9+1 Japanese literature classics

A few months ago, I published the post ‘23 Japanese books to read in 2023’. Since then, I’ve read a few more books from the Land of the Rising Sun (but I’ve still not been there). Among those, there are a few Japanese literature classics, which I would specifically like to discuss today.

In writing this post, I’ve made two rather controversial decisions.

First, to include works by Kazuo Ishiguro. Born in Nagasaki, Ishiguro moved to the UK at the age of 5, and has been a British citizen since 1983 (Japan does not permit dual citizenship). Even though he writes in English, and most of his books have little to do with Japan, when I read The Remains of the Day, I felt like I was reading a Japanese novel. For this reason, I have included it on this list. As Pico Iyer comments, even the title of this novel, set in England, is very Japanese.

Second, to not include any books by Haruki Murakami. The reason is that I plan to publish another post specifically discussing some of his works (those I’ve read so far that is).

At this point, I would like to say a few words about why I love Japanese literature that much.

It all comes down to my fascination with Japan and my yearning to learn about this country, which I am yet to visit. Through its literature, I have learned about its geography, history and modern culture. For example, when a novel is set in (or even mentions) a place I’d never heard of, I would look this place up on the map, then read about it.

‘A Man’ partly takes place in Miyazaki, a city on the island of Kyushu, the third-largest island of Japan’s five main islands and the most southerly of the four largest islands (excluding Okinawa that is). The protagonist is a Japanese citizen of Korean descent, who worries about not being perceived ‘Japanese enough’ and being discriminated against, At some point, the author mentions Masahiko Togashi and Masabumi Kikuchi, two jazz musicians that I’d never heard of before (they’re now on repeat).

Similarly, many recent Japanese novels mention the classics (including some of those mentioned in this post).

9+1 Japanese literature classics (in chronological order)

The Narrow Road to the Deep North and Other Travel Sketches, by Matsuo Bashō (17th century)

Bashō was born near Iga-Ueno in 1644. Nowadays, he is widely acknowledged as the greatest master of haiku. As well as a poet, he is also well known for his travel essays. Five of those essays were translated into English by Noboyuki Yasa and are included in The Narrow Road to the Deep North and Other Travel Sketches (first published in 1966). This publication also includes an introduction by Noboyuki Yuasa.

Bashō’s first major journey started in 1684 and lasted for 9 months. A vivid account is given in The Records of a Weather-Exposed Skeleton.

In 1687, he went on a short trip to the Kashima Shrine, detailed in the very short essay A Visit to Kashima Shrine (6 pages in the English translation).

Immediately after his return from the Kashima Shrine, he left on the second of his major journeys. This lasted 11 months and resulted in the Record of a Travel-Worn Satchel and another very brief essay: A Visit to Sarashina Village (5 pages in the English translation).

In 1689, he started on his third journey, which lasted two and a half years and is detailed in the Narrow Road to the Deep North.

In all of the above essays, Bashō beautifully combines prose with poetry.

I Am a Cat, by Natsume Sōseki (1905)

I Am a Cat was first published in ten instalments in a literary magazine. The book is almost 500 pages long (in the English translation) and consists of 11 chapters. As a matter of fact, Natsume Sōseki had not intended to write more than the short story that constitutes the first chapter of the book. Not the easiest read, I Am a Cat is a satirical novel narrated by a domestic cat which observes (and comments on) the lives of its middle-class owners and their friends and neighbours.

Kokoro, by Natsume Sōseki (1914)

Kokoro is considered one of Japan’s greatest modern novels and Natsume Sōseki’s greatest work. Along with No Longer Human, it is one of the best-selling novels of all time in Japan. Just over 200 pages long, it is a much easier read than I Am a Cat. The book has been written in three parts. The first two are told from the perspective of the narrator, a young man who develops a friendship with an older man, who he calls Sensei. The final part is a long confessional letter written by Sensei to the narrator.

No Longer Human, by Osamu Dazai (1948)

No Longer Human is considered Osamu Dazai’s masterpiece and ranks as the second-best-selling novel ever in Japan, behind Natsume Sōseki’s Kokoro. It was translated into English by Donald Keene and was first published in 1958. Narrated in the first person, it is a semi-autobiographical novel that chronicles the life of a young man struggling with mental illness and substance misuse. It is 270 pages long and told in the form of notebooks. It personally reminded me more of Jack Kerouac than other Japanese authors.

