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 classes. 1. Conducting a lecture on Mishima at an American university

It was my great pleasure introducing Mishima and his powerful story “Patriotism” to college students in America. 2. Using “Granta” for my classes for the first time What is unique about “Granta” is its variety of authors, foreign and Japanese alike. 3. Teaching the Japanese language for people of different nationalities Teaching a mother tongue is difficult as well as intriguing. It has defamiliarized my language and shed new lights on it. Here are the 3 short stories which have left strong impressions on me. 1. “Machine” by Riichi Yokomitsu (from Tuttle anthology) Yokomitsu’s prose is a dagger. Powerful and experimental. Brilliant. 2. “The Story of Tomoda and Matsunaga” by Junichiro Tanizaki (from Penguin anthology) Tanizaki’s masterful craft of storytelling is at its highest. Superb. 3. “Blue Moon” by Hiromi Kawakami (from Granta 127) Kawakami’s short story taught me how fragile our lives are and yet worth living all the more for that. Serene and beautiful. I would like to say thank you to everyone who has participated in my classes and has read my posts. I wish you a happy new year!