Fiction - World Literature - Japan

The Kappa is a creature from Japanese folklore known for dragging unwary toddlers to their deaths in rivers: a scaly, child-sized creature, looking something like a frog, but with a sharp, pointed beak and an oval-shaped saucer on top of its head, which hardens...

"The novel sustains throughout its length something approaching poetry, and it is rich in understanding and insight. The translation, by Edwin McClellan, is extremely good." --Anthony West, The New Yorker Kokoro, which means "the heart of things," explores emotions familiar to everyone--love and hate,...

Para los fans de Antes de que se enfríe el café, El gato que amaba los libros y Mis días en la librería Morisaki, llega una novela encantadora que se quedará en tu corazón mucho después de haber leído la última página.«No recuerdo la...

One of Japan's great modern masters, Kaoru Takamura, makes her English-language debut with this two-volume publication of her magnum opus. Tokyo, 1995. Five men meet at the racetrack every Sunday to bet on horses. They have little in common except a deep disaffection with...

When a body is found in a hot-spring town, dead from hydrogen sulfide poisoning, geochemist Shusuke Aoe is brought in by the police to investigate. The death is written off as an accident, but something doesn't add up, and at the scene, Shusuke comes...

The long-awaited first short story-collection by the author of the cult sensation Convenience Store Woman, tales of weird love, heartfelt friendships, and the unsettling nature of human existenceWith Life Ceremony, the incomparable Sayaka Murata is back with her first collection of short stories ever...

A suspenseful magical realism novel about a mysterious teenage "go-between" who arranges meetings between the living and the dead, from multimillion-copy Japanese bestselling author Mizuki Tsujimura. I bring together the living and the departed. I am the go-between. When a young woman from Tokyo...

Sylvia Plath's The Bell Jar for twenty-first-century Japan, a young woman suffering from depression embarks on a series of darkly comic domestic disasters that lead her to question whether she is worthy of love Twenty-five-year-old Yasuko has been living with her kind but apathetic...

Otohiko Kaga's Marshland is an epic novel on a Tolstoyan scale, running from the pre-World War II period to the turbulence of 1960s Japan. At forty-nine, Atsuo Yukimori is a humble auto mechanic living an almost penitentially quiet life in Tokyo, where his coworkers...

The apparently unremarkable Natsumi lives in a modern Tokyo apartment with her husband and two sons: she does the laundry, goes to the supermarket, visits friends, and gossips with neighbors. Tracing her conversations and interactions with her family and friends as they blend seamlessly...

From the award-winning author of The Memory Police and The Housekeeper and the Professor, a hypnotic novel about an affluent Japanese family navigating buried secrets, and their young house guest who uncovers them. "A story of first enchantments and last gasps...Effervescent." --New York Times...

For fans of Japanese literature (Haruki Murakami and more) and readers who want to be introduced to exciting new writers.MONKEY New Writing from Japan is an annual anthology that showcases the best of contemporary Japanese literature. Vol. 6 celebrates HORROR, from demons and ghosts...

In this charming and emotionally resonant follow up to the internationally bestselling Days at the Morisaki Bookshop, Satoshi Yagisawa paints a poignant and thoughtful portrait of life, love, and how much books and bookstores mean to the people who love them.Set again in the...

An unlikely duo embarks on a road trip to find a serial killer before the apocalypse in this prize-winning Japanese murder mystery. Perfectly blends the dystopian humor of Zombieland and the thrills of My Sister the Serial Killer! From Japan's most exciting new crime...

A stunning new paperback edition of the cult classic mystery following a set of bizarre murders at a family's eerie remote estate. "A delightfully intricate murder puzzle with retro charm, bound to tantalize readers." -Kirkus Reviews The Crooked House sits alone on a snowbound...

Use your powers of logic and deduction to solve this classic honkaku puzzler--the Japanese tradition of detective fiction--in this delicious twisty murder mystery! In Osaka, dark secrets haunt a wealthy merchant family throughout the first half of the 20th century . . . In...

A new and unabridged 3-book translation of Eiji Yoshikawa's bestselling novel about Miyamoto Musashi--the most famous swordfighter in Japanese history! This is the first book of Musashi: The Novel, a sweeping three-book unabridged translation of Eiji Yoshikawa's bestselling masterpiece--Japan's most beloved historical novel. Masterfully...

The epic story concludes as Musashi prepares to take on his greatest rival with his destiny in the balance! This is the third book of Musashi: The Novel, a sweeping three-book unabridged translation of Eiji Yoshikawa's bestselling masterpiece--Japan's most beloved historical novel. Masterfully translated...

Musashi's tale continues as he transforms himself from an inexperienced soldier with no direction into Japan's greatest swordsman! This is the second book of Musashi: The Novel, a sweeping three-book unabridged translation of Eiji Yoshikawa's bestselling masterpiece--Japan's most beloved historical novel. Masterfully translated for...

Tense, subtly disturbing Japanese literary horror perfect for fans of Tender is the Flesh and The Vegetarian An unforgettably creepy child narrator weaves uncanny tales about her new stepmother in this feminist horror novella + short story collection that introduces a unique new voice...