Snow Country, by Yasunari Kawabata (1948)

Snow Country is one of three novels cited by the Nobel Committee in awarding Yasunari Kawabata the Nobel Prize in Literature, the other two being Thousand Cranes and The Old Capital. The Osaka-born Nobel laureate was the first Japanese author to receive this award (in 1968).

The first segment of the Snow Country was published in 1935. It was not until 1948, however, that the novel reached its final form, an integration of nine separately published works. Snow Country was translated into English by Edward G. Seidensticker, first published in 1956. It is a relatively short book (120 pages in the English translation), consisting of 2 equal parts. The novel opens with the protagonist, Shimamura, riding a train to the remote onsen town of Yuzawa, where he meets and falls in love with a young geisha, Komako, with whom he had previously had a brief encounter.

Thousand Cranes, by Yasunari Kawabata (1952)

Thousand Cranes first appeared in serialised form between 1949 and 1951 and was published as a book in 1952. It was also translated into English by Edward G. Seidensticker. First published in 1958, it is a relatively short book (100 pages in the English translation), consisting of 5 chapters. The novel opens with the protagonist, a young man named Kikuji, being invited to a tea ceremony by one of the mistresses of his deceased father.

The Silent Cry, by Kenzaburō Ōe (1968)

In 1994, Kenzaburō Ōe became the second Japanese author to be awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature. Sadly, he passed away in March 2023 at the age of 88. The Silent Cry is considered one of his finest novels. It is 280 pages long (in the English translation) and consists of 13 chapters, 20 pages each. I have to admit that I found it quite difficult to read. It tells the story of two brothers in the early 1960s. When Takashi, the younger brother, returns from America, he and Mitsusaburo travel to their home village, set in a hollow in the forest on Shikoku. Soon, cracks in their relationship appear, leading to a tragic end.

The Remains of the Day, by Kazuo Ishiguro (1989)

In 2017, Kazuo Ishiguro became the third Japanese author to be awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature. Almost three decades previously, in 1989, his third novel, The Remains of the Day, received the Man Booker Prize for Fiction. A film adaptation directed by James Ivory and starring Anthony Hopkins and Emma Thompson was released in 1993, and was nominated for eight Academy Awards. Unlike the author’s first two novels, The Remains of the Day is not set in Japan, but in England. The narrator and protagonist is a butler with a long record of service at Darlington Hall, a stately home. In 1956, he takes a road trip to visit Miss Kenton, a former housekeeper at Darlington Hall.

Never Let Me Go, by Kazuo Ishiguro (2005)

Critically acclaimed Never Let Me Go is Kazuo Ishiguro’s sixth novel. It was also shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize (but did not win). In 2010, a film adaptation was released, directed by Mark Romanek and starring Carey Mulligan, Keira Knightley and Andrew Garfield. A dystopian novel taking place in an alternate reality of England, Never Let Me Go tells the story of three young people who have been cloned and raised to become organ donors.

A Man, by Keiichiro Hirano (2018)

A Man is the latest novel discussed in the Virtual Book Club: Japanese Literature, a book discussion club that meets online for an hour and a half each month.

A divorce attorney investigates a recently deceased man, after his wife discovers that he was not the person he claimed to be. A film adaptation of the book, directed by Kei Ishikawa, was released last year.

Albeit not yet a classic, A Man is the winner of Japan’s Yomiuri Prize for Literature (in 2018) and the first of Keiichiro Hirano’s novels to be translated into English (in 2020). The 47-year-old author was born in Gamagori and was raised in Kitakyushu City. His first novel (The Eclipse) was published in 1998, while he was still a law student at Kyoto University. Having won the Akutagawa Prize at the age of 23, he is one of the youngest winners ever.

Although all authors in this list are male, Keiichiro Hirano stands out as one of the relatively few contemporary Japanese novelists who are male.

‘Although the world is a downtrodden place, I write in pursuit of a state of happiness that can only be felt by reading novels’.

Keiichiro Hirano