Discovering Japanese Literature 3/8

Jan 10, 20231 min read

“Spider Lilies” by Hiroko Oyamada

Oyamada is the Akutagwa Prize winner. What makes her story distinctive is the element of fauna and flora. Her depiction of flowers is...

Dec 31, 20221 min read

2022

2022 is coming to an end. I would like to wrap it up with 3 new things I did and 3 most impressive short stories I dealt with in my...

Dec 28, 20221 min read

“The Hole” by Hiroko Oyamada

Oyamada was awarded with the Akutagawa Prize for this work. She was born in Hiroshima in 1983. As I was born in the same year, there are...

Dec 24, 20222 min read

“Brutus” (featuring Haruki Murakami)

As Christmas is approaching (which has nothing to with Murakami…but anyway), I’m browsing through a magazine called “Brutus” (which is a...

Dec 21, 20222 min read

“The Story of Tomoda and Matsunaga” by Junichiro Tanizaki

This story was written in 1926, 3 years after Tanizaki moved to Kyoto. The narrator, a writer called “K”, one day receives a letter...

Dec 20, 20221 min read

“Blue Moon” By Hiromi Kawakami

This is an essay like fiction. Kawakami’s prose has unique charm in itself. It renders readers’ minds peaceful and calm. This story is no...

Dec 3, 20221 min read

“Abandoning a Cat” by Haruki Murakami

This is an essay Murakami wrote about his father. He rarely talks about his parents. Still, his father’s presence could be strongly...

Nov 18, 20223 min read

“The Little House” by Kyoko Nakajima

次の授業で中島京子氏の作品を扱うため、その準備のため本書を読了した。２０１０年の直木賞授賞作。本書に関するYuki さんと翻訳者のGinnyさんとの対談がとても興味深かったので、いつか読みたいと思っていた。実は数年前に飯田橋ギンレイホール（閉館は本当に悲しい）で本書を原作と...

Nov 15, 20222 min read

“Variations On a Theme By Mister Donut“ by David Mitchell

David Mitchell is a noted English author and has written 9 novels together with many short stories. I was drawn to the title of the...