Japanese Authors

[helen]

Anyone have any suggestions of good Japanese authors? I would have to read the books in English translation though.

I love Haruki Murakami, and I really liked Out by Natsuo Kirino, and all those various geisha biographies, old Japanese folk tales and stuff like that, but I don't know about too many different Japanese writers.

Any recommendations?

[The Frankensteiner]

Takashi Matsuoka.

Cloud of Sparrows
This is actually the only book I've ever read by a Japanese author. None the less I enjoyed it a lot.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/038533 ... oding=UTF8

I guess there is a sequel out to the book, I should look into it.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/038533 ... oding=UTF8

[pnts]

Hi Helen

I love Haruki Murakami as well.

Other authors I would recommend are Kenzaburo Oe:

Teach Us to Outgrow Our Madness

A Personal Matter

And Yukio Mishima:

Spring Snow


All their books are good reads, those are just a few to get you started.

There is also another Murakami I would recommend, Ryu Murakami.

Coin Locker Babies

Hope this helps!

[helen]

Thanks for the suggestions, I'll look for some of them. I've seen some Ryu Murakami in Fopp, In The Miso Soup or something, but I didn't get it because it looked so short!

[Belton]

I've just finished Musashi by Eiji Yoshikawa which I really enjoyed. It's about the famous swordsman who wrote the Book of Five Rings (Go Rin No Sho) set in the beginning of the Tokugawa Shogunate. Bit of an adventure story, bit of a romance. It shows it's origins in being serialised in newspapers I think. But a great read. It's been likened to a Japanese Gone with the Wind.

I'd also recommend Banana Yoshimoto. (Kitchen, Hard Luck, Hardboiled) quite short novels with modern Japanese women as the main characters. can be a little dark or sad, sometimes deal with the supernatural (as part of the everyday it seems to be for some in Japan)

The language of the translation is so good it makes me want to read the originals someday

[Brody]

I don't think Takashi Matsuoka is Japanese, per se. He's a first generation Japanese-American. I think he speaks English and Japanese but his native language is English and he writes his books in English, so technically, he doesn't count. (Sorry! I don't mean to nitpick! I love his books!)

[Altima]

Yeah, I heard good things about "In the Miso Soup," like an "American Psycho" for Tokyo apparently.

I'm going to just reiterate the earlier suggestion of Yukio Mishima, as I just started reading his first novel (a semi-autobiography) called "Confessions of a Mask." I'd recommend learning a bit about his personal background before tackling any of his novels though, as he led quite an unusual life whose end was as famous as anything he wrote. Even just a biography of Mishima is fascinating (Wikipedia has a good write-up on his life) but the fact that he was a superb novellist endlessly adds to the fascination he commands.

"Confessions of a Mask" specifically is quite intense, and so far (I haven't finished it yet) has been an interesting exercise in drawing the reader to understand his rather unique perspective of life, death and pain. He's certainly not for the light-hearted.

After I finish "Confessions" I'm gonna finally tackle a hefty Haruki Murakami book, "Kafka on the Shore." I've previously read his "South of the Border, West of the Sun," which is probably his shortest and least surreal novel, but has such a touch of Casablanca that it's worth a look.

[animate]

Check out Yukio Mishima, Kazuo Ishiguro, Junichiro Tanizaki, Ryunosuke Akutagawa, Natsume Soseki and more Murakami is always good---Wind-Up Bird Chronicle, especially!

[animate]

*bump*

I'm sad to see we don't have more listeners who enjoy good Japanese literature! Anyone read anything good lately? I'm reading Kazuo Ishiguro's "A Pale View of Hills" at the moment--it's great!

[annie]

Banana Yoshimoto is my favorite Japanese author.

But Haruki Murakami is a close second..... i was lucky to find a copy of Kafka on the Shore in the cheap book bin at Kinokuniya. I'm really enjoying it so far.

Personally, as a women and a feminist I have issues with most male Japanese authors.

[Abrassart]

For me, Natsume Soseki is a must read, especially for those who are interrested in the Meiji era...

[Harv]

I read Strangers by Taichi Yamada during the summer, it was a pretty good read.