January in Japan 2024

[Alison]

Post here about all your exciting January in Japan reads!

[Jack]

Yay, this will be fun and interesting. Thanks for organizing this Alison.

I intended Breasts and Eggs by Mieko Kawakami to be my first Jan 2024 book but it came early from the library and i finished before the year changed .

So, the first book will is Heaven by Mieko Kawakami, translated by Sam Bett and David Boyd. (completed 3 Jan 2024).

I finished Night on the Galactic Railroad and Other Stories from Ihatov. I will put comments on the thread for it when it gets posted. (i will probably reread it again before the end of the month - just fun to read Kenji...) I started a Kenji thread in the buddy reads area for anyone that would like to explore other Miyazawa works and associated films and illustrations.

Next would be Before the Coffee Gets Cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi, translated by Geoffrey Trousselot. I would really like to see the 2018 movie "Café Funiculi Funicula" made from this book. I think the novel was originally a play. (Completed 5 Jan. This was very good. I read the next one in the series. completed ~ 12 Jan 2024)

I also want to read Protohistoric Yamato: Archaeology of the First Japanese State (Volume 78) by Gina L. Barnes along with Bill (see below). This also has a buddy reads thread. (I started on this but won't finish in Jan)

I don't know if I can complete Seeds in the Heart: Japanese Literature from Earliest Times to the Late Sixteenth Century by Donald Keene. I have been reading this for years as a research tool as I go deeper into the described works. However, the range of your reading here in the Japanese Literature group had motivated me to read wider than my classical inclinations.

I will update my post to reflect my Jan reading. January usually means a lot of manga and light novels as I look at the new anime series for the Winter season.

[Justin •••]

I ordered Night on the Galactic Railroad and Other Stories from Ihatov and it should arrive by early January, so if there's a discussion I'll try to join in. Another two I'll be reading are Blue Bamboo: Tales by Dazai Osamu and The Sea and Poison by Shusaku Endo

[Paige]

Hello, maybe I'll finish Mild Vertigo. I've been meaning to get around to that book.

[Gnoe]

Gonna have a look at my tbr pile and will be back!

[Bill]

I've started on Protohistoric Yamato , which I'm going to call a January in Japan read because it will take me a while to finish it. But first, the title.

"History" is generally the period we have written records for. The period before written records is "prehistory". "Protohistory" is the grey area in between, where we have written records written sometimes hundreds of years after the fact. "Yamato" is an old name for the Nara basin, the place whose government and culture eventually took over the country. So the book is about just before the written records establishing how the imperial government came about. This period is generally known as the Kofun period, after the large mounded tombs built at the time.

I had earlier read Barnes' State Formation in Japan and was impressed by it, so I wanted to read more of her work, even if it was older.

[Sheryl]

I am reading Sources of Japanese Tradition, Volume One From Earliest Times to 1600 (Wm. Theodore de Bary, Donald Keene etc.) .

I have gotten far, but I love that it provides the source material .. very helpful..

sheryl

[Alison]

Sheryl wrote: "I am reading Sources of Japanese Tradition, Volume One From Earliest Times to 1600 (Wm. Theodore de Bary, Donald Keene etc.) .

I have gotten far, but I love that it provides the source material ....."

That is a fantastic one! I haven't been able to go straight through, but I've read a lot of the chapters and used it heavily in my early podcast episodes.

[Alison]

I'm working on two ARCs for books coming out soon in the US.

Slow Down: The Degrowth Manifesto by Kohei Sato (trans. Brian Bergstom) is already out in the Commonwealth. Fascinating stuff!

Harlequin Butterfly by Toh Enjoe is not at all what I expected! I'm glad one of my favorite translators (David Boyd) did the work, so I have a better idea what's "Enjoe" and what's Boyd.

[Bill]

Protohistoric Yamato has a lot to say, despite its age. But I could have done without the middle section of the book (120 pages or so) on archaeological methodology. That's something I doubt anyone but specialists will get anything out of.

On to the less serious Last and First Idol

[Anita]

currently reading Goth , purchased The Crimson Labyrinth and I ordered 告白 Kokuhaku by Kanae Minato

[Alison]

Bill wrote: "Protohistoric Yamato has a lot to say, despite its age. But I could have done without the middle section of the book (120 pages or so) on archaeological methodology. That's something I doubt anyone..."

Oh! When you said "Idol", I thought you were planning to read Idol, Burning.

