024.
    • Hideo Yokoyama (b. 1957), The North Light [2019], English translation 2023.
    • Seishi Yokomizo (1902–1981), Death on Gokumon Island [1948], English translation 2022.
    • Seishi Yokomizo (1902–1981), The Honjin Murders [1946], English translation 2019.
    • Soji Shimada (b. 1948), Murder in the Crooked House [1982], English translation 2019.
    • Mieko Kawakami (b. 1976), Ms Ice Sandwich [2013], English translation 2018.
    • Hideo Yokoyama (b. 1957), Seventeen [2003], English translation 2018.
    • Ito Ogawa, 小川糸, (b. 1973), The Island of Expectation [Japanese title: つるかめ助産院, Tsurukame Midwifery Clinic, 2010], English translation 2017.
    • Seicho Matsumoto (1909–1992), A Quiet Place [1975], English translation 2016.
    • Taeko Tomioka, 富岡多恵子 (1935–2023), Building Waves [Japanese title: 波うつ土地, The Land of Waves or Wavy Land, 1983], English translation 2012.
    • Shoko Tendo, Yakuza Moon: Memoirs of a Gangster's Daughter [2004], English translation 2007.

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Wikipedia Articles :
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Comments :

The Cat Who Saved Books is not adult literature. The main characters are two high school students; the simple story uses fantasy adventures to make pious points about the value of books. A cat plays a secondary role as a messenger ... from the the spirit world? ... from the main character's recently deceased grandfather? The book is not about people's relationships with their cats as is the case with Hiraide's The Guest Cat or Inaba's Mornings With My Cat Mii. Given the age of the main characters, the use of fantasy elements (which seem intended for an Anime production), and the pious lessons imparted, I categorize this book as Young Adult literature that's safe (i.e., non-controversial) for the middle school or high school classroom (but which might cause an unfortunate degeneration of the curriculum since its use might displace an older more sophisticated classic work of greater literary merit).

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Wednesday, February 12, 2025

Inoue, Lou-lan and Other Stories (1981)

Yasushi Inoue.
Lou-lan and Other Stories.
Translated by James T. Araki and Edward Seidensticker.
Tokyo and New York: Kodansha International, 1979, 1981.

Book Information : Amazon.com; Internet Archive; Goodreads.

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Author Information :
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Contents of Lou-lan and Other Stories :
  1. "Lou-lan" [1959], translated by Edward Seidensticker.
  2. "The Sage," translated by James T. Araki.
  3. "Princess Yung-t'ai's Necklace," translated by Edward Seidensticker.
  4. "The Opaline Cup," translated by James T. Araki.
  5. "The Rhododendrons," translated by Edward Seidensticker.
    • "The Rhododendrons of Hira" was included in:
      The Columbia Anthology of Modern Japanese Literature: Volume 2: 1945 to the Present, Edited by J. Thomas Rimer and Van C. Gessel, Columbia University Press, 2007 (pages 128-148).
      [Publisher; Amazon.com.]
      and also in:
      The Columbia Anthology of Modern Japanese Literature: Abridged, Edited by J. Thomas Rimer and Van C. Gessel, Columbia University Press, 2011 (pages 542-562).
      [Publisher; Google Books; Amazon.com.]
  6. "Passage to Fudaraku," translated by James T. Araki.
    • 補陀落渡海 [Fudaraku Crossing the Sea], Wikipedia Japan
      (article explains the religious and cultural background and history of the practice).
    • "Passage to Fudaraku" was included in:
      The Oxford Book of Japanese Short Stories, Edited by Theodore W. Goossen, Oxford University Press, 1997, 2010.
      [Publisher; Google Books; Amazon.com, 1997; Amazon.com, 2010.]
      My post for the Oxford anthology is here.

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Tuesday, February 11, 2025

Sukegawa, Sweet Bean Paste (2017)

Durian Sukegawa.
Sweet Bean Paste.
Translated by Alison Watts.
London: Oneworld Publications, 2017.
(First published in Japan by Poplar Publishing Co., 2013; revised edition, 2015.)

Book Information : Publisher; Google Books; Amazon.com; Goodreads.

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Sunday, February 02, 2025

Inoue, Shirobamba (1993)

Yasushi Inoue.
Shirobamba: A Childhood in Old Japan [1962].
Translated by Jean Oda Moy.
New York: Weatherhill, 1993.
(This English translation was previously published: London: Peter Owen Publishers, 1991.)

Book Information : Publisher; Google Books; Amazon.com; Internet Archive Open Library.

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Wikipedia Articles :
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Yasushi Inoue Books in English, Internet Archive.

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Tanizaki's The Makioka Sisters provides a glimpse of Japanese life in mid-1930s Osaka and its suburbs. In an analogous manner Inoue's Shirobamba provides a glimpse of Japanese life in a rural village on the Izu Peninsula at the beginning of the 20th century.

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Sunday, January 26, 2025

Endō, Volcano (2012)

Shūsaku Endō.
Volcano [1959].
Translated by Richard A. Schuchert.
London: Peter Owen Publishers, 1972, 2012.

Book Information : Publisher; Google Books; Amazon.com.

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Wikipedia Articles :
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Saturday, January 18, 2025

Mitsios, editor, New Japanese Voices (1991)

New Japanese Voices: The Best Contemporary Fiction from Japan.
Edited by Helen Mitsios.
New York: Atlantic Monthly Press, 1991.

Book Information : Editor's Website; Google Books; Amazon.com.

