Oh, Tama! KANAI Mieko translated by Tomoko Aoyama and Paul McCarthy Oh, Tama! takes the reader deep into the haphazard lives of Natsuyuki, the protagonist, and his loosely connected circle of dysfunctional acquaintances and family. Trying to keep some semblance of order and decency in his life, working as an occasional freelance photographer, Natsuyuki is […]

Blue Bamboo: Tales by Dazai Osamu DAZAI Osamu translated by Ralph McCarthy Scholars and fans often divide the career of Dazai Osamu (1909–1948) into three periods: early, middle, and late. The early and late periods tend to get all the attention, but in fact Dazai was at his very best in the middle period, which […]

The Nobility of Failure Tragic Heroes in the History of Japan Ivan Morris preface by Juliet Winters Carpenter Alexander, Robin Hood, Wellington, George Washington… The Western literatures are packed with the stories—real and otherwise—of diverse heroes, but most of them share the common element of victory. Many of them died heroically to achieve their goals. […]

Citadel in Spring —A Novel of Youth Spent at War— AGAWA Hiroyuki translated by Lawrence Rogers Published in Japanese in 1949, Citadel in Spring is, at its heart, an autobiographical novel of the author’s life from university through induction into the Imperial Japan Navy, assignment to intelligence service in China, and Japan’s final defeat. In […]

Phantom Lights and Other Stories MIYAMOTO Teru translated by Roger K. Thomas Presenting a new collection of stories exploring the perennial themes of Miyamoto Teru’s fiction, narrative sketches of the working-class world of the Osaka-Kobe region of his childhood employing memory to reveal a story in layered frames of time with consummate skill. His work […]

The Dream of Lafcadio Hearn Roger Pulvers This fascinating fictional account of the life and times of Lafcadio Hearn probes the question: “What was the nature of this man, born wanderer, informant of the fiendish details of Japanese lore … a man who chose to live his life ‘in defiance of the season’?” Though now […]

Otogizōshi: The Fairy Tale Book of Dazai Osamu DAZAI Osamu translated by Ralph McCarthy introduction by Joel Cohn Momotarō, Click-Clack Mountain, The Sparrow Who Lost Her Tongue, The Stolen Wen, Urashima-san . . . The father reads these old tales to the children. Though he’s shabbily dressed and looks to be a complete fool, this […]

Fair Dalliance: 15 Stories by Yoshiyuki Junnosuke YOSHIYUKI Junnosuke translated by Lawrence Rogers, Hiroko Igarashi, and William Matsuda preface by Donald Richie This collection has come into being out of the conviction that the short stories of Yoshiyuki Junnosuke, if they were made accessible in English under one cover, would certainly be appreciated and enjoyed […]

Murder in the Red Chamber ASHIBE Taku translated by Tyran C. Grillo Murder in the Red Chamber, first published in Japanese by Bungei Shunjū as part of its “Mystery Masters” series, is set in the world of the original Dream of the Red Chamber, the masterwork of eighteenth-century Chinese fiction by Cao Xueqin. Building skillfully […]

Edogawa Rampo’s The Fiend with Twenty Faces A Tale of the Boy Detectives Club EDOGAWA Rampo translated by Dan Luffey The Fiend with Twenty Faces, the first in the Boy Detectives series by Japan’s master of mystery Edogawa Rampo, helped create a new genre in Japan and enthralled thousands of young readers. When 1930s Tokyo […]