[Bill]

Last and First Idol is a collection of three short stories.

The title story is quite simply a mess. The author introduces new ideas at breakneck speed and ignores the consequences of the old ones while introducing new ones. The story never slows down to allow for any sort of normal pacing or development; it reads like one person wrote a novel, and then another summarized it and gave us only the summary. To top it off, our main character never is or was an idol.

Maybe the others will be better. The second story (Evolution Girls) is about a girl hooked on a phone game, but I've read a few pages of it so far. Hopefully it doesn't go isekai on me.

[Sunaina]

Finished with Night on the Galatic rail road and other stories from Ihatov ; before we say goodbye 😊

[Laurel]

I just finished Territory of Light by Yūko Tsushima: a painterly novella about a single mother during the first year of her divorce. Impossible not to see shadows of Tsushima's own father (author Osamu Dazai, who died by suicide when she was a year old) in each of the feckless male characters.

I always have several books on the go at once, so The Book of Tea by Kakuzō Okakura and Ugetsu Monogatari: Tales of Moonlight and Rain by Ueda Akinari are my others in progress.

[Bill]

Ugetsu is such a wonderful book! More people need to read it!

[tina]

Currently reading Mieko Kawakami’s “all the lovers in the night”

[Carol]

Laurel wrote: "I just finished Territory of Light by Yūko Tsushima: a painterly novella about a single mother during the first year of her divorce. Impossible not to see shadows of..."

I"m a big fan of The Book of Tea. Hope you enjoy it.

[Bill]

Last and First Idol

Evolution Girls unfortunately turned into an isekai as I guessed. After being hit and killed by a truck early in the story, our main character is reincarnated as an amoeba stuck in a video game. No, I'm not reading the rest of this.

The last of the three stories is perhaps the most interesting (scraping the bottom of the barrel): Dark Seiyuu. 'Seiyuu' here is the same word for voice actress, but here means super-race of humans with the ability to control the ether. And the speed of light isn't constant, and gravity doesn't work everywhere, blah, blah, blah. Our murderous main character is killing her own kind with her superpowers, when she runs into another more powerful super doing the same thing. The rest of the story is a flying battle between the two of them, with plenty of collateral damage.

On to something I'll actually like: Selected Stories of Doppo Kunikida . I know I gave the 'editor' Earl Trotter a bad review after reading Five Stories last year, but Kunikida's stories are so hard to find that I broke down and bought 'Selected Stories' anyway. It was cheap, at least.

[Bill]

Selected Stories of Doppo Kunikida (three stories in) is so far an optimistic, enjoyable read. Written between 1896 and his death in 1908, these evocative stories give us glimpses into the everyday culture of his time and the ways we're all alike.

These stories were translated a decade after his death by a Japanese woman studying in the US. Trotter has taken that public-domain translation and done nothing to clean up the occasional awkwardness of her non-native English, and has introduced various typos as well. Don't let that stop you from picking this up. The only other Kunikida collection in English is long out of print and is quite expensive as a result.

[Alison]

Just finished my ARC of Toh Enjoe’s Harlequin Butterfly (trans. David Boyd). I want someone else to hurry up and read it to discuss it with me!

[Bill]

You'll have to wait until it's released... and until I find it used! ^_^

[Monica]

A couple days ago I finished reading Rental Person Who Does Nothing: A Memoir by Shoji Morimoto . I wanted to read it back when it was a selection for this group's book club in September, but unfortunately I had too much going on with University.

The memoir wasn't really what I was expecting unfortunately.... I was hoping for thoughts on human psychology, but a lot of the book felt focused on social media. In my opinion it was a bit of a disappointing read. More of my thoughts here

[Bill]

I was quite happy with the stories in Selected Stories of Doppo Kunikida . The translation could have done with quite a bit more editing, but that's certainly not Kunikida's fault.

Next, a classic: From the Bamboo View Pavilion

[Laurel]

I'm still working my way through The Book of Tea and Ugetsu Monogatari. I'm enjoying them both so much I'm limiting myself to no more than a chapter a day to suitably relish them.

On the other hand, I just finished the disappointing Inheritors by Asako Serizawa, which I think this group read before I joined.

Now onto Clouds above the Hill: A Historical Novel of the Russo-Japanese War, Volume 1 by Ryōtarō Shiba.

[Bill]

Clouds above the Hill volume 1 was interesting, if a bit too focused on our go-getter fighting to get an education. I have volume 2 sitting on my physical to-read shelf, waiting for me to be motivated to read more.

[Jack]

I have gone off on a side quest reading Kenji children's stories due to our Jan 2024 book selection.
Since I usually have several books going at once, I have started Botchan by Natsume Sōseki, translated by Joel Cohn. I forgot that I agreed to read this in January to discuss with some friends at the end of the January.
And,
I finally started Protohistoric Yamato: Archaeology of the First Japanese State (Volume 78) by Gina L. Barnes but I don't know if I will finish it this month.

[Jeroen]

I've just finished reading literary magazine/short story collection/anthology Monkey Business: New Writing from Japan Volume 6. There's a lot of interesting reads: translations of stories by Mieko Kawakami, Soseki Natsume, Hiromi Kawakami, Hiromi Itō, to name a few. Left a few thoughts on the book page.

[Judy]

Hi all, I just discovered this group. In January so far I have read: by Emi Yagi, which was a quick read but with more depth than meets the eye.
by Keiichirō Hirano, which was such an unusual sort of detective story, but with interesting views into Japanese society and culture. I had previously read "At The End of the Matinee" by Hirano which became one of my all time favorite books.

[Bill]

Welcome, Judy!

We had both of those as monthly reads in the past. Feel free to read our thoughts and grant us some of your own!

[Bill]

From the Bamboo View Pavilion is a late court diary by a noblewoman starting in the 1330s. I'm enjoying it a great deal because of the detailed descriptions of palace events, more detailed than I've seen in similar works. Our author is a bit more headstrong than others, traveling across town to visit her husband or wait on an emperor in dangerous circumstances.

Still, it's not an introductory work. You should have some familiarity with court diaries and Japanese history of the time (particularly the Taiheiki and the Go-Daigo Restoration) before reading it. Some years ago I read Kenmu, Go-Daigo's Revolution , and I remember enough of the details, but it's been a long time since I read the Taiheiki.

[Bill]

I enjoyed From the Bamboo View Pavilion (takemuki-ga-ki) quite a bit more than some of the other classic Japanese literature I've read. I wonder why Japanese scholars give it such a low rating. Perhaps they consider the literary style and poetry not up to snuff; I enjoy it for the themes and the insight into classical ceremonies.

There is a several-year gap in the middle of the narrative, and Tyler chose to add an excerpt there from the taiheiki about the author and her husband. He gives only a short introduction to the work as a whole (14p), but adds a few pages of his own comments in the early sections, several appendices, and copious footnotes. Footnotes! A scholar who does not insult us with abominable endnotes! Overall an excellent presentation by Tyler.

On to something lighter Ashihara Hinako Collection , a three-volume manga series of short stories by Ashihara Hinako. Most likely romances with both happy and tragic endings.

[Patricia]

I never finished The Penguin Book of Japanese Short Stories from last year, so I want to pick that back up and finish it. Also, I have started A Death in Tokyo. I have read several of his mysteries and enjoyed them. Finally, I want to read Norwegian Wood. I'm probably the only one in this group who hasn't read Murakami, so this is the year! Of course, I probably won't finish all these in January, but I will be reading them.

[Monica]

Those all sound like great picks Patricia. I hope you enjoy Murakami :)

[Bill]

Norwegian Wood is a good place to start!

[Patricia]

Thanks, Monica & Bill! Looking forward to reading them!

[Alison]

My son bought me My Cat Is a Weirdo for Christmas, so I just finished reading it. Cute. 😅

[Carol]

Patricia wrote: "I never finished The Penguin Book of Japanese Short Stories from last year, so I want to pick that back up and finish it. Also, I have started A Death in Tokyo. I ha..."

Death in Tokyo goes pretty fast. I enjoyed the Penguin collection, too.

[Alison]

I just finished The Man without Talent by Yoshiharu Tsuge (trans. Ryan Holmberg). I thought it would be an interesting comparison piece with our earlier group read Rental Person Who Does Nothing (which was just released in North America yesterday, btw)—and I’ve just ordered a copy of My Picture Diary by Maki Fugiwara, Tsuge’s wife (also trans. Ryan Holmberg).

The Man without Talents is a fascinating semi-autobiographical manga (or maybe a spiritual autobiography?). Holmberg’s exploratory essay describes it as an I-Novel—sort of a Dazai I-Novel with less of a pretense of literal truth than other entries in the genre typically make.

Anyway… highly recommended and, indeed, an interesting comparison piece with Rental Person.

[Bill]

Is Tsuge considered 'gekiga'?

[Jack]

Bill, I think so. Surrealistic, gritty. I want to investigate his works now.

[Bill]

I don't happen to read any manga that's old enough to be gekiga. Not that I'm trying to avoid it, but the used sites I seem to shop at only have more recent stuff. But I'm never short on manga to read, so I can't complain.

[Jack]

I am off on a manga tangent since I look at potentially interesting works for the library. So I am almost finished with Loop 7-kaime no Akuyaku Reijou wa, aka “7th Time Loop: The Villainess Enjoys a Carefree Life Married to Her Worst Enemy!” The anime version just started in the Jan 2024 winter season. The title is a bit much, but the story is amusing. I think the late middle school and high school readers may like the series.
Hopefully I will get back to the mainstream soon. -Jack

[语]

currently reading Days at the Morisaki Bookshop and recently finished The Travelling Cat Chronicles
not gonna lie but i'm really getting sucked into this melodramatic dealing-w/-my-adult-life genre; literally been governing (and i repeat, GOVERNING) my life for the past month...
not that i mind...

[Jeroen]

"Why does the night have to be so beautiful?" #firstsentence.

Just got introduced to Fuyuko Irie, main character in All The Lovers In The Night by Mieko Kawakami, translated by Sam Bett & David Boyd.

First Kawakami novel, so very exited!

[Bill]

Ashihara Hinako Collection was, as expected, mostly school and period romances. Most of them were good, but no collection is of even quality, and not all of them appealed to me.

Next up, Imperial Gateway non-fiction about Japanese colonial rule in Taiwan from 1895 to 1945.

[Bill]

I've succumbed to my usual curse: reading multiple books at once. I started on The Stones Cry Out in addition to Imperial Gateway, because Imperial Gateway is rather dense non-fiction and that's not what I feel like continuously reading.

The Stones Cry Out is purportedly a novel about geology, at least at first. But it doesn't bode well that the author gets something geologically wrong in the opening chapter. The dying soldier in the cave in 1944 is lecturing our MC on geology, and describes it in terms of plate tectonics. Yet plate tectonics wasn't a thing until the 1960s.

[Jack]

Read Tales from the Café…. Lot of books this month.
I really enjoy this series so far. I will likely continue with the series, hopefully after JanuaryinJapan is over.
Read Dead-End Memories: Stories by Banana Yoshimoto, translated by Asa Yoneda and also listened to the audiobook as one of my “audiobook for walks”. Yoshimoto will be my "go-to" author for a while. I have the 2023book, The Premonition, on order.

(I have the “multiple books at once” curse also…)

I need to finish up my notes on Night on the Galactic Railroad and Other Stories from Ihatov, our January 2024 book of the month. My comments for that will be posted on that thread. (Completed)

Probably for modern fiction, Earthlings by Sayaka Murata, translated by Ginny Tapley Takemori is next. (Completed)

[Bill]

Imperial Gateway is non-fiction about Japanese expansion into South China, South East Asia, and Oceana from 1895 when Japan won Taiwan from the Manchu Empire until the end of WW2. I expected it to focus on Taiwan, and while it does focus on the priorities of the Taiwan Governor-General and Taiwanese overseas during the period, it has surprisingly little to say about the development of Taiwan itself during this period. It has more to say about Fujian in South China (which speaks the same language as the Chinese settlers in Taiwan) than it does about Taiwan itself, and then it branches out into other areas around Taiwan. It contains considerable detail on individuals, roles, discrimination, and international business and industry during the time period.

The Stones Cry Out is about a man who spends all his free time as an amateur geologist, collecting and polishing stones, and who spends very little time with his family. It branches out into the repercussions this has on his family, and to me it seems to lose focus in the latter sections as a result. He is never able to get past his war experiences, where he was holed up with a dying geologist and had to listen to the man's murmuring geology lectures while waiting for the man to die. The author takes the book full circle in the end in a way that may satisfy some readers, but may leave realists unsatisfied and wondering what actually happened.

[Laurel]

I've just started two fresh books:

Japanese Death Poems: Written by Zen Monks and Haiku Poets on the Verge of Death

Okinawa by Susumu Higa, containing two collections of manga: Sword of Sand, which follows the Battle of Okinawa; and Mabui, which examines the ongoing American occupation of Okinawa.