The story follows young Mumei and his great-grandfather Yoshiro, who struggles day after day to keep his descendant alive. After a series of desperate attempts to release the vehicle, including digging a dead man anchor, their winch burns out. These are the best kinds of science fiction stories; ones which take real-world concerns and twist them into nightmare scenarios. From Shintoism to kaidan (ghostly folklore), Japanese culture has never been uncomfortable with the supernatural, and Miyuki Miyabe’s Apparitions is an ode to this truth. Japanese Tales of Mystery and Imagination is Rampo’s greatest collection, featuring nine surrealist thrillers, from the story of a chair maker who buries himself inside a sofa to the tale of a man who creates an eerie chamber of mirrors.

Japanese Stories | Bedtime Stories - Storyberries Japanese Stories | Bedtime Stories - Storyberries

A young woman with a two-year-old daughter has separated from her husband and, now, lives with her daughter in a new apartment that is flooded with natural light. In The Temple of The Golden Pavilion, stuttering protagonist Mizoguchi becomes an acolyte at Kyoto’s famous Golden Pavilion temple, where he obsesses over the aesthetics of the structure in reaction to the torment of his own childhood. Scientific investigation of the bones of Jōmon people carried out since the beginning of the 20th century, however, has disproved this theory. His newest housekeeper, our narrator, forms a unique and lasting bond with the professor, and the mathematician even develops a paternal relationship with the housekeeper’s young son.The book is a scything dissection of the struggles faced by working-class women in Japan, only heightened by Kawakami’s rough-and-tumble Osaka dialect which is ever-present in her writings. His only reprieve comes through reflections of his former life and dialogue with the woman who’s in there with him. This short story imagines a world invaded by enormous balloons, each one with the face of a real person. Many of the authors featured in this collection represent the pinnacle of Japanese fiction: Yasunari Kawabata, Yuko Tsushima, Banana Yoshimoto, Ryunosuke Akutagawa. The teens are transported to the enchanting halls of the great castle in their mirrors, where they may be granted a wish upon completing a quest.

Japanese Story - Wikipedia Japanese Story - Wikipedia

Climatic changes help to account for the existence of a Mesolithic stage in early Japanese culture, a time when much of the abundant fauna of earlier times became depleted by the expanding human population of the archipelago. A captivating crime novel that stands out with its complex characters, unexpected twists, and skillful storytelling. In this anthology, translated by the great Japanophile Donald Richie, are three of Kurosawa’s most enduring works: Ikiru (1952), a Hemmingway-like story of a civil servant coming to terms with death; the Macbeth-inspired Throne of Blood (1957); and arguably the greatest of them all, The Seven Samurai (1954). The book’s feminist overtones are emotionally resonant in a way that few other works of millennia-old literature were ever achieved.The observational style used by Sōseki and Akutagawa, sometimes painfully acute, owed a great deal to a tradition in Japan going back almost a millennium: to Sei Shōnagon’s The Pillow Book and a little later to The Tale of Genji – seen by some as the world’s first novel.

Japan Society - Kamishibai: Japanese Storytelling The Japan Society - Kamishibai: Japanese Storytelling

Masterfully juxtaposing the depths of psychological despair with the fleeting moments of connection that make a life worth living, Dazai’s final masterpiece will live long in the memory. With our team of dedicated reviewers we provide readers with insightful critiques that not only delve into the narrative but also its cultural significance.Better known as Lafcadio Hearn, Koizumi Yakumo was to the Japanese ghost story what the Grimm Brothers were to European fairytales: a pioneering collector and publisher of long-lost folklore. Capturing the essence of the feline-human connection, Arikawa blends warmth, humor, and bittersweet emotions in a story that will tug at your heartstrings.

Amazing Japanese Short Story Collections | Books and Bao 17 Amazing Japanese Short Story Collections | Books and Bao

What makes Japan Sinks such an interesting work of science fiction, is the scientific rigor Sakyo Komatsu applies to the narrative’s main hook. Moreover, it’s an important work of literature that helped set the foundations for a now-thriving subculture.Upon its first publication 1988, it announced Ogiwara as a serious name in the world of Japanese fantasy literature. The amount of the latter type increases steadily, preparing the way for the transition to Yayoi pottery. Now that they are on the road again, the ice breaks and a friendship starts between them that, in isolated surroundings uninterrupted by their work, grows quickly and honestly.