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Editor Information :
  • Helen Mitsios, helenmitsios.com.
  • Helen Mitsios, New York School of Career and Applied Studies.
  • Helen Mitsios, editor. Digital Geishas and Talking Frogs: The Best 21st Century Short Stories from Japan. Boston: Cheng & Tsui Co., 2011.
    [Publisher; Google Books; Amazon.com.]
  • Helen Mitsios, editor. Beneath the Ice: An Anthology of Contemporary Icelandic Poetry. Northfield, Massachusetts: Talisman House, Publishers, 2014.
    [Publisher; Wikipedia; Google Books; Amazon.com.]
  • Helen Mitsios, editor. Out of the Blue: New Short Fiction from Iceland. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 2017.
    [Publisher; Google Books; Amazon.com.]
  • Helen Mitsios, editor. New Greek Voices: The Best Short Fiction from Greece. New York: Tiber & Hudson Publishers, 2024.
    [Publisher; Amazon.com.]
  • Rasia Kliot and Helen Mitsios. Waltzing with the Enemy: A Mother and Daughter Confront the Aftermath of the Holocaust. Jerusalem: Urim Publications, 2011.
    [Publisher; Google Books; Amazon.com.]

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Contents of New Japanese Voices: The Best Contemporary Fiction from Japan :
    [Notes: My only complaint is that the book does not explicitly state when the stories were originally published; the 1980s is most likely for all of them.

    Each entry in this list contians: author's name as it appears in New Japanese Voices, which may differ from its appearance in other sources; English Wikipedia article for the author, if available; Japanese Wikipedia article for the author, always available; story title; translator name.
    When there is overlap in how an author's name appears in New Japanese Voices and his English Wikipedia page, I collapse the two together.
    The Japanese Wikipedia article about an author is usually much more informative than an English Wikipedia article, if one even exists. I recommend using a web browser that will translate webpages for you.
    This is my explanation for why so many names may be given for an author.

    For some authors I listed other works available in English translation; for some authors I could find no other works in English translation; for some well known authors (for example, Murakami and Yoshimoto) I didn't list any additional works.]

  1. Masahiko Shimada, 島田 雅彦 (b. 1961), "A Callow Fellow of Jewish Descent," Translated by Hiroaki Sato.
    Other work by Shimada Masahiko available in English translation include:
  2. Haruki Murakami, 村上 春樹 (b. 1949), "On Meeting My 100 Percent Woman One Fine April Morning" [1981], Translated by Kevin Flanagan and Tamotsu Omi.
    Also published in:
    • Haruki Murakami. The Elephant Vanishes: Stories. Translated by Alfred Birnbaum and Jay Rubin. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1993; New York: Vintage International, 1994.
      ("On Seeing the 100% Perfect Girl One Beautiful April Morning," Translated by Jay Rubin.)
      [Publisher; Wikipedia; Google Books; Amazon.com.]
  3. Makoto Shiina, 椎名誠 (b. 1944), "Swallowtails," Translated by Joseph Farrar.
  4. Seikoh Itoh, いとうせいこう, 伊藤 正幸, Ito Seiko (b. 1961), "God is Nowhere; God is Now Here," Translated by William J. Tyler.
    Several translated works by Seiko Ito are listed on Amazon.com but none of them are in English.
    A Google search of Seiko Ito produces some meaningful results in English:
  5. Eimi Yamada, Amy Yamada, 山田 詠美 (b. 1959), "X-Rated Blanket," Translated by Nina Cornyetz.
    Other work by Yamada Amy available in English translation include:
    • Amy Yamada. Trash. Translated by Sonya L. Johnson. Kodansha, 1994.
      [Google Books; Amazon.com.]
    • Amy Yamada. Bedtime Eyes. Translated by Marc Jardine and Yumi Gunji. New York: St. Martin's Press, 2006.
      (Contains the novellas: "Bedtime Eyes," "The Piano Player's Fingers" and "Jesse.")
      [Amazon.com.]
    • Amy Yamada, "Fiesta" in Inside and Other Short Fiction: Japanese Women by Japanese Women, Kodansha, 2006.
      [Amazon.com.]
  6. Yang Ji Lee, Lee Yangji, 李良枝 (1955 – 1992), "Yu-Hee," Translated by Constance Prener.
    Excerpt from Yuhi (1988) which won the 100th Akutagawa Prize in 1989.
  7. Sei Takekawa, 竹河 聖, "On a Moonless Night," Translated by Mauricio Lorence.
  8. Kyoji Kobayashi, 小林恭二 (b. 1957), "Living in a Maze," Translated by David Hanna.
  9. Genichiro Takahashi, 高橋源一郎 (b. 1951), "The Imitation of Leibniz," Translated by Minoru Mochizuki.
    Other work by Genichiro Takahashi available in English translation:
    • Genichiro Takahashi. Sayonara, Gangsters [1982]. Translated by Michael Emmerich. New York: Vertical, 2004.
      [Publisher; Wikipedia; Amazon.com.]
  10. Tamio Kageyama, 景山 民夫 (1947–1998), "The Unsinkable Molly Brown," Translated by James Dorsey.
  11. Mariko Hayashi, 林 真理子 (b. 1954), "Wine," Translated by Dawn Lawson.
  12. Banana Yoshimoto, 吉本ばなな (b. 1964), "Kitchen," Translated by Ann Sherif.
    Excerpt from:

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Friday, January 03, 2025

Coppard, The Hurly Burly and Other Stories (2021)

A. E. Coppard.
The Hurly Burly and Other Stories.
Edited by Russell Banks.
New York: Ecco Press (HarperCollins Publishers), 2021.

Book Information : Publisher; Google Books; Amazon.com.

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Wikipedia Articles :
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