5 Japanese titles to fall in love with

Discover the emotional overtones of literature

Hi, wonderers,

As I received this request from some of you, here we go! Deep-diving together into Japanese writings that made a lasting impression on me and why you should give them a try:

Hell Screen & other stories by Ryūnosuke Akutagawa

This is the latest discovery in terms of short stories — Akutagawa is a master of the slice of life, the subtle, the lived. Spanning from ancient times to today’s Japan, his characters struggle to discover meaning, love, spirituality, and so on.

His writings are a good entrance into the Japanese imaginary.

“A man sometimes devotes his life to a desire which he is not sure will ever be fulfilled. Those who laugh at this folly are, after all, no more than mere spectators of life.”

Palm-of-the-Hand Stories by Yasunari Kawabata

We remain in the short story format with Kawabata’s carefully collected palm-of-the-hand experiences — so different a writing from the one I recommended above.

Kawabata’s characters are permeated by a melancholy that flows through their everyday actions and encounters, as they inhabit familiar spaces and quiet dramas.

I’ve actually discovered Kawabata through his journal (also a must-read!), with the same kind of emotional distancing, while playing with nostalgia, memory, and the Japanese life at large.

“Cosmic time is the same for everyone, but human time differs with each person. Time flows in the same way for all human beings; every human being flows through time in a different way.”

Way of the Samurai by Yukio Mishima

One controversial figure, Mishima fought and died for the old way of being Japanese in the world — a way that he tried to bring back through this book. A reworking of the Hagakure, apart from his attempt to instil the samurai spirit in his contemporary society, the book (re)presents a deeper understanding of Japanese identity (as seen through their eyes).

Let’s not forget that the samurai ideology is just that — we need to think about it as an ideal, a “perfect way” of being that transgresses human nature. So, again, a detailed piece for peeking into Japanese mentality.

“Dreams, memories, the sacred--they are all alike in that they are beyond our grasp. Once we are even marginally separated from what we can touch, the object is sanctified; it acquires the beauty of the unattainable, the quality of the miraculous. Everything, really, has this quality of sacredness, but we can desecrate it at a touch. How strange man is! His touch defiles and yet he contains the source of miracles.”

The Goddess Chronicle by Natsuo Kirino

The lady of psychological thrillers and gripping suspense, Kirino creates a story born of myth, ignorance, and jealousy. In this novel, mythology becomes the backdrop for investigating human emotions, relationships, and what it means to live in a strict environment.

“The living mourn the dead for a time but they forget about them as days pass. The living are so selfish, so spoilt, so taken with the very act of living that they don't remember long.”

Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World by Haruki Murakami

I know, I know… Just as Kirino, Murakami writes contemporary “genre” fiction, so the “Japanese” elements are subdued by a plethora of international influences.

Yet, I had an obsession with him and went to read most of his books. And this one, the first one that I read in high school, remains my favourite — to address and recommend.

Written in the space of urban magical realism, devised by Murakami himself, the novel is a venture into psychology, imagination, discrimination, and many more. For that is the beauty of Murakami — you can read his writings in many keys, through many layers.

Although he’s become repetitive in his later writings, this one still holds its ground in wonder and punchiness.

“Don't you think it would be wonderful to get rid of everything and everybody and just go some place where you don't know a soul?”

What would you add to the list? I’m waiting for your recommended titles, so I make my impossible reading list even longer ;)