Maiden's Bookshelf series from Kodansha

[Jack]

This is the thread for the Kodansha series Maiden's Bookshelf. The English translations are published by Kodansha USA Publishing, LTD New York, NY
The translators are identified in tiny print at the end of each volume and I will add them to the descriptions as I get the hardbacks or electronic copies.
Also, I do not consider these children's books. _None of these books are really for young people._ I suspect that the English language publishers were trying to market to a younger audience than the original Japanese authors were writing for.

At a minimum, I would rate them as for literate Young adults. However, since the English publisher provided ratings, I will note the publisher's ratings and any content warnings for each book in the series. If there is a difference between the publisher's site and the back book cover, I will note the rating from the book. Content warning should have been more specific if they were marketing to a younger audience.

"The Maiden's Bookshelf series combines classic short stories of the early 20th century with gorgeous original artwork to create collectable editions for a contemporary audience."

Content warning on books:
"This book may include language that could be seen as offensive or discriminatory from today's standpoint, but in the interest of preserving the historical import of the work, we have included it in its original form."

I will try to provide some thoughts on the stories themselves inside of spoiler alerts at the end of my posts.

As of February 2024 there are 38 books in the series. Only those below have been translated into English.

[Jack]

The English translations of some of the series as of Feb 2024, in order of publication:

Hell in a Bottle: Maiden's Bookshelf by Kyūsaku Yumeno, art by Towoji Honojiro translated by Angela Yiu, published Nov. 15, 2022. This book is rated 16+ by the publisher.

The Moon Over the Mountain: Maiden's Bookshelf by Atsushi Nakajima, art by Nekosuke, translated by Asa Yoneda, published Jan. 31, 2023. This book is rated 13+ by the publisher.

The Surgery Room: Maiden's Bookshelf by Kyōka Izumi, art by Towoji Honojiro, translated by Charles Shiro Inouye, published May 30, 2023. This book is rated 13+ by the publisher.

The Girl Who Became a Fish: Maiden's Bookshelf by Osamu Dazai, art by Atsuki Ito, translated by Yui Kajita, published Aug 15, 2023. This book is rated 13+ by the publisher.

Spring Comes Riding in a Carriage: Maiden's Bookshelf by Riichi Yokomitsu, art by Atsuki Ito, translated by Yui Kajita, published Dec 12, 2023. This book is rated 16+ by the publisher.

You will likely recognize the authors and their short stories. I will add more information to the thread in a subsequent post.

I am interested in how the artwork expands and interacts with the selected stories. Therefore, I may describe the untranslated books and if the short stories in them can be read in translation.

[Jack]

My thoughts on The Girl Who Became a Fish: Maiden's Bookshelf by Dazai.

The short story by Osamu Dazai (Tsushima Shuji) (19 June 1909 – 13 June 1948) is beautifully illustrated by Nekosuma, one of the Maiden's Bookshelf series published by Kodansha in 2023 and 2024. The short story first appeared in the magazine Kaihyo in March of 1933.

I give the art by Nekosuma 5 stars but the translation by Yui Kajita 2 or 3 stars.
I also _strongly_ disagree with the English version publisher's rating of 13+ for age appropriateness.
They clearly did not understand the Dazai story. I would rather not explain this translation to a 13 year old and would not without a parent's permission. It is a mature YA book. Additionally, unless one understands the story, Sura's transformation makes no sense.

Readers should look for the James O'Brien translation of the story titled "Transformation" in the Cornel University East Asian Papers, Number 33 collection (1983). Dazai Osamu: Selected Stories and Sketches

Nevertheless, the art illuminated, for me, O'Brien's 1983 translation. Towards that, I value my copy of the Maiden's Bookshelf release.

(view spoiler)[ Dazai was obsessed with death/suicide by drowning, maybe further so by double suicides. In this short story, a young boy dies by drowning accidentally, perhaps as a result of his curiosity. Sura, the main character, dies or is transformed by drowning. Various english titles for the short story have been Metamorphosis, Transformation, or Undine. The trigger for Sura's action is her rape by her father. Her transformation relieves Sura of her physical and mental pain.
(hide spoiler)]

[Jack]

My thoughts on Spring Comes Riding in a Carriage: Maiden's Bookshelf

The short story by Riichi Yokomitsu (17 March 1898 – 30 December 1947) is beautifully illustrated by Atsuki Ito. Ito's website is: https://atsukiillust.com/ It is well worth time spent looking at Ito's other art works.
This is my favorite in the English translated series.

The short story first appeared in the magazine Josei in August of 1926.

I give Spring Comes Riding in a Carriage: Maiden's Bookshelf 5 stars for both the art and the story as translated. I originally read Yokomitsu's story in Love and other stories of Yokomitsu Riichi (1974). The translations and introduction in that text are by Donald Keene (translator).
I was moved by the story as translated by Donald Keene and similarly in the Maiden's Bookshelf version. The art work complemented and enhanced the storyline to achieve a greater experience.

I agree with the English publisher's rating of 16+ although none of this books are really for young people.

I read this in e-book format and appreciated having a larger view of the artwork and the ability to examine it more closely.

[Ali-pie]

I read these in order of publication so starting with Hell in a Bottle which remains my favourite (don't judge!) the story is pretty dark and weird and the art quite symbolic, surreal and dreamlike.

[Ali-pie]

With Moon Over the Mountain I enjoyed the contrast between the story with quite a traditional tone and the art which veered off into kawaii catboy vibes at times!

[Ali-pie]

The Surgery Room has the same illustrator as Hell in a Bottle and while all the art in the series is amazing these stand out for me. The plot of this one is a bit ridiculous but in a very gothic way.

[Ali-pie]

The Girl Who Became a Fish has a much more subdued colour pallete than the others in the series but I guess that works for the story. I personally think I would have been fine reading this at 13 and I'm sure I was reading all sorts, but it does make me wonder what exactly the reasons for some of the books being 16+ is because if I was going to guess which had a higher age rating it would probably be this one

[Ali-pie]

This was also the first Dazai I read and I'm undecided on whether to buy more

[Ali-pie]

Spring Comes Riding in a Carriage wasn't my favourite in the series but it takes a potentially clichéd subject and explores it in uncomfortable ways. For some reason I really like the page describing all the offal?

[Jack]

Ali-pie wrote: "I read these in order of publication so starting with Hell in a Bottle which remains my favourite (don't judge!) the story is pretty dark and weird and the art quite symbolic, surreal and dreamlike."

Hopefully, no judgement from me. I am still trying to process this and the rest of the stories. For Hell in a Bottle, I was wondering if one of the inspirations for this story was the tale of Prince Kinashi no Karu who was accused of an incestuous relationship with his sister, Princess Karu no Ōiratsume. The author, Yumeno Kyūsaku, had taken orders as a Zen priest two years before this story was published, so I am puzzling through the apparent Christian bible references. Meh, I have big gaps in my understanding. I want to come back to this one after a